I won some Beats X from a contest at a conference in 2017, and used them on and off for the first two years. After that they were my daily drivers for any and all workouts.

They would get used at minimum 3 times a week for at least 2 hours, and then the last two years they would get used 7 times a week for at least 1.5 hours.

The last year or so I had to charge them every three workouts, so the battery was lasting 4.5 - 5 hours or so. They would still quick charge though, so 15 minutes of charging would be enough for a long workout.

About a month ago they stopped charging, no matter what I tried. I ended up buying the Beats Flex and the Powerbeats Pro. The Flex at $70 is a steal, and so far lasts about 12 hours before needing recharging. I've been using them almost daily around the house.

The Powerbeats Pro I've been using when heading to the gym when lifting, the lack of cord around the back makes them a better choice.

Anyway, the Beats Flex are holding up well over the last month or so... but the original Beats X definitely held their own too over many years of service!

I haven’t used an around-the-ear bud in many years. Do you think the Powerbeats Pro would work well under a bicycle helmet (where the straps typically pass just in front and just behind the ear)? I wonder if they have them open at the Apple shop - I could always swing by with a helmet and try.

Have you tested how well the Flex pairs with multiple devices? That’s one nice feature of the AirPods, at least within the Apple device ecosystem. At that price, they might be my best option, but I haven’t heard much about the chip they use (vs the H1 in the AirPods and up-market Beats).

The Beats Flex uses the Apple W1 chip, just like the Beats X that came before them. They connect/pair to all of my iCloud enabled devices and switch easily between them as well.

I have mine mostly switching between my Apple Watch and my iPhone, but occasionally my MacBook Pro as well.

Unless I’m missing something, the only offering from Beats is the Flex. The rest are either over-ear “studio” headphones or true wireless. The Flex might be ok, but it doesn’t use the same chipset as the AirPods, so I don’t know if it pairs as seamlessly between 3+ devices or if they’ll work as well for teleconferencing.

> The Flex might be ok, but it doesn’t use the same chipset as the AirPods

The Beats Flex actually do use the W1 chip, which was used in the first few AirPods, and a bunch of Beats devices. It supports ‘AirPod-style’ pair once/use on any Apple devices use.

Would recommend.

Ah, I hadn’t realized the W1 was the original AirPod SoC. At <$80, seems like they’re the best option for sports (within the Apple world at least).

My mistake - I was thinking of the old Beats X, but I guess that's discontinued now that the Flex is on the scene.