So during their October 2019 keynote, apple announced their new iPhone 12
along with their new HomePod mini. But they also quietly released their new Beats Flex
by just throwing them up on their website. Now overall the beats flex
are a more budget friendly version of the Beats X with some minor cosmetic and tech spec changes.
Now when it comes to pricing the beats flex retail for $50 where as for comparison sake the Beats X
used to retail for $100 when they first came out. Now overall I do feel that if you are looking for
a pair of budget earbuds I think you’re better off just going with the OnePlus Buds which can
be found on sale for $60 over the Beats Flex cause they’re just way more convenient wether
you’re an iPhone user or an Android user. The only thing the Beats Flex really has going for it
is Apple’s W1 chip which will really only come in handy if you already have multiple apple products.
Now for me the biggest draw back about the beats flex is that they’re a pair of
neck band earbuds. Which quite frankly is a style that really came and went very fast mainly cause
there are a lot of great cheap truly wireless earbuds at there like the OnePlus Buds.
And you know, for someone who’s gotten really used to the convenience of truly wireless earbuds
its very hard for me to go back or recommend a pair of neck band earbuds.
Now when it comes to fit yeah these earbuds are in ear earbuds and they fit well,
but since they rest on your neck they can feel rather cumbersome
and also keep in mind that don’t come included with Ear fins like the Beats X did.
Now when it comes to tech specs the strangest thing for me is that the Beats Flex charge via
a USB C port. Where as the Beats X, Powerbeats, Powerbeats Pro, and Beats Solo Pro all charge
via a lighting port. Which makes charging your iPhone and headphones really convenient
cause you can use the same cable. But since the Beats Flex charge via a USB
C port it doesn’t feel like apple is targeting iPhone users for these earbuds.
Not even iPhone users that are using cheaper iPhones like lets say the iPhone SE.
However when it comes to battery life the Beats Flex have an advertised battery life
of 12 hours where as the Beats X had an advertised battery life of 8 hours.
But again bringing it back to the OnePlus buds they have a combined
battery life of 30 hours. And the earbuds themselves can go for 7 hours straight.
Now when it comes to Bluetooth connectivity the Beats Flex are using Apple’s W1 chip
which debuted with the original AirPods. Which makes pairing with your iPhone super easy when
you first get them and you can also easily switch between any of your apple devices associated with
your iCloud account. But obviously the Beats Flex will still work with any android device just fine.
However keep in mind… apple’s newer AirPods are now using their newer H1 chip
which besides faster connection speeds also support always listening Siri.
So with earbuds and headphones that are using the H1 chip you can just be like Hey Siri call so and
so. So jut keep in mind even though the Beats Flex are using the W1 chip which is nice, they
don’t have always listening Siri like apple’s other newer earbuds or headphones.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these earbuds… these earbuds sound good enough
for a pair of $50 earbuds. And since they are in ear ear buds their sound quality does benefit
from this. However at the end of the day these earbuds are all vocals and bass. Everything else
is just very hard to hear cause they just don’t have the best interment separation…
and sometimes the highs do like to get a little tinny. But these earbuds do have bass for days.
So overall for me its very hard to recommend the Beats Flex when there are a lot of great of cheap
truly wireless earbuds out there. Since these are a pair of neck band style earbuds
they just feel super cumbersome and they can be rather hard to put away in your pocket.
Even though I think its awesome the Beats Flex have Apple’s W1 chip which makes switching
between your apples devices super easy… since these earbuds charge via a USB C port it
feels like apple isn’t targeting iPhone users with these earbuds.
So whether youre an iPhone or an android user on a budget I highly
recommend you just spend the extra $10 bucks and get yourself a pair of Oneplus
buds. In the long run they are going to be way more convenient.