Apple Beats Flex review: Frankenstein’s creation

Comfort is great, and you can wear them all day long without experiencing fatigue. However, the fit isn’t ideal, as earbuds quickly pop out during light sports activities. Speaking beats studio3 of chips, despite having one, a companion app for Android gives you the ability to check battery status percentages and lets you customize features, just like on an iOS device.

beats flex review

If that stuff matters to you more than the name, then maybe the Beats Flex aren’t right for you. This is why they’re one of our top picks in our best Beats headphones guide. The Beats Studio Buds is a middling pair of noise cancelling earphones that actually works as well with Android phones as it does with iPhones. While the Studio Buds is significantly pricier than beats studio3 the Beats Flex, it’s still more affordable than the Beats Powerbeats Pro and is much more portable thanks to the compact design. Listeners who are drawn in by the AirPods Pro’s noise cancellation but want to express their style a bit more should grab the Beats Studio Buds. There’s a new trick when it comes to the earphones being put together with the magnets.

Indeed, when it comes to instrument separation, I’m not sure I’ve heard anything quite like it in a pair of headphones at this price. The power button of Flex Beats features a LED light to indicate power and battery life; this glows white for on, flashes when pairing, and blinks red when charging. It’s hard to imagine a more complete pair of affordable neckband in-ears on the market right now, whether you’re an iPhone or Android user. If all you need is something that stays around your neck all day and lets you conveniently answer calls and listen to music, Beats’ budget in-ears will fit the task perfectly. While it’s not exactly the same in the Beats Flex, it is far more similar to Powerbeats Pro than Beats X and – so despite being cheaper than the X was at launch – the Flex actually sounds better than the X. There’s a clarity to the vocals and details, while the lower bass notes don’t fall away or get crunched when the volume drops off.

Everything just sounds the same and while that’s nothing new at this price, it’s still a disappointment as Beats once had a distinctive sound. It is therefore necessary to carefully choose the size of the end caps to obtain good comfort, but above all good passive insulation. You shouldn’t have a problem, because Beats delivers four pairs of eartips in different sizes. The headphones fit well in the ears and deliver a satisfactory sound, but lacks a bit of depth. The measurement of the bandwidth reveals that the Beats Flex give pride of place to the mediums, but cannot correctly reproduce the highs from 4000 Hz, nor the bass below 200 Hz.

The Flex are very much designed for day-to-day casual listening so that’s just fine. They don’t isolate you from outside noise all that well compared with some competitors, however. They cost just $50, far less than most Beats headphones, and are a pair of wireless earphones with a neckband.

For daily chores and errands, the Beats Flex is perfectly fine, but it doesn’t have an official IP rating to protect against water damage. While these wireless neckbuds work well with Android, you’ll really get the best value if you pair them with an iOS device. This said, it is unlikely you’re playing tracks like this often, and I’ve seen audio systems costing £15,000 struggle so it shouldn’t be taken as too much of a negative. The overall look and design has been tweaked in minor ways in most respects. Instead controls are now integrated into the battery “things” .