I was stunned at the affordable price point of these. I’ll definitely be picking up some black ones. I love that they have the W1 chip, and pair like AirPods. Very very appealing.
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Review: Beats Flex Offer a Great Entry Point to Apple's Wireless Earphone Ecosystem for Just $50
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But why having this with USB C while the iPhone 12 series are lightning?
Exactly! Apple removes the chargers and earphones(which prob costs them $5 to make) and includes a cable
90% of people cannot charge their phone with
So you buy the $1399 iPhone max and then you need to spend at least $30 for a charger and headphones.
I love my iPhone but damn!
Amazon USB-c to type a is probably about $8.00
A lot of android users buy beats headphones now that there is a pair starting at $50 they will really sell. Especially considering Best Buy and others will probably ha s great discounts on them.
You literally make more waste from your going to a fast food place once, or even eating a single meal with food you bought at a grocery store than you from these tiny earbuds. A paperclip you throw in the trash has more metal than one of these earbuds. Get some perspective...
Exactly! Apple removes the chargers and earphones(which prob costs them $5 to make) and includes a cable 90% of people cannot charge their phone with
Think about it... Apple knows most people have a Lightning - USB-A cable. For those that have already moved to USB-C, such as myself, Apple includes a Lightning - USB-C cable. Easy.
Life goes on.
I have had 2 pairs of Beats X and love them. I am not a frequent headphone user so they are more than sufficient for me. Only reason I have had 2 is I lost my 1st pair. When and if they break or I lose them again ill definitely get a pair of these at that price.
Good thorough review.
I’m looking forward to my flex arriving this week to replace my broken beatsX. With the flex they seemed to have addressed all the design issues I had with the beatsX, and the low price and increased battery life is a pleasant shock. That auto pause is a nifty addition too. Would someday also love auto mono sound when only one ear bud is in. The only thing I’m super bummed about is it not having the H1 chip. I move from device to device a lot throughout the day so I was excited when I saw the automatic switching feature announced. I would have gladly paid more to have the chip upgraded in these. But for my uses, the form factor and battery life of the flex still comes out way above other options.
Edit- and I hope the build quality is improved over the beatsX.
I’m looking forward to my flex arriving this week to replace my broken beatsX. With the flex they seemed to have addressed all the design issues I had with the beatsX, and the low price and increased battery life is a pleasant shock. That auto pause is a nifty addition too. Would someday also love auto mono sound when only one ear bud is in. The only thing I’m super bummed about is it not having the H1 chip. I move from device to device a lot throughout the day so I was excited when I saw the automatic switching feature announced. I would have gladly paid more to have the chip upgraded in these. But for my uses, the form factor and battery life of the flex still comes out way above other options.
Edit- and I hope the build quality is improved over the beatsX.
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I'm sceptical these will sound better than any number of cheapo bluetooth earphones on Amazon - I think my last lot (with ear clips) were about £18. $50 is a weird price point - too expensive to be disposable & too cheap to be good.
The price was low enough for me to add a set to my cart when I preordered my iPhone. I had previously owned a pair of BeatsX's that I was mostly happy with until the day they randomly stopped working just outside of the one-year warranty -- a flaw that I've come to discover is not that uncommon if you go by the complaints of other BeatsX owners online. The similarity between the X and Flex had me second guess, but if $50 gets me something that lasts a year and is more convenient (to me, at least) than Airpods, then I might not be so upset about spending another $50 next year if these crap out like the X's did -- especially if they update them with an H1 (or H2 by then?) chip.
You can't tell how headphones sound from a picture. BeatsX are excellent headphones.
Apple will not make or sell 100s of millions of Beats Flex headphones like the iPhone. That's the difference.
Can you provide a list of wireless earbuds or headphones for $30?
A long wire will pull ear buds out but these are short. In the beatsX, the wires were short and while one ear bud was fine for me, the other one had volume/playback controls on the wire which bounced around while running and pulled the ear bud out. Looks like they realized the issue and fixed the design for the flex by moving the controls to the neck base.
Are the 4.98 skullcandys even Bluetooth (much less have the W1 chip)?? Tech costs money...?
And what are you basing your “probably” sound comparison on? Nothing?
I do wish companies would stop making batteries irreplaceable, even for small devices. Horrible for the environment and waste of money. At the VERY least make the battery and entire device recyclable.
Personally, I just love the form factor. I wouldn’t mind paying more for more premium features (and I guess design) but as it is, these are the ONLY headphones in the lineup that fit my needs.
You could also look at it like Apple removed the included cheap wired headphones that less people were using, and so to compensate they drastically reduced the entry price of the next wireless headphones they made?
All apple’s wireless headphones are disposable. And not all headphones need to sound amazing.
I just wanted a no frills bluetooth earbuds for my Ipod Nano 7th generation, currently when I do yardwork the earbuds sometimes get ripped out. I don't want Airpods as I don't like the way they fit in the ear but I definitely don't want the wires of the Beats Flex bouncing around my face, this never happens with my cheap wired Sony earbuds.
Simple yardword solution for now, wired earbuds go under my shirt to avoid them getting ripped out.
Not sure the flex wires would get in the way for you. They never really got in my way on my beatsX. But it seems like your current solution works well, so if it ain’t broke.. But if you do end up wanting wireless, you could also probably pick up a pair of cheap true wireless ear buds for around the same price as the flex.
Yes, they might not be as obtrusive as the quoted poster suggested, from the picture though they appear to be more in your face than the really thin wired Sony earbuds I currently have.
And right now Best Buy has the Sony copy of the Beats Flex on sale for $18, probably can't tell the audio difference.
$18 wow nice price. And with your nano, the W1 chip is probably irrelevant.
Apple is saving the planet for you and your children to buy more Apple products far into the future. Don't you feel fortunate?
On my third BeatsX. Finally, this one is made well and has lasted longer than the previous 2 put together. It looks like the build quality of them were hit or miss.
A shame the on/off is still a button. I was hoping it would be a switch so I wouldn’t have to look at it to know if it’s on or off
A shame the on/off is still a button. I was hoping it would be a switch so I wouldn’t have to look at it to know if it’s on or off
Wow! W1 equipped headphones for $50 is a bargain. Really.
While the W1 is nice, why not get true wireless, great sound quality, touch controls, better battery life, and...wait for it...ANC. All this for nearly the same price found in the Jlab Jbuds Air ANC.
I mean honestly, I would consider the Beats Flex if it wasn’t for the wire.
I mean honestly, I would consider the Beats Flex if it wasn’t for the wire.
I've had a set since October 2018 and they are still working great, 2 years later. As soon as they kick the bucket, I'll be happy to buy a new pair of Flex at $50.
Does anyone know if the "fins" from Beats X will fit on the new Flex? That is the make or break point for me. The fins hold them in my ear perfectly, even if I want to pull them slightly out to have a conversation or hear what's going on around me, and they are so comfortable.
I have the BeatsX for 3 years and only recently started having issues with the battery (3 hours). Was about to get the battery replaced by Apple for $56 dollars until they just released these.