Nike, a master of brand collaborations, is partnering with Beats for its latest venture. The sportswear leader and the Apple-owned audio brand are joining forces on a pair of Nike-branded earbuds that offer more than just style.
These limited-edition Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 Wireless earbuds come in Nike’s signature “volt” lime green. They mark the first time Beats has co-branded a product, featuring the Nike Swoosh on the right earbud and the Beats logo on the left. The core of this partnership focuses on enhancing sports performance: the Powerbeats Pro 2 have built-in heart monitoring that syncs with Nike’s Run Club and Fitness apps. This allows users to track their performance without needing a separate device. Beats has enlisted its longtime ambassador, LeBron James, to front the campaign.
This collaboration is part of a growing trend where wearable tech teams up with fashion and sports brands to make fitness tracking more accessible beyond the standard wristband. For example, Whoop recently announced a partnership with designer Samuel Ross to embed its fitness tracker into clothing, while Oakley has worked with Meta on technical performance wear.
Rapidly advancing technology, combined with our increasing focus on wellness and longevity, means consumer demand for health data tracking is currently limitless. At the same time, the luxury sportswear industry has soared to a valuation of $115 billion in recent years and is forecast to reach $174 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research. This growth is driven by demand for functional yet fashionable sportswear, which the industry meets through collaborations that blend the latest innovations with the design and cultural influence of top luxury labels.
The Nike collaboration is Beats’ first with a sportswear brand, following a series of recent fashion tie-ups with names like Alo, A-Cold-Wall, Stüssy, Verdy, Sandy Liang, Paria Farzaneh, and Kiko Kostadinov, as well as celebrities like Kim Kardashian and K-pop star Jennie. Features like adaptive noise canceling, a 45-hour battery life, wrap-around earhooks, and sweat and water resistance are all designed with athletes and fitness-focused consumers in mind. According to Beats CMO Chris Thorne, this partnership symbolizes the beginning of the brand’s exploration into where audio tech, health tracking, and luxury sportswear intersect.
“We’ve been talking with Nike for a long time and just couldn’t figure out the perfect way to collaborate,” Thorne says. “But when we introduced heart rate monitoring in a headphone for the first time a year ago with the Powerbeats Pro 2, we suddenly entered Nike’s world of tracking metrics for top-level performance. That’s when we got serious and thought, ‘Now we have the perfect product to align both brands.'”
Ahead of the earbuds’ release on March 20, Vogue Business spoke with Thorne about the convergence of tech and luxury sportswear, and what makes a fashion-tech collaboration successful.
Vogue: This is Beats’ first co-design with a sports brand. Why Nike?
It’s a company I’ve admired for a long time. Few brands do what they do in terms of performance and sport products, and how they connect with culture. At Beats, we have Apple-quality products combined with the defiance, self-expression, and cultural connection that define our brand. In today’s world of collaborations, the best ones have a genuine connection between the two brands that aligns well. Those are hard to find, but Nike and Beats are a clear example. You can see this in the talent we work with—there’s so much overlap. That’s what made this collaboration special, especially with LeBron.
LeBron James wears the new Powerbeats Pro 2.Beats Pro 2 x Nike earbuds for golf.
Photo: Courtesy of Beats
Vogue: What led to marketing the earbuds as a ‘performance tool’ instead of just focusing on audio?
I don’t think people talk enough about how much sound and music boost performance. Everyone knows that feeling when your favorite song comes on and how it changes your mood. Studies show how that feeling takes over your body and suddenly your performance improves—it’s a big reason why people listen to music while working out. Plus, when you’re training, you need to focus, which often means blocking out your surroundings. A great pair of headphones does that for you, and that’s what’s so cool. If you turn on noise cancellation, it’s amazing how immersed you become in your own world, whether you’re at the gym, on a run, or anywhere else.
Vogue: The earbuds also include biometric integrations and heart rate monitoring. Is Beats exploring more health-tracking features at the intersection of wearable tech and sports?
Absolutely. That’s one of the coolest parts of being with Apple—we have incredible engineers constantly searching for and testing the next big technology. I see Beats as a high-performance company, so we’re always looking to help our customers get more of what they need. Adding heart rate monitoring to these earbuds is an amazing start.
With sports performance and heart rate tracking, people want more and more data on their performance, metrics and numbers they can review. The idea that your headphones can contribute to that data collection is really exciting. It aligns perfectly with people’s current health interests and their desire to constantly improve.
Vogue: In the past, tech brands tended to stay in their own lanes—audio, watches, etc. From a branding perspective, do you think tech brands should expand into more areas of people’s lives?
Completely. If you look back to when Beats started, it was all about sound and music. The focus was on making music sound the way the artist intended. Dr. Dre is in the studio and knows exactly how he wants things to sound—how do you replicate that for someone using headphones?
Sound is still the most important thing we do with headphones. But now it’s about so much more, like how our headphones can enhance your sports performance. Over time, what matters to consumers has really shifted.
Vogue: We’re seeing more audio collaborations, and you’ve mentioned that defiance and self-expression are key to Beats’ DNA. Would you say audio gear is becoming a fashion status symbol?
Yes, but audio performance still comes first. You need that foundation before you can focus on self-expression or status. Once you have that, I expect it to become more of an accessory in the future, similar to shoes, sneakers, or watch culture. We can lean into that more with headphones because it’s a way for people to express who they are and signal what matters to them—that’s powerful real estate.
With new Beats products, we usually start by telling the product story, then gradually connect it to culture through ambassadors, custom products, and collaborations. This is our first Powerbeats Pro 2 collaboration, and it comes a year after the launch.
Nike is already a brand deeply rooted in culture, and the Powerbeats Pro 2 are built on genuine performance with no gimmicks. That’s where the alignment is. So for me, product performance always comes first. Then, I think about how that extends into enabling self-expression and that feeling of defiance.Defiance and tapping into both brands—just look at the headphone color, it’s such a powerful expression, and I think that’s amazing. But behind it all is performance.
Vogue: How do you explore and decide on brand collaborations in the first place?
I keep a shortlist of brands that I personally admire and that align with Beats. It’s actually a pretty short list. I love having conversations with those brands about what we could create together, but a lot of those talks end because we can’t land on something truly special. We’re not interested in collaborating just for the sake of it.
Take our recent collaboration with Jennie from Blackpink, for example. We customized the product by adding bows and ribbons—something we’d never done before as an accessory on headphones. People went crazy for it; it really brought the product to life. Figuring out which brands make sense from both a product and storytelling perspective is one of the most fun parts of this job.
We’re also using collaborations to broaden who we’re speaking to. In one conversation, we can talk about Nike—a performance athletic brand—Jennie from the K-pop world, and our collaboration with Minecraft, which was all about connecting with Gen Z through gaming and virtual culture. Each release explores how far we can reach into these communities and connect them as Beats customers.
Vogue: Have you had collaborations that didn’t resonate as much with customers?
Yes, and honestly, those usually don’t get released. If something comes out, it means we believe it worked and both brands are proud of it. Many collaborations get pretty far along in the process but don’t make it because we—or the other brand—aren’t willing to compromise. We only partner with brands that have very high standards, so sometimes you just can’t get it across the finish line. And I think that’s okay—it makes the ones that do succeed even more special.
Vogue: Will we ever see Beats move into other product categories, especially given the new focus on performance and biometrics with Nike, and Apple’s innovation in wearables?
Beats is always exploring amazing technology. Our engineers look into anything interesting and innovative. We make great audio products and have recently moved into accessories, like cables, which we’ve had fun marketing—and we’ve seen great results, so we’ll likely expand there. I think Beats can extend into a lot of areas.
Vogue: Can we expect more collaborations in sports tech and performance wear?
Definitely. With Nike, the chemistry on this first collaboration has been so strong—and I think they feel the same way—that there’s clearly more our brands can do together in the future. There’s some really exciting stuff ahead for Beats and Nike.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the Beats and Nike partnership designed to sound like questions from real users
Beginner General Questions
Q Wait Beats and Nike are partnering What does that even mean
A Yes Its a collaboration where Beats headphones are designed to integrate seamlessly with the Nike Run Club and Nike Training Club apps Its about creating a unified audio and fitness experience
Q Why would a headphone company team up with a sports brand
A Its a strategic move Beats gets deeper into the fastgrowing fitness tech market and Nike enhances its ecosystem by offering premium motivating audio Theyre combining two powerful lifestyle brands to create a better workout experience
Q What do I actually get from this partnership as a user
A You get headphones with special features for Nike apps like onetouch access to workouts realtime audio coaching from Nike trainers and motivational playlists It makes starting and staying in a workout smoother
Q Do I have to use Nike apps to use these Beats
A No not at all The headphones will work like regular Bluetooth headphones with any device or app The Nikespecific features are a bonus for those who use their ecosystem
Q Are they making Nikebranded Beats headphones
A Often yes These partnerships usually result in special edition products that feature cobranding unique colorways inspired by Nike and sometimes even design tweaks for better fit during exercise
Advanced Practical Questions
Q Whats the real business reason behind this Isnt Beats already popular
A While Beats is strong in music and fashion the fitness tracker and hearable market is booming This partnership helps Beats compete directly with brands like Bose Jabra and Apple by locking into a dedicated fitness community
Q How does this differ from Apples own fitness offerings since Apple owns Beats
A Great question Apple Fitness is a broad subscriptionbased service for all Apple users The Beats x Nike partnership is more focused on the massive existing user base of the free Nike apps and leverages Nikes authentic athletic brand heritage reaching a slightly different audience