Beats has come up with another collaboration, and this time it’s with Amsterdam-based fashion brand Daily Paper. As part of Daily Paper’s spring/summer 2022 collection,… Some say it is because of the sweat as it is not water-resistant.
Available in four fun colors, there’s certainly plenty to love here—especially at this price point. One of the best things about neckbuds is that the actual buds are quite light, which makes for a pretty comfortable fit. True wireless buds have a lot going on under the hood, so they’re often weightier than non-TW earbuds, which leads to more ear fatigue and discomfort. It’s still very much present, though you may be underwhelmed if you’re the “give me all the bass you can stuff into my brain” type of listener. I find the balance to be very good for most listening purposes, but I personally prefer a bit more low end in music than what the Flex offers. That said, it’s not something I’ve noticed myself missing after just a few minutes of listening to the Flex.
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 studio3 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.
It uses Bluetooth 5.0 technology to provide low latency audio , which is useful when you want to avoid audio lag (e.g. when playing games). It is capable of a very high bitrate of 990kbps, which provides high resolution audio. It can also automatically adjust to a lower bitrate of 330kbps or 660kbps to increase stability.
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. The original Beats X beats solo pro wireless sold for around £120-£130 in the UK, and over the last few years they’ve slowly slipped down to £60-£90 depending on where you looked. The new Beats Flex rock out of the gate at just £49, a significantly lower entry point and makes them a really affordable set of wireless earphones.
Nor do they support the always-listening hands-free Siri mode, meaning you have to press and hold a button to talk to Apple’s voice assistant . The earbuds themselves are actually fairly light (18.6g), but the cord that runs between them is about 32 inches and wraps around the back of your neck. It’s a bit cumbersome having such a long cord wrap around your neck and, admittedly, having the two earbuds connected via a cable isn’t exactly what we’d consider the ideal solution in 2020. At 0.66 ounces, the Beats Flex is lightweight and isn’t cumbersome to wear around the neck when not in use. Your ears won’t feel weighed down when sporting them during exercises. I would say the comfort level is moderate, as I noticed the inner casing was adding slight pressure to the concha.
The earbuds themselves are the same size as the BeatsX, though Apple claims there’s a new proprietary layered driver inside. PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering lab-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. Beats estimates battery life to be roughly 12 hours, but your results will vary with your volume levels. Similarly warm sounding but with a slightly recessed mids and overall clearer and more transparent audio quality. However, paying more isn’t worth it, especially if you mostly care about sound quality.
The timing shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, considering Apple owns Beats and it knows most iPhone owners need some sort of headphones or earbuds. Even if it’s a basic pair that gets the job done, without all the bells and whistles like active noise-cancellation. At $11 off, Beats Flex headphones have never been cheaper. They feature the same Apple W1 chip found in the Beats Solo3, a built-in mic, USB-C charging support, and up to 12 hours of battery life on a full charge. Beats work with Apple and Android devices via the free Beats companion app. Unlike “true wireless” earbuds, the Flex are still connected by a fairly long wire that can hang either in front or behind your neck while you wear them .
Most of the time when you take them out and drop them down to your chest, they tend to find each other on their own — at least that was the case for me. Beats says this cable makes the Flex easy to coil up for storage. All the cables on these earbuds are flat, even the two more pliable ones that attach to the earbuds themselves. The neckband portion kind of stays put, but those long, rounded rectangles make curling or winding awkward. I wasn’t ever able to figure out a method that remedied my frustration here.
The advanced digital processors finetune the audio for a perfect and heartwarming listening experience. Moreover, they come up with four different sizes of eartips to help you get the best comfortable fit. Built-in microphone with wind reduction for elevated voice clarity. That’s not to say your entire high-end is missing, but simply that the Flex lack some of the sparkle you’ll get from slightly more generous drivers.