While I’m a little late to the party buying the Beats Flex headphones, I had always fancied a pair and had a specific use for them.
I’m an iPhone user and already own AirPods, as well as some cheaper Soundcore earbuds as a backup. I walk daily and occasionally find that my AirPods can fall out, which isn’t ideal when I nearly lost one in a canal as part of my daily walks. Because of that I picked up the cheaper Soundcore pair as a spare, but the Beats Flex always seemed like they might be the better option for that role and for certain situations.
The fact that Beats are effectively an Apple product is appealing. They contain Apple technology and integrate with the iPhone in a similar fashion to AirPods. While they are wireless, the around-the-neck cable design also appealed to me, along with the ability to still use Siri easily.
The available colours include black, blue, yellow and grey. I opted for the grey version and ordered them from Amazon with next day delivery.
The packaging is small, compact and fully recyclable cardboard. Inside the box are the Beats Flex themselves, a USB-C charging cable, instructions and a small box containing different sized ear tips.
The Beats needed charging before I could use them. Once they had some power I was able to pair them with my iPhone and the familiar Apple connection prompt appeared, very similar to the AirPods pop-up but with the Beats image instead. They can also connect to Android devices using standard Bluetooth.
After charging and connecting, I selected the ear tips that fitted best and checked the settings on my iPhone. One thing I changed immediately was disabling automatic phone call answering in the settings.
Design wise, the Beats Flex have a small control module on each side of the neckband. One side houses the power button, while the other includes the volume rocker and a multi-function button. The earbuds themselves are magnetic and snap together when hanging around your neck, automatically pausing playback when connected. There is also a small black panel on the module which acts as the Bluetooth antenna.
My experience of the sound quality is good for what they are. At around £45 they represent decent value. I also like the convenience of simply letting them hang around your neck when you’re not using them.
As expected at this price point there is no active noise cancellation, but that isn’t something I expected or particularly needed.
From what I can tell, Beats and Apple don’t tend to update the firmware on these headphones very often. One small quirk is when Siri interrupts during something like an exercise update. With AirPods the music dims and Siri speaks over the top, whereas the Beats stop the music entirely before Siri speaks. It’s a minor point but noticeable.
The Bluetooth connection has been very stable and reliable. If Apple were ever to release a new version of the Beats Flex, the only thing that could really be improved is the function button. The power button and volume rocker are fine, but the multi-function button is quite small and not always the easiest to press accurately.
The controls are straightforward: One press plays or pauses music Two presses skip forward Three presses go back a track A long press activates Siri
Battery life is rated at around 12 hours which is perfectly respectable. I keep mine near a USB-C charger and top them up when needed. If the battery is flat, a quick 10-minute charge will give roughly an hour or so of playback thanks to the Fast Fuel charging feature.
One thing to remember is that you need to power them off manually, otherwise the battery will slowly drain. They don’t have an automatic power-off function, although snapping the magnetic earbuds together does place them into a low power state.
Overall I would recommend the Beats Flex. They serve a particular purpose for me by reducing the risk of losing my AirPods while walking (and will be handy on holiday). They’re well made, offer good sound for the price and provide a convenient alternative to fully wireless earbuds.
For reference, AppleCare isn’t available for these headphones. In the UK you receive the standard two-year consumer warranty instead.
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