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 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.
Magnetic earbuds automatically play music when they’re in your ears and pause when they’re attached around your neck. Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET’s Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He’s also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks. If you tried the BeatsX before, then you know what to expect here.
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.
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.
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.
Cameron Summerson is Review Geek’s former Editor in Cheif and first started writing for LifeSavvy Media in 2016. Cam’s been covering technology for nearly a decade and has written over 4,000 articles and hundreds of product reviews in that time. He’s been published in print magazines and quoted as a smartphone expert in the New York Times.
I’ve given the Flex praise for their bass-forward, midrange-friendly soundscape, and for many casual listeners, those elements are crucial. However, the snug fit and tiny drivers don’t always treat higher-pitched treble frequencies with the same interest. I stacked these up against some of the pricier headphones I have on hand, and beats solo pro wireless found that the Flex held up decently when compared to some Audio-Technica open-backs, a favorite pair of mine that retail around $200. Get accurate 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.
There’s a volume rocker on one side, a play/pause/multi-function on the inside of the same side, and a power/pair button on the other side. The design is comfortable enough and easy to wear, but I found the neckband to be less convenient and get in the way. My preference would just be a cable that hangs under my neck or around the back of my neck. The neckband got in the way during activities with a lot of movement (especially crunches!). The linguini cord goes where it wants to and ends up rubbing against our chin. If you own an Apple phone or tablet, you’ll be able to make the most of everything these wireless earbuds have to offer because they use the Apple W1 chip.
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.
The earphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.0 and support AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs, but 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. Besides that, they offer basic functionalities without app support or dedicated chips for faster Bluetooth pairing.