Not only is that handy, but it can save you a ton of battery life, too. However, unlike the Beats Studio Buds True Wireless, they have a W1 chip so you can seamlessly pair them with Apple devices. While they have high audio latency on PC, their latency on iOS and Android is a lot lower, making them better suited for streaming video. That said, some apps and devices compensate for latency differently, so your results may vary.
Similarly, all the other elements of its performance make it dependable and convenient. There’s the first-generation W1 chip that makes the Flex really convenient and easy to pair with your iPhone. It also means instant sharing with any other iOS or Apple device you have.
Between a combination of making sure to adjust how the cord sat on my neck and simply time spent using Beats Flex, the sounds became much less annoying. With the cable wrapping around behind the neck, it’s super easy to pop one or both earphones out of your ear without worrying about losing them. And when you’re taking a break from listening, the two earphones click together magnetically to keep the whole thing secure around your neck. On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the earphones deliver some serious low-frequency thump. At top, unwise listening levels, this track doesn’t distort, and at more moderate volumes, the bass is still powerful.
You can also use the iOS Audio Sharing feature with Flex to stream audio from one Apple device to another pair of Beats or AirPods. I tested this feature by sneak attacking my husband with Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “W.A.P.” as he wore his AirPods, and it was a delight. With Class 1 Bluetooth® technology, Beats Flex offers extended wireless range and fewer dropouts.
I’m also a fan of the built-in battery indicator light, something that is often missed on minimalist in-ear headphones like these. It’s easy to skimp on those details when you have such a small product footprint to work with, which is why it’s worth a tip o’ the cap to Beats. It’s a simple enough configuration—the indicator light near the power button turns red when you have less than one hour of battery left, and flashes red when you’re running out of juice.
The W1 chip in the Beats Flex is the predecessor to the H1, so the H1 chip brings better stability and battery life, as well as always-on Siri support, among other things. Download theBeats app for Androidfrom the Google Play store. The app will give you access to firmware updates, as well as additional device controls. The Beyerdynamic Blue Byrd might look a bit retro, but it boasts modern performance and features. There is also a good amount of emphasis in the upper-mids that gives a good bump in volume to vocals in songs and podcasts. The vocals in Julia by Retro Stefson are easy to hear in almost any environment.
Easily connect via the Apple W1 chip4, get extended range and fewer dropouts with Class 1 Bluetooth®, and control volume, music, and calls with on-device controls. And don’t break for battery life—use 10-minute Fast Fuel for 1.5 beats solo pro wireless hours of playback when battery is low3. As an aside, I also noticed that the buds connected much faster to my Pixel 5 with the app installed, which helps cut down on the previously mentioned power on/connection tone delay.
What we heard is pretty much what you’d expect – a deep v-shaped sound that accentuates the highs and lows of the audio spectrum at the expense of the mids. 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. The integrated microphone’s noise handling is disappointing.
The audio can even veer towards tinny when you’re streaming a show or a film on Netflix. Watching Steve McQueen’s Small Axe with the Beats Flex in wasn’t an entirely pleasurable experience. Dialogue was quite hollow, and that’s largely because of the headphones’ limited soundstage. That said, all this should be couched in that we should really be comparing these to the EarPods. And in that respect, the sound quality is a huge improvement. It took less than 90 minutes to fully charge Beats Flex once I depleted their battery, and a 10-minute Fast Fuel charge when the battery is low will give you up to 1.5 hours of playback time in a pinch.
You can even leave them paired to a device for hours, inactive, and the battery levels will barely drop. I attribute the cleaner audio presentation and small glimpses of bass resonance to the Beats Flex’s great isolation. A proper fit establishes a tight seal that blocks out ambient noise from coming into the soundscape, so you can enjoy full sound to the best of the buds’ capabilities. The inclusion of four ear tip options provides a variety of fits to accommodate different ear shapes. Sure, it would have been awesome if Beats added some of the wing tips bundled with the BeatsX, but that doesn’t take away from the Beat Flex’s acceptable fit. If you’re worried about them slipping out during runs, don’t, because the tips grip onto the ear canal and the modules on each side do a fantastic job with weight distribution to keep the buds stabilized.