Apple announces new Beats Flex wireless headphones for $49

By Oliver Haslam
last updated

Beats Flex Yellow
Beats Flex Yellow (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • Apple quietly announced the Beats Flex earbuds today.
  • Priced at just $49, they'll go on sale on October 21.
  • They'll automatically play and pause when the earbuds connect to each other via magnets.

Today might be all about the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and HomePod mini but Apple also launched some new earbuds on the quiet. The new Beats Flex are going on sale on October 21 and will cost just $49 (opens in new tab).

Boasting battery life of 12 hours per charge and a fancy mechanism that will automatically pause or play audio when the buds are pushed together or pulled apart, the Beats Flex are well placed. They're cheap enough to give buyers of iPhones a relatively inexpensive way to listen to their new iPhones – which don't come with their own earbuds in the box.

Apple seems to know it, too.

"I'm excited to announce that Beats is launching its most affordable product ever— packed with incredible audio technology from Apple," said Oliver Schusser, vice president of Beats, Apple Music, and International Content. "This will allow even more music fans around the world to experience the quality sound and design Beats products are known for."

Beats Flex Black

Beats Flex Black (Image credit: Beats)

Apple will offer Beats Flex in Beats Black and Yuzu Yellow on day one, with Smoke Gray and Flame Blue coming next year. A USB-C cable will be included in the box for charging purposes as well.

Alongside the arrival of Beats Flex, Apple has also now canceled the urBeats3 earbuds.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.