BeatsX Wireless Headphones; Unboxing and First Impressions

Ever since the beginning of the end of the headphone jack on our mobiles there’s been a steady stream of new wireless headphones. I mentioned in my recent Apple Watch post (read it here) that I didn’t have any but was interested in them and would you believe it, my darling husband found me a pair and surprised me with them.

Some might be thinking that with everything else being Apple why not go for the matching Airpod wireless headphones and it’s the most simple reason why not, they don’t fit me. I’ve tried and tried to use the Earpods that come with our phones but no matter how many times I try them they just don’t fit my ears. They’re actually painful and I always go back to my trusty £8 Sony headphones. I also think Airpods are ugly as hell and are guaranteed to get lost within a week since they have no connecting wire to keep them safe around your neck.

So, with that being said I (my husband on my behalf) chose the new BeatsX Wireless headphones and before getting into what I think of them I just wanted to share what you get in the box because it’s a heck of a lot more than you get with Apple Airpods or with some other leading wireless headphone brands.

The Headphones – they’re the first thing you’re going to look at when you open the box. They consist of a soft rubber band that sits around the back of your neck with a more flexible wire that leads to each earbud. At first look the wire seems really long and unnecessary especially when compared to it’s competitors like the Jaybird X3’s which have a short connector wire, however this length actually feels really secure around your neck. You feel like you can just drop one out o your ear and it’ll be safe without the risk of the whole thing falling off and getting lost.

As part of the headphone set you get the power on button on the right and the charging post on the left (more on that later) and you also get the control panel on the left side too. This allows you to control volume, skip and pause, take calls and control Siri; things you surprisingly can’t do with the Apple Airpods.

Storage Pouch – this is a lovely soft silicone and allows you to store your headphones without risk of them getting lost. If I’m totally honest I don’t think this is something I will use very often, I have a little inside pocket in my bag where I’ve also kept my headphones but it’s nice to have one included if you don’t want to store them safely. No extra charging feature with this case (like the Apple Airpods) but with 8 hours battery life most people won’t need that anyway (more on battery life later too)

Extra ear tips – these are super important to me because I seem to have weird shaped ears and I always have to swap to the smallest tips so it’s great to have the option (hint hint Apple, not everyone’s ears are the same shape and size). Having four tips to choose from means they will pretty much fit anyone (1 pair on the headphones as standard and 3 extra in the packet)

Wings – I don’t know if this is the proper terms for them but I’m going with it, these are little wings that can be attached to your ear buds to help them fit and stay in your ears better. Personally I don’t like them, again my weird shaped ears so I’ve chosen to use them but my husband has always used them and swears by them. Again you get two different sizes of wings to ensure everyone can fit their best fit.

Charging cable – it might be tiny in length but it’s a lightening connector (since Beats are now owned by Apple) which means you can use your iPhone charger to charge your headphones without having to take an additional charge with you when you travel.

Paperwork – obligatory documents that include information about warranty and a few quick guides on setting them up. No one ever reads the paperwork though do they.

So what do I think of them after the first few days; I bloody love them. Now I’m super fond of my £8 Sony’s but I’m afriad they’re going to have to make way for these as my daily headphones from now on, here’s a few things I love about them:

• They have 8 hours of battery life, I’m only an everyday listener, using them on the train to and from work and for the walk to and from the station. I might use them around the shops at the weekend or to listen to Youtube videos at home when the hubby is playing Fifa but I’m by no means a heavy user. Even if I was you’re going to get a long time out of these things between each charge.
• They have quick charging, super quick. 5 minutes of charging will give you an extra 2 hours of battery life. Even if you realised they were running low just as you’re leaving you could put them on charge whilst you get your coat and shoes and still leave the house with 2 hours of life in them.
• Apple have used the same A1 chip in them that is used in their Apple Airpods which means they have the same quick sync when pairing them to your devices. All you have to do is turn them on and place them near your phone and they will connect automatically. Once paired you just turn them on and press play, they connect automatically and you’re off.
• Using the lightening connector to charge them means you’re never without a charger when you travel, no one leaves for a trip without a phone charger so if you’re using an iPhone, you’re always going to be able to charge your BeatsX and because they’re so quick you won’t have to choose between charging your phone or charging your headphones.
• Noise cancellation is pretty important to most people too, I’m not too concerned about it because I’m only using them to brighten up my commute but they’re very good at blocking out external noise. It’s improved if you have the wings on (my husband can’t even hear me shouting his name in the same room) but I’ve no complaints without the wings and they dull the traffic noise just enough.
• They sound great too, again I’m on an average user and don’t know anything about sound quality or base or treble, all I know is they sound good without any sort of distortion on the sounds of songs.
• If you’re not an Apple user you can still use these headphones; if you were pair these with an Android device you would still get the same functionality (the control center would still work to control volume, skip and pause songs and provide a microphone for calls) unlike the Apple Air pods that are only compatible with iPhones or other Apple devices.
• They’re very comfortable, it feels weird the first time you wear them to have the rubber around your neck but after a couple of minutes you actually forget it’s there and don’t even notice it anymore. They’re comfortable in the ear too due to the changeable tips and wings.
• I don’t feel like they’re going to get lost, this is super important when you’re out and about. The slightly longer length helps here because they hang lower on your chest when not in your ears, I’ve never felt like they might fall off when I’m not using them and you can easily just leave them hanging around your neck when you’re not listening to them.
• Magnetic extra security, the earbuds themselves have tiny magnets in them and when around your neck they will actually connect together. It’s almost like having a BeatsX necklace but again adds to the sense of security that you’re not going to lose them.

As with any product, not everything can be perfect and there are a couple of things I would change about them:

• They’re not sweat or waterproof, this is a major problem if you want to use them for exercise and you would be best to opt for Beats Powerbeats 3 if that is what you want them for as these are specifically designed for working out and getting sweaty however in my day to day use other than getting caught in the rain there’s no reason why they should get wet.
• I’m also not a huge fan of the colour, if I was choosing I would have gone for either the white or the gold (because it’s matches my phone and I’m sad like that) but I’m very grateful to my hubby for getting these for me so I’m definitely not splitting hairs over the colour.
• They’re pricey, normally they’re £129, this price is actually pretty average for good wireless headphones but I just think that they’re all very expensive when I’ve previously been using £8 headphones. We didn’t pay full price for these and instead bought them from a seller on the Facebook Marketplace, they were still sealed and brand new but we saved a fortune so if the price puts you off I would recommend looking around for offers and online sellers because theirs loads out there to help you save some pounds.

If you can’t tell I’m super impressed with these headphones and it’s been quite liberating not to have the wire attached to my phone; I mean I can leave my phone in my bag, I don’t have the wire getting tangled in my scarf or bag straps, I can take photos and use my phone without thinking about the wire and I can charge my phone whilst also listening to music. This is one of the big things everyone complained about when the headphone jack was dropped on the iPhone last year, charging and listening isn’t an option with wired headphones.

What do you think of wireless headphones? Worth the cost of forking out for a good pair? and if you already have pair, which are you using?

Rachel xx