Beats Flex

These are workhorse Bluetooth earbuds that I like better than Airpods, with a 5 star rating in every category except sound quality – and the only reason I deducted one star is because Apple is selling stuff that is truly audiophile quality now. They are “almost” wireless which is to say, no wire to device but there is a wire between the earbuds – for completely wireless you’ll need Powerbeats at nosebleed pricing. No earhooks, but when fitted with the right size tips, they stay in place. You can keep them around your neck all day and only put them in when you decide to watch a video clip or take a call. They are comfortable for Netflix/Prime binging. They are hard to lose if you drape them over your neck. Apple Genius Bar replaces lost tips for free, but only in person.

These sound better than Airpods, are a close match to Airpods Pro but without active noise cancellation, drape comfortably from the neck so they won’t get lost (ever had an Airpod mysteriously slip out of your ear and lost it?) and if you choose the RIGHT SIZE ear tip, have EXCELLENT SOUND. With an undersized ear tip – like I had at first – there is inadequate bass. With a proper air seal, bass is excellent in an honest way, not pumped up artificially like old-skool Beats, with equally honest, balanced, mids and highs (you won’t appreciate what they can put out until listening to some Dolby Atmos sound effects videos on YouTube). NOT fatiguing to watch videos for hours. Good sound stage and special effects with Atmos capable devices (Apple iPad/iPhone with A10 chip or higher, Fire HD 10 current edition, Fire HD 8 current edition) on Atmos encoded sound tracks (FWIW, Atmos is Dolby’s effort to provide 360 degrees of sound effect from just earbuds – and it’s surprising how well it “fakes” normal surround sound from multiple speakers, front and rear). (Also try Windows Sonic for Headphones, free in Windows 10, buried in sound card settings.)

Where Beats Flex are outstanding is price – under $50. That’s equivalent to knocking $100 off the first-release BeatsX which rolled out at $149.95 in 2017. And convenience. Unlike conventional Bluetooth earbuds, which have to be endlessly paired and re-paired to use with different devices, Beats Flex will pair with ALL your iPhones and iPads and Macs provided only that they are signed into the same iCloud (Apple ID) account. On Android, you download an app, and so long as you have the app you don’t even have to be signed in under the same Google ID. With Windows 10 – sorry, conventional pairing and repairing.

With a device you just used (or used yesterday), logging in and connecting is automatic – device power on, Flex power on, you are connected. If you move to a different device, whether Apple (with same Apple ID) or Android (with Beats app running), you first need to click on Connect (even if the device flashes a signal that it notices the Flex). It’s easier done, than described.

You can also share audio with a friend’s Apple device – two headphones paired to one phone or pad.

There are some controls, but all I ever use is the magnetic clip attachment between the rear of the two buds, to sleep and to pause playback on the iPhone or iPad. And the off button, when a session is over.

Battery life is great. I can watch videos all day and night, the battery lasts longer than I do. Or, on saner schedule, go several days without a recharge. Compare that to 3 or so hours from some indie, cheapo (but good) Bluetooth earbuds (hook over ear style).

Charges with a USB C cable (included) so one more cable to carry, but ultimately greater compatibility and fewer cable-wars (Apple is taking baby steps to kick Lightning to the curb and focus on C).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Cheap, good sounding, wireless, over-the-neck earbuds with Apple quality. Wow.

Caution: I have some sync issues with VLC video playback (but not YouTube, Netflix, Prime). It’s easy to fix by adjusting the sync delay setting in VLC. I don’t have these sync issues with MPow Flame airbuds. I think the Flex emphasize audio quality over perfect sync, that or VLC and Flex don’t play nice with each other. Anyway its annoying but easy to fix, and I suspect the programmers at VLC will eventually take care of it.

Tamaño y material muy adecuado

I was hoping it would be a vibrant neon color, but its really washed out in color

These were recommended to me by a friend. Best purchase. Great quality! Love them. Would def buy again.

As long as you don’t continuously over charge these head phones they do last approximately 12 hours depending on how high you got the volume, (I would say 9 – 10 hours on high volume). Over charging them despite what some ‘professionals’ say but I believe that even with with counter switch it depletes the battery life (kills the lithium, which is the component that holds the charge in batteries) I find efn with the supposed kill switch when it’s still plugged in, isn’t as effective because there is a current still going through.

I love these earbuds and they’ve become my go-to for hiking/backpacking, skiing, running, & horseback riding. I really like that they have the cord that loops behind your neck so that if they fall out of your ears you don’t lose one. My favorite feature has to be the magnets on the back of the earbuds so that you can snap them together like a necklace – it automatically shuts off the earbuds and lets me switch quickly and easily without worrying about losing them or having to pack them away in a charging case or something every time I take them off. Because the battery/bluetooth is in the cable part not the earbuds, they’re more like the size of wired earbuds and so they’re really comfortable to wear to bed or under my ski helmet since they don’t stick out. Battery life is great, really easy to connect to my iPhone or my Garmin smartwatch, and I love how when you quick connect them to iPhone you get a battery status update. They aren’t great at noise cancellation and the sound quality is good but not great, but they’re my go-to for any kind of active/athletic activity.