Beats Flex review: Not true wireless earbuds, but a good $50 AirPods alternative

MacRumors attracts a broad audience of both consumers and professionals interested in the latest technologies and products. We also boast an active community focused on purchasing decisions and technical aspects of the iPhone, beats solo pro wireless iPod, iPad, and Mac platforms. The fourth-generation iPhone SE will feature a 6.1-inch LCD display and a “notch” cutout at the top of the display, according to Display Supply Chain Consultants analyst Ross Young.

beats flex review

Finder.com.au has access to track details from the product issuers listed on our sites. Although we provide information on the products offered by a wide range of issuers, we don’t cover every available product or service. With Beats being owned by Apple, the Beats Flex naturally work best with other Apple devices and can quick pair as with AirPods. They’ll also work with Android devices, and there’s a dedicated companion app. When it comes to smarts, the Beats Flex are on the more basic side of the spectrum. They won’t automatically turn off if you’re not listening to them, and they won’t pause your music or podcast when you pull them out of your years unless you clasp the magnetic ends together.

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.

The plastic feels hard and of good quality, with all the pieces tightly glued together. You shouldn’t experience any problems during regular use, where the neck band doesn’t beats studio3 move much. You can hear instruments and effects slightly out of your head. While the MiniDSP H.E.A.R.S measured a considerable boost in the bass, it isn’t so bad.

One of the first questions to ask of any pair of earphones to use while you work out is whether they will stay in place as you run, or jump about at the gym. Dspite not carrying an IP rating for dust or water protection, a source at Beats tells me the Flex are in fact quite capable of dealing with a sweaty workout. The USB-C charging port is waterproof and the controls have all been sealed against moisture. Positioned on the left earbud wire, it was ideally located to capture speech. The Beats Flex are almost as good, but the location of the mic on the Flex neckband does result in slightly worse quality.