Apple BeatsX Earphones Review: Audio Freedom At A Price

Ever since I begun going to the gym regularly, I’ve also started looking for the best pair of wireless earphones to work out with. I’ve gone through some solid ones, but I may have found the ideal pair for me. Enter the Apple BeatsX wireless earphones.

What Is It?

The Apple BeatsX are a pair of wireless earphones utilising Apple’s latest W1 chip. The company’s new chip helps improve connectivity and efficiency for longer hours of music listening. Apple is promising 8 hours of continuous audio playback and they’re not far off from their promise. But, we’ll get into that later.

Are They Any Good?

From my experience, one of the major problems with wireless earphones is connectivity. In previous reviews, I’ve found that some pairs intermittently disconnect even when in range – and in the middle of a workout that can be quite off-putting. If you’re going to get rid of wires from your earphones, the wireless connection should always be working flawlessly.

Thankfully, the Apple BeatsX does just that. Once you’ve paired it with your iPhone, it connects automatically each time you turn the headphones on. A pop-up will also appear on your phone to show you it’s connected, along with the BeatsX’s battery level.

Speaking of battery life, Apple promises eight hours of audio playback on the BeatsX. During my time with it, I got around 7-7.5 hours of use, which is still really good for wireless earphones.

The Apple BeatsX’s in-ear tips fit very well for me. The earphones are very natural to put on and even without the wingtip, the earphones stay snugly in place. Because the Flex-Form cable hangs around your neck, it lifts a little of the weight off the earphones. After a while, you won’t even feel it your neck. I’m also happy to report that the earphones stayed in the ears while running on the treadmill.

Like some other premium earphones in the market, Apple also made the ends of each earbud magnetic. That way, when you’re not using it, it acts as an accessory and prevent them from falling off. It’s a pretty nice feature to have.

The Apple BeatsX also performs very well in terms of audio quality. They get pretty loud without distortion, and being someone who loves lots of bass, they’re awesome for EDM tracks when running. And, despite the BeatsX not having active noise-cancelling (ANC), sound isolation is commendable.

There’s also an integrated microphone on the Apple BeatsX. Apart from letting you take calls, it also lets you communicate with Siri. That being said, the earphones don’t have the capability of listening to “Hey Siri”, so you would need to hold a button on the controls to activate voice commands. Regardless, it’s a nice feature to have to carry out voice commands without taking your phone out.

Charging the Apple BeatsX is also pretty easy. Just plug in any Lightning cable and you’re good to go. There’s a very useful Fast Fuel feature, where a five minute charge could give up to two hours of playback.

Now, the BeatsX may be an Apple accessory, but we’re glad to report that it does connect to Android devices and is compatible with the Google Assistant. You will just have to connect it the traditional way via the Bluetooth Settings page.

The accessories that come with the Apple BeatsX are also pretty complete. There are different sized earbuds, wingtips, Lightning cable, and a rubber pouch to keep everything in.

The Bad Stuff. Tell Me.

Apple’s placement of the RemoteTalk console could be improved, as it’s positioned rather awkwardly close to your ears. It might be a little uncomfortable at first, but you’ll get used to it pretty quickly.

The only time you will ever see your BeatsX’s battery level is when your phone receives the “connected” pop-up. If you don’t get the pop-up, the only other way to see the battery level is via the Today View, and viewing the Batteries Widget (which you’ll need to add).

Surprisingly, the Apple BeatsX also does not have sweat and water resistance. That said, I’ve been using these during my gym workouts and for running – they work fine so far. However, I cannot guarantee that it will be like this is the long run.

Last but not least, at RM600, the Apple BeatsX earphones are on the more expensive side of the spectrum.

Should I Buy It?

Despite the high asking price, you can’t really go wrong with Apple’s BeatsX wireless earphones. There are other earphones out there that are more affordable that may get the job done, but I’ve not yet actually found any major issues with these headphones so far. The Apple W1 chip works wonders in terms of connectivity and battery life and that alone is justifiable of its purchase.