The volume rocker on the top of the left pod is handy for quick adjustments. This isn’t classic Beats sound of old, swimming in mid-bass with a very overt generalized bass boost. Still, they have a boost in the low bass and sub-bass frequencies, which is particularly good at giving electronic and pop music more energy. It is much harder to test the signal of Bluetooth headphones than it was in 2019. Packed train stations are the perfect place to see if a pair’s signal will break up thanks to interference. And train stations just aren’t as busy as they once were.
The design may look quite similar to the Powerbeats 2020 compared to Powerbeats Pro, with its behind-the-neck band design. However, Beats Flex has a somewhat longer band which borrows the same design from the BeatsX (which I haven’t tried/reviewed before). beats flex review – Apple iPhone 12 comes without any earbuds in the packaging and it might be a cringe news for some.
The boosted bass response is noticeable in the song No Fear No More by Madeon. When I sit in my quiet room, unencumbered by external noise, the bassline sounds overpowering. This makes sense because bass notes are tuned to sound twice as loud as low-midrange notes. However, it beats studio3 plays to my advantage when I walk to the grocery store because I can more easily keep tabs on the main beat. My ears work best with the double-flanged tips, but your mileage may vary. As long you don’t plan on working out with this, the fit shouldn’t pose much of an issue.
The earbuds charge via USB-C, and the headphones are packaged with a short USB-C charging cable in the box. Like the iPhone 12, there’s no USB-C charging brick included, so you’ll actually have to invest in one if you don’t already. The earbuds also provide a nice 1.5 hours of extra battery life on a ten-minute fast charge. Available in black, blue, gray, or yellow models, the Flex’s neckband design features two compartments that help keep the cable in place, while also housing ports and controls. The left compartment has a multifunction button that controls various functions , as well as a volume rocker and microphone.
At the other extreme, the high-end delivers clean vocals, though again some of the sparkle that pricier headphones serve up wasn’t quite there. The most welcome surprise was to the midrange, where Beats’ earbuds deliver an unexpected level of detail. When you remove the headphones from your ears, a magnetic system “sticks” them together, back to back, and automatically pauses music playback, which is very convenient. You have to fumble a bit at first to find the playback and volume controls on the case, but you get used to it quickly. However, we would have liked the cable between the two boxes to be a little longer, especially if it rests on a jacket and not directly on the neck. My one minor complaint is that the play/pause button is pretty hard to feel out blindly with your thumb.
There are four total pairs of silicone eartips included, in various sizes. In addition to the eartips, there’s a short USB-C cable for charging, which connects to an uncovered port on the left compartment. The Beats Flex earphones offers a bass-forward sound signature and the easy connectivity of Apple’s W1 chip for just $50. Although they’re just small earbuds, they pack a 14-hour battery life, 2 hours more than the Flex. On top of extensive controls, the app also lets you enable the auto play feature when magnetically attaching both earbuds. Of course, looking at the price, your expectations have to be relatively low.
You can take calls when they ring through your phone by pressing the multi-function button once on the left-hand side control module. Apple claims that the beats Flex can last up to 12 hours, meaning they can give you 12 hours of playback on a full charge. Now, keep in mind that this is with “moderate volume.” So, if you blast your beats, you’re not going to reach this high number. These are not noise-cancelling buds, and the passive isolation you get with the in-ear design is basic at best. They’ll cut out a bit of chatter if you’re taking calls, but they don’t help at all in getting rid of the loud chatter on trains or buses.
In this price range, we’re starting to see a few interesting true wireless options, some of which are even gym-friendly with water-resistant builds, like the $60 EarFun Air or the $35 Tribit FlyBuds 3. For the price, however, the Beats Flex deliver a commendable user experience and solid audio for anyone who wants added bass depth with balance. Everyone knows the audio brand Beats, first created by Dr Dre and later sold on to Apple, it’s one of the top dogs in music listening tech. Their devices take some of the top spots across all types of headphones from the best true wireless earbuds to the best noise-cancelling headphones. In the past, products like the Beats Powerbeats Pro and Beats Studio3 Wireless have impressed us here at T3, but you’re looking at spending upwards of $150 on those.
(Apple promises 12 hours of battery life.) Even better, Beats finally embraced USB-C with these earbuds, so you no longer need a Lightning cable to charge up. This makes the Flex a more appealing buy for Android users, who likely have no Lightning cables on hand. The USB-C cord included in the box is, like, two inches long, rendering it almost useless. But if you are grabbing those shiny, new, square iPhone 12 and looking for some affordable, wireless, Bluetooth earphones, you don’t have to look far. Apple Beats Flex retails for A$79.95 with very easy pairing to iPhone users and comes with a not-so-bad audio quality for the price. It’s probably one of the most affordable Beats audio earphones/headphones too.