Even though I’m a freelancer now, PCMag has been my home for well over a decade, and audio gear reviews are still my primary focus. Prior to my career in reviewing tech, I worked as an audio engineer—my love of recording audio eventually led me to writing about audio gear. Get accurate beats studio3 bass and ultra-low distortion with an advanced acoustic platform featuring custom layered drivers, and then use one-tap Audio Sharing to sync with other Beats headphones or AirPods2. We gathered all the best Beats headphones currently available in one place so that you don’t have to.
While they don’t have active noise cancelling , they can still passively cut down a fair bit of ambient chatter around you. They also don’t leak a lot of audio, so you can listen to your audio at a high volume without disturbing others around you. Athletic listeners may want to invest in the Beats Fit Pro instead. This pair of noise cancelling earbuds houses the H1 chip and has a 6-hour battery life.
If you’re on Android, the process is a little different. Apple sneakily includes the easy connect card onto Android phones, but this requires you to download the Beats app first. Once you download the app and give it the appropriate permissions, then you’ll be walked through a similar pairing experience as you would on iOS.
Unfortunately, all these features are absent in Flex wireless earbuds. Flex wireless earbuds don’t come up with a carrying case or pouch. But you can fold and then keep them in your pocket without any worries, as they are flexible enough. Yet, they lack IP ratings for dust and water resistance. It is disappointing that the earbuds seem like they are prone to ripping. Right now, I am describing these two features of flex wireless headphones below.
The vocals are delivered cleanly and clearly, though some sibilance is added to the mix. The earphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.0 and support AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs, but beats studio3 not AptX. A Class 1 Bluetooth rating means they support connections up to 300 feet, which is well beyond the typical 30-foot range you get with most Class 2 Bluetooth devices.
Beats Flex sound quality will not blow anything out of the water but with the price of A$79.95, its combination of sound, design, and comfort combined makes it a good value, wireless earphones from Beats. If you are looking to replace your Apple EarBuds without paying too much, Beats Flex makes a great choice. Don’t get me wrong—there’s nothing amazing or standout about these earbuds. There is, however, automatic play/pause thanks to the magnets that keep the buds together when they’re not in your ears. But otherwise, they’re just a very standard set of wireless earbuds. To replace the BeatsX wireless neckband earbuds, Beats Flex is an even more paired down set of basic headphones.
Magnetic earbuds make listening that much easier by automatically playing music when they’re in your ears and pausing when they’re attached around your neck1. There’s one thing to note, though, as Apple doesn’t make any mention of IP rating for water beats flex review or sweat-resistance – and none of its promotional photos for the Flex shows them being used for exercise either. So the emphasis here seems to be more on general use when you’re out and about during the day, rather than on sport or exercise.
Fast charging promises 1.5 hours of use from a 10-minute charge. The Apple U1 may, at this early stage, be a little too expensive. And even if it is not, the rumored AirPods Studio would be a much better vehicle for the day-to-day benefits of that hardware. 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. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies.
Of course, there are still some features only reserved for Apple users, like Apple’s easy pairing feature, and Audio Sharing. Magnets that hold earbuds together can also pose a minor cosmetic problem. After constantly clapping the buds together, you might create scratches. Of course, that’s only cosmetics and doesn’t impact performance. Furthermore, every wired headphone’s weak point are strain reliefs.