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Personally, I’ve never been a Beats fan. Whenever I’ve given them ago I’ve found the sound quality to be less than stellar with far too much bass. So when Apple announced the BeatsX alongside the AirPods, I didn’t pay much attention. But as you can probably tell from my reaction in the unboxing video, I really should of been. These are the BeatsX.
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0:00
Personally, I've never been a Beats fan. Whenever I've given them a go, I find the sound quality
0:04
to be less than stellar with far too much bass. So when Apple announced the Beats X
0:08
alongside the AirPods, I didn't pay much attention. But as you can probably tell from my reaction
0:13
in the unboxing video, I really should have been. These are the Beats X
0:22
Almost 6 months after being announced, the Beats X are finally available. In terms of
0:26
design, they'll be familiar to anyone who's used the Powerbeats 3 or even the likes of
0:29
the Jaybird. They're much more conventional than the new AirPods, which I personally think
0:33
is a good thing. Even now, the AirPods look a little unusual to wear out and about, but
0:38
the Beats X blend right into the crowd. The marketing behind the Beats X centres around
0:42
the Pinocchio song Got No Strings, but that's not strictly true. While these are wireless
0:47
from your phone, the earbuds are tethered by what they're calling the Flexform cable
0:52
that sits behind your head on your neck. It's rigid enough to sit round your neck neatly
0:56
but flexible enough to fold up into the awkward silicone case it comes with. Below the left
1:00
earbud, there's the inline controls with a built-in microphone for phone calls. The controls
1:04
allow you to play and pause songs with a single press of the centre button. While a double
1:08
press skips to the next song, a long press lets you activate Siri, as well as volume
1:12
controls either side. Most of the hardware is either within the cable itself or the plastic
1:17
units that sit on either side of the cable, which also act as weights to balance out the
1:20
earphones. On the right unit is the power button with an LED indicator and on the left
1:25
is the lightning input for charging the earphones through the included short lightning cable
1:29
The earbuds are also magnetic, allowing you to clip them together around your neck when
1:33
not being used. So, if you've been hating on the AirPods and convinced you would lose
1:37
an earbud, the Beats X will be more fitting for you. The Beats X goes the opposite route of Apple's one-size-fits-all AirPods by coming with four
1:45
different sized earbuds which pop on and off. This means that everyone should be able to
1:48
find a size comfortable for them. Luckily enough, the size that came installed on the earbuds fit snugly into my ears, giving them a tight fit to block out enough noise and
1:56
to sit firmly in my ears without falling out. If you're doing anything more strenuous than
2:00
sitting about, then the wingtips that come in two sizes, which are included with the
2:04
Beats will come in handy. These hook into your ears for extra security, which is something
2:08
you'll probably want if you're out jogging or in the gym. The Flexform cable is comfortable in most situations, but when wearing it with a jacket
2:15
with a collar, I found that it can need a bit of adjusting, as it can get in the way
2:19
a little. Oh, by the way, unlike some of the commenters on my unboxing video stated
2:23
there's no indicators printed on the earbuds themselves for which is left and which is
2:26
right. The easiest way is to remember that the controls sit on the left-hand side, which
2:31
I got used to pretty quickly. In all honesty, I wouldn't have minded a written indicator
2:35
though, just for knowing which earpod goes in which ear at a glance
2:39
Just as with the AirPods and Powerbeats, the Beats X contains Apple's W1 chip, allowing
2:43
the smoothest and best connection setup ever. Simply turn on the earphones near your iPhone
2:48
and a prompt will automatically pop up asking if you'd like to connect. Tap on connect and
2:52
that's it. Checking the battery of the earphones is as easy as swiping up on my iPhone. If
2:58
you're an Android user, the Beats X will still connect no problem, only you'll have to connect
3:02
the old-fashioned way by going through your Bluetooth settings. Speaking of the battery, the Beats X claim a battery life of up to 8 hours at a moderate
3:09
volume, which is actually pretty spot on. I was able to use them on and off for the
3:12
best part of a day and still have around 25% left come 9pm
3:17
The best part about the battery is Beats' fast-fuel charging, which basically means you can get 2 hours of battery life from a 5 minute charge. I drained them right down
3:25
and put them on charge for exactly 5 minutes and got back 25% battery. So again, pretty
3:30
damn impressive. The Beats X are definitely bass rich, as Beats always are, but not to the point where it's
3:35
overtaking the actual music and becomes distracting. They're a lot more balanced than Beats are normally
3:40
Also, for in-ear headphones, the volume is fantastic. It's loud enough for when I want
3:44
to blast my favourite tunes, but not to the point where it's uncomfortable. Also, thanks to the great fit of the earphones, it cancels out a ton of background noise
3:51
which is great for when I need to drown out the world for a while. The only downside I've found is when it comes to using the Beats X for phone calls. While
3:59
I can hear them no problem, the person on the other end of the line complains that I'm hard to hear, especially if it's windy
4:04
Also, unlike the AirPods, the Beats X don't stop playing music when removing them from
4:08
my ears, which would have been a nice addition, but it's not the end of the world thanks
4:12
to the controls. For $150, the Beats X are slightly less expensive than the AirPods, but in my opinion, sound
4:20
better and will definitely be a better fit for most people, thanks to the interchangeable buds and wingtips
4:25
It's the first time I've been impressed with Beats, and unlike the AirPods, I think I'll
4:28
actually be keeping hold of the Beats X. Well that's it for this video, if you enjoyed it, go ahead and hit that like button down
4:35
below and don't forget to hit subscribe so you don't miss a single video from Cult of
4:39
Mac. I'll catch you in the next one
#Music & Audio
#Consumer Electronics
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