Apple’s Beats X earbuds are finally hitting retail stores this week. Following in the footsteps of their wireless brethren, the AirPods, the Beats X are arriving at the scenes after a months long delay. While less popular than the AiPod, the Beats X have generated their fair share of hype. Let’s take a look at Apple’s latest offering and see what the fuss is all about.
Okay so first off, the question everyone has been asking: Will they work better with Apple devices now that the company has acquired Beats? The answer is yes and no. The Beats X will work with any device that has bluetooth under its hood. However, Apple users will get some extra stuff thanks to the Cupertino giants “ecosystem” thing.
So, at first glance, the Beats X earbuds are similar to several other similar offering that are already present in the market. Two earbuds connected by a slim wire, and a small panel right below your left earpiece. This panel holds a fair bit of magic and has volume controls, microhpone and a button to call upon Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri. The right side meanwhile, is home to the power button and a lightning port. So yeah, folks who are already on the Apple ecosystem won’t have to pick up an extra cable.
The cord is pretty slack — unless you have the neck and shoulders of a rhino — and while slightly uncomfortable at times, it does serve to offer you quick access to the controls. Interestingly, the back of the headphones have magnets, so they can be snapped together to form a loop that prevents you from losing them when you are not using them.
Next up is the W1 chip. Arguably, this is one of the biggest advantages iOS users will have over other ecosystems. Thanks to the integrated chips, powering the earbuds automatically leads to a popup on your Apple device. Simply click “connect” and voila! Your Apple device is connected to the Beats X headphones. The headphones also appear to have decent connectivity, so you shouldn’t have any difficulty in popping them in your ears and walking around your house with the iPhone connected to a wall socket somewhere.
The Beats X cost $150 and are only a tad under the AirPods. So if its a headphone that is deeply compatible with iOS and is harder to lose than the AirPods that you want — the Beats X could be your choice. However, do make sure to compare it with the competition in the market before shelling out the money.
