The Flex are Beats most affordable earphones to date, and they’re ever so close to being considered a bonafide bargain. The magnetic buds that debuted on the X make a welcome return, and the cable is a little beats studio3 longer than you might expect as Beats’ style is for it to curl round and sit on either shoulder. Sounds fiddly, but in practice the Flex do this naturally, and that’s down to what they’re made from.
Everything just sounds the same and while that’s nothing new at this price, it’s still a disappointment as Beats once had a distinctive sound. It is therefore necessary to carefully choose the size of the end caps to obtain good comfort, but above all good passive insulation. You shouldn’t have a problem, because Beats delivers four pairs of eartips in different sizes. The headphones fit well in the ears and deliver a satisfactory sound, but lacks a bit of depth. The measurement of the bandwidth reveals that the Beats Flex give pride of place to the mediums, but cannot correctly reproduce the highs from 4000 Hz, nor the bass below 200 Hz.
I think the best customer for the Beats Flex is anyone looking to replace a set of wired earbuds with something wireless that won’t break the bank doing it. The target audience here isn’t the person looking at AirPods or other true wireless earbuds that are more than twice the cost of the Flex, and the audio quality/features reflect that. And, although I’m never a big fan of the in-line controls you find on neckband-style earphones, beats solo pro wireless I don’t mind those on the Beats Flex. The multi-purpose button is located on a different face of the left remote to the volume controls, meaning you never inadvertently press one instead of the other. And this multi-purpose button only very subtly protrudes, so it’s unlikely you’ll knock it by accident. As you’d expect, they come with a range of different earbud sizes in the box – four to be precise – to help ensure a snug fit.
Apple’s easy-pairing feature gets you instantly connected to any iPhone or iPad linked to your iCloud account. It’s a shame, because while the Beats Flex in-ears still offer a foot-tapping sound and an agile, taut bassline, beats studio3 there’s an extra ounce rolling off through the top end. They’ve been tuned as earbuds you can wear around your neck throughout the day and pop in your ears as needed, and they’re perfectly good for casual listening.
These earbuds come with wingtips that can be attached for a more secure fit. Wingtips come in handy for sports and other physical activities. When used correctly, they prevent the earbuds from falling off.
Indeed, when it comes to instrument separation, I’m not sure I’ve heard anything quite like it in a pair of headphones at this price. The power button of Flex Beats features a LED light to indicate power and battery life; this glows white for on, flashes when pairing, and blinks red when charging. It’s hard to imagine a more complete pair of affordable neckband in-ears on the market right now, whether you’re an iPhone or Android user. If all you need is something that stays around your neck all day and lets you conveniently answer calls and listen to music, Beats’ budget in-ears will fit the task perfectly. While it’s not exactly the same in the Beats Flex, it is far more similar to Powerbeats Pro than Beats X and – so despite being cheaper than the X was at launch – the Flex actually sounds better than the X. There’s a clarity to the vocals and details, while the lower bass notes don’t fall away or get crunched when the volume drops off.