As recently as 2017, one could argue that most true wireless in-ear designs were beyond the budgets of many music-loving commuters. However, a less fancy neckband design offered a wallet-friendly and still wireless solution. Besides hands-free Siri, the more expensive H1 Chip supports Bluetooth 5 versus the W1’s Bluetooth 4.2, which means you’ll get a slightly longer battery life with the H1 Chip, too.
Years after ditching the headphone jack, Apple is now doing away with including a pair EarPods with its latest iPhones. That makes finding a pair of affordable earphones more of a necessity than a luxury. Not everyone is in love with true wireless, cable-free options—they tend to be expensive and have mediocre battery life.
The $50 I spent on these was more than worth it considering I almost bought a pair of Samsung ear buds for $180. These may not be the best sounding headphones from Beats, and the neckband feels like too much extra, but the price is nothing to sneeze at. As for treble and midrange, that’s really where these ‘buds have the biggest impact. Cameron Summerson is Review Geek’s former Editor in Cheif and first started writing for LifeSavvy Media in 2016. Cam’s been covering technology for nearly a decade and has written over 4,000 articles and hundreds of product reviews in that time. He’s been published in print magazines and quoted as a smartphone expert in the New York Times.
The people I talked to said I sounded clear and the noise reduction outdoors in noisier environments was good. You can answer and end calls with the button on the left module, where there’s also a rocker switch for volume control. While playing music, tapping the universal control button twice skips tracks forward. I don’t know if the Flex quite measures up to the AirPods for making calls but it’s close.
I’ve used Powerbeats Pro, Powerbeats, and now Beats Flex, and in terms of in-ear comfort, they’re all pretty much the same — comfortable. Powerbeats Pro are still some of the most comfortable in-ear headphones I’ve ever used, surpassed only by AirPods Pro in terms of comfort. A USB-C cable is provided for charging the Flex, and there are four sizes of ear-tips included as well, so most people should be able to find a set that provides beats flex review a good fit. If you’re an iPhone user that’ll mean you likely need to bring along an additional charger to charge your headphones. That’s hardly a deal-breaker but it’s frustrating when previous Beats headphones have charged via a Lightning connector. IOS users can also take advantage of Apple’s Audio Sharing feature, which lets you listen to the same music as friends or family with a recent pair of Beats headphones or Airpods.
The Beats Flex may not have a charging case, but with 12 hours of continuous operation, they can truly last an entire day before needing to be plugged in. You never beats solo pro wireless have to worry about losing an earbud, there’s no bulky charging case to stash in your pocket or purse. It’s slightly thinner on the Flex, but still just as robust.
The earphones look like they’d be good for the gym, but there’s actually no IP rating, so we can’t recommend wearing them in the rain, getting them sweaty, or rinsing them off. That said, Beats reps inform us that the USB-C connector is waterproof, and the buttons are sealed to prevent potential liquid ingress. So there is a degree of water resistance here, but without a rating to give us a concrete idea of just how water resistant the earphones are, you’d be wise to avoid getting them wet. The Beats Flex earphones offers a bass-forward sound signature and the easy connectivity of Apple’s W1 chip for just $50. More so, earbuds offer active noise cancellation and ambient sound mode.