The mic struggles to separate your voice from background noise, even in a moderately loud environment like a busy street. The Beats Flex have a decent noise isolation performance. They reduce some bass-range sounds like bus and plane engines but still aren’t ideal for cutting out noise during a trip or commute. Ηowever, they do a good job of reducing mid-range noise like ambient conversations, and they can also cut out a significant amount of higher-pitched noise like the hum of an A/C unit. Like most in-ear headphones, the Beats Flex Wireless are very breathable.
You may have forgotten, but Apple bought Beats a few years ago for a lot of money. And while the company puts most of its efforts into the AirPods and AirPods Pro, it hasn’t completely forgotten about the Beats brand. The new Beats Flex is basically a tweaked pair of BeatsX at a lower price point. The Beats Flex has Apple-exclusive features, but it also plays well with Android phones.
It’s the most seamless setup possible and you can also use AudioSharing. If your friend has another pair of Flex, Beats headphones, or AirPods, you can share the audio with them. It’s more flexible and beats studio3 convenient, plus the Flex-Form cable is extremely lightweight and made of durable Nitinol material. You get four tip sizes in the box and I found them quite uncomfortable after a few hours of use.
Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. Beats estimates battery life to be roughly 12 hours, but your results will vary with your volume levels. See the guide to get the best earbuds under $50 that you can get today. Similarly warm sounding but with a slightly recessed mids and overall clearer and more transparent audio quality. However, paying more isn’t worth it, especially if you mostly care about sound quality.
These headphones have outstanding frequency response consistency. Once you achieve a proper fit and seal, you should get consistent bass and treble delivery each time you use them. On-device controls allow you to adjust volume, manage music, take calls and activate your voice assistant.
However, there are benefits to this classic style and the Beats Flex are a great budget buy for runners. And for general listening if you’re not going to sit down and critique every last element of their sound quality. As with all Apple wireless headphones that use the company’s W1 or H1 wireless chips, pairing the Flex to an iOS device is a snap. Simply turn them on and wait for your iPhone to show you the one-tap pairing animation. If you own more than one Apple device, switching the Flex from one to the other is also a breeze.
The W1 chip in the Beats Flex is the predecessor to the H1, so the H1 chip brings better stability and battery life, as well as always-on Siri support, among other things. Download theBeats app for Androidfrom the Google Play store. The app will give you access to firmware updates, as well as additional device controls. The Beyerdynamic Blue Byrd might look a bit retro, but it boasts modern performance and features. There is also a good amount of emphasis in the upper-mids that gives a good bump in volume to vocals in songs and podcasts. The vocals in Julia by Retro Stefson are easy to hear in almost any environment.