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. This is where earphones like the $49.99 Beats Flex fit in perfectly, with a neckband-style design and roughly 12 hours of battery life. If you have an iOS device, the earphones also feature Apple’s W1 chip for seamless pairing, just like the far more expensive $250 Airpods Pro.
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 in-ear fit is secure, particularly because the design eliminates any cable tug.
There’s no app for iOS because the features offered here are native on iOS thanks to the M1 chip in the Flex. The buds are light, there’s plenty of length to the connected cord so it doesn’t constantly pull on the buds, and even the controls on either side are lightweight enough that I don’t even notice them. Overall, these are probably some of the most comfortable neckbuds I’ve worn in … well, as long as I can remember, really.
In 2021, Cam stepped away from Review Geek to join Esper as a managing Editor. 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. That’s a really handy feature if you want to while away long flights and train journeys by watching TV and films together.
That’s likely a deliberate decision so that they don’t cannibalise the sales of the pricer Powerbeats and Powerbeats Pro, which are squarely aimed at the fitness market. They’re billed as a Class 1 Bluetooth device, meaning they’ll deliver a range of at least 20 metres, and that seems to be in keeping with what I’ve experienced. I always like to give an honest review from a neutral position. I hope my Beats Flex review may help you to choose the right earbuds.
You can toggle the automatic play/pause feature, which also applies to calls. Still, it’s worth having installed—you can use it to quickly see the remaining battery percentage of the buds if nothing else. I’ve reviewed a lot of true wireless earbuds over the last year, but it’s been a hot minute since I took a set of neckbuds for a whirl. The Beats Flex have been an excellent reminder that this type of earbud is still such a great choice if you want a solid set of ‘buds that won’t break the bank.
Turn the Beats Flex on and bring them close to your Apple device and you get quick pairing functionality, for example. Android users have to pair either manually via Bluetooth or by downloading the Beats app for Android, which offers quick pairing access, firmware updates and beats studio3 battery level information. Another thing to be aware of is that the Beats Flex aren’t rated for sweat or water resistance. If you need that reassurance, you’ve got to pay more money for the Powerbeats — also a neckband-style design — or the completely wireless Powerbeats Pro.
Sure, it lacks a few things, like accurate frequency response, sweat resistance, and a sub-standard microphone system, but all of this is forgivable at this price point. Whether you’re looking for a new pair of earbuds for running errands, or want a quick stocking stuffer for the holidays, the Beats Flex takes everything consumers liked about the BeatsX for a much cheaper price. We’ve made a big improvement to how we demonstrate the microphone performance of products we review. For iOS users, the Bluetooth pairing process hasn’t changed from the last few Apple and Beats headsets.
From the round button on the left-hand side, you can pause or play the music and skip through tracks. On the right, you’ll find the power button where you can activate Bluetooth as well. That is to say, they are wired to each other, not to your iPhone. If you want a true wireless pair of headphones, I highly recommend AirPods Pro for comfort and reliability or Powerbeats Pro for astounding audio quality.