They just feel flat, and that’s consistent across genres. Sometimes you can hear ample boom, others it can get lost from one song to the next. More atmospheric indie rock bands that create songs that have a lot of dimensionality don’t have that airy quality on the Flex. Artists like The Appleseed Cast that usually layer textures beats flex review of drums, guitars, synths and more lack that carefully constructed spatial component on the Flex. Where the real functionality comes into play is in Apple’s W1 chip. It’s the older sibling to the more powerful and faster H1 chip found in the AirPods Pro and recent Powerbeats models, but it’s still a smoother operator.
A volume rocker is on the top edge of an oversized Tic Tac that houses some of the Flex’s components. Inside near the front edge is a single circular multi-function button. That control handles play/pause , skipping tracks forward , returning to the previous song and summoning your virtual assistant . Because these are all physical buttons, they’re reliable and easy to use. Even when you have to double- or triple-press, the Flex receives each command without issue.
Rather surprisingly, they charge via USB-C, not Lightning, as has been the norm with recent Beats products and battery life is impressive. When fully charged, Beats claims the Flex will deliver up to 12 hours of playback and you can also get 90 minutes of usage from a mere 10-minute charge when the battery gets low. Beats Flex is better than AirPods as they have 7 hours longer battery life and 3.5 hours shorter charge time. Passive noise reduction and an inline control panel can also be found in Beats. You can buy the Beats Flex in black, blue, yellow and grey.
You’ll be able to shout out voice commands and take care of common tasks like setting up calendar invites or voice-to-text friends with ease. In terms of style, these are some of the most attractive buds in any price class or category, thanks to Beats’ portfolio of bold, eye-grabbing colors. Flame Blue and Yuzu Yellow will definitely be the two most popular options for ornate music listening.
And some people just flat-out don’t want completely wireless earbuds, which can be easily misplaced. So Apple-owned Beats made the $50 Flex as an entry-level Bluetooth option for iPhone users . If you need a cheapish pair of wireless headphones – especially for an iPhone 12 given they no longer include bundled buds – the Beats Flex beats studio3 are a reliable set. Unlike most earbuds these days, you won’t find any tap or gesture controls. Instead, there’s a multi-function button on the neckband that can be used for pausing, skipping, or returning to a previous track. While the Beats Flex are wireless buds, they still have a neckband style wire connecting each end.