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 flex review 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.
It holds the power button on the bottom ridge — exactly opposite the USB jack. The button also has a multi-color LED that lets you know when the Flex is charging, connected beats flex review or in pairing mode. And its location, resting against your collarbone, means you won’t mistake the power control for the volume buttons on the top of the other side.
Apple products are always expensive, so we were pleasantly surprised by the £99/$99 price tag of the newHomePod mini. And, without making any big fuss, the Apple-owned Beats By Dr Dre has released another product that offers great value for money, in the form of the new Beats Flex earbuds. On the contrary, I’d argue the Beats Flex offer a more enjoyable listen than the pricier Powerbeats beats studio3 Pro, high praise indeed for a pair of headphones that cost less than a third of the price. Despite that, they’re comfortable to wear for extended periods and the earbuds are magnetic so they’ll stay locked together around your neck when not in use. Rather neatly, they’ll also pause the music automatically when clipped together and play again when you pull them apart.
Earbuds lack an official IPX rating or sweat resistance, meaning that even a sweaty workout can pose a problem. That’s primarily due to the neckband, which adds to the weight and can start pulling on earbuds. However, for the price, not everything can be perfect, and the overall decent sound quality of the Flex lacks clarity, detail, and transparency. The Beats Flex are one of the easiest-to-recommend pairs of Beats headphones to date. That’s mostly because of the price, of course, but there are no major mis-steps here either.
10-Minute charge testing conducted with drained Beats Flex that were charged for 10 minutes, then audio playback was started until Beats Flex stopped playback. Battery life depends on device settings, environment, usage, and many other factors. The Flex headphones aren’t ‘true wireless stereo’ as the two little earbuds are still connected by a lightweight neckband that drapes over the back of your neck. However, many people prefer a neckband design – rather than the completely wireless design of Apple’s AirPods – as it’s easier to avoid losing them. And, although I’m never a big fan of the in-line controls you find on neckband-style earphones, I don’t mind those on the Beats Flex.
Considering the brand and the price, Beats Flex are made quite well. The plastic feels hard and of good quality, with all the pieces tightly glued together. You shouldn’t experience any problems during regular use, where the neck band doesn’t move much. You can hear instruments and effects slightly out of your head. While the MiniDSP H.E.A.R.S measured a considerable boost in the bass, it isn’t so bad. The Bluetooth connectivity was actually very strong – I wander away from my phone a lot and they stayed connected even when I was in a different room.
Once installed, you’ll have access to quick pairing, battery levels and any firmware updates that may come along in the future. What you can’t do on either iOS or Android is adjust the EQ or customize the on-board controls. The latter are pretty well sorted already, but the Flex could use a little help in the audio department.
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. Attached to the Flex cable are two buttons that let you adjust the volume, control playback and activate the voice assistant, which is particularly handy when you’re on the move. IF YOU’RE looking for a pair of cheap wireless earphones to get a loved one for Christmas, you could do a lot worse than the Beats Flex.