Beats Flex Review: Apples Budget-Friendly Bluetooth Earbuds

Perhaps the most notable design element is the magnetic earbuds. The back of the buds will snap together when they dangle down from your neck. While the Flex doesn’t have wear detection that automatically pauses when you remove them from your ears, they will pause when the two earbuds are stuck beats studio3 together. And the audio will resume on its own when you pull them apart. Most of the time when you take them out and drop them down to your chest, they tend to find each other on their own — at least that was the case for me. Beats says this cable makes the Flex easy to coil up for storage.

Music doesn’t automatically pause when you take an earbud out, either, only when the earbuds click together magnetically, and there’s no water resistance rating. Unlike “true wireless” earbuds, the Flex are still connected by a fairly long wire that can hang either in front or behind your neck while you wear them . Considering both sides of the wire feature an in-line controller, the Flex are surprisingly light.

Ηowever, battery performance can vary with real-life usage, so your experience may vary. These headphones also don’t have any power-saving features and can’t be used while charging. For $50, I wasn’t expecting all that much, but the Beats Flex are a pleasant surprise. You get an Apple experience for much less than most Apple products cost, and you don’t have to give up any important features. The audio quality is great, and the battery life is solid. My one criticism is that the neckband design does seem a bit outdated in 2020, but for some folks, this design is just more useful.

beats flex review

The left side has the primary volume and playback/skip/Siri controls. Despite a durable plastic coating and six spare silicone tips, it’s worth noting the Flex have no IPX rating, so they’re not sweat or water-resistant. A shame, but then neither were the more expensive X, so if you want workout earphones perhaps consider the Powerbeats range. beats solo pro wireless If you are searching for wireless headphone and don’t want to go with bean-sized TWS earbuds or giant-sized Over-Ear headphones, the next best option for you to choose is the wireless neckband. In the last few years, audio technology has progressed drastically, and headphone has become more innovative and offers more features than ever before.

The earbuds’ housing is relatively small and unintrusive. Its smooth surface prevents the in-ear headphones from poking into your ears. Since the cable likes to twist, it’s sometimes difficult to locate the on-device controls. You’re constantly brushing the modules with your fingers searching for the correct button. The Flex earbuds are well designed with a balanced fit featuring two pods either side of a flat, semi-flexible cable that rests on the back of the neck. The earbuds are then connected to the pods via further flat, flexible cables.

Another big feather in the Beats Flex’s cap is the quality of the materials and the overall design. Apple sent us the “Yuzu Yellow” model for testing, and while the coloration is pleasingly subdued , I’m just as impressed by the build quality and intuitive control placement. Then pinching them and dapping a tiny bit of super glue to keep the fusion point connected worked like magic. One thing to mention, reset and firmware update couldn’t help at all. On the contrary, Studio 3 is more comfortable and came with an audio cable to use when wired.