BEATSX WHICH IS RIGHT AND LEFT FULL
BEATSX WHICH IS RIGHT AND LEFT PORTABLE
BEATSX WHICH IS RIGHT AND LEFT BLUETOOTH

The sound of the BeatsX is full and clear, similar to the AirPodsвЂ™ sound. But I once left my AirPods case at the office and then walked out wearing them, which resulted in unusable, dead AirPods for a whole weekend, something that just wouldnвЂ™t happen with these. The package of battery, cable, and BeatsX (even in their little rubber carrying case) is bulkier than the AirPods inside their case, thatвЂ™s true.

BEATSX WHICH IS RIGHT AND LEFT PORTABLE

Most iPhone users own multiple Lightning cables, and you could use a portable USB battery to top up on the go. This isnвЂ™t quite as cool as the AirPodsвЂ™ charging case, but itвЂ™s certainly more convenient. The BeatsX charge with a Lightning cable, and one is included. And in my tests, a quick 15-minute top-up boosted my BeatsX from totally dead to 73 percent charged-letвЂ™s hear it for the W1 chipвЂ™s killer quick-charging feature. Apple estimates 8 hours per charge, but mine can routinely squeeze out closer to 9.

BEATSX WHICH IS RIGHT AND LEFT BLUETOOTH

Pair the BeatsX to your iPhone, and theyвЂ™ll automatically show up in the Bluetooth menu on your Mac running macOS Sierra.ДЄnd speaking of battery life, the BeatsX delivers. The battery life is also viewable on the Mac, if you Option-click the Bluetooth icon in your menu bar and then mouse over the connected BeatsX. On other iPads and iPhones, they just appear as a potential audio source right away.ДЄll in all, pairing and switching is just as easy with the BeatsX as with the AirPods, and like the AirPods, the BeatsXвЂ™s battery life will appear in the Batteries widget in iOSвЂ™s Today view. On my Mac, I had to go to the Bluetooth menu and select Connect next to the BeatsX to switch, rather than the BeatsX showing up in the audio menu automatically. If youвЂ™re trying to connect to an iPhone or iPad running iOS 10, a popup will offer to pair them automatically, and then theyвЂ™ll show up as an available device in other iOS 10 and macOS Sierra devices youвЂ™re signed into with the same iCloud account. iOS knows the BeatsX battery life too (and youвЂ™ll get none of the weirdness displayed here by my AirPods, where one is more charged than the other). Pairing to an iOS 10 device is simple-just press the button on BeatsX and youвЂ™ll see the pop-up shown at left. Then again, I got the stark white BeatsX-the other colors (black, gray, and blue) might blend in with clothing and hair a little more and not stand out so much. While the overall look is less attention-grabbing than the newness of the AirPods, itвЂ™s also a little clunky and cheaper-looking. ThereвЂ™s no wire to your iPhone of course, but you wind up with a big wire loop on either side of your head, where the headphone cable hangs down from your ears before then snaking around behind your neck. On the other hand, the BeatsX look like more traditional Bluetooth headphones. People still stop me to ask me how I like them. If my hair is down or IвЂ™m wearing a hat, you might not even notice the AirPods, but if you do see them, they kind of look like futuristic earrings, and of course they only come in white. Totally wireless earbuds like the AirPods are still new-they stand out, even while the lack of wire hanging down lets them blend in. I love having a remote on these so much that I donвЂ™t even mind how they look. Maybe theyвЂ™d blend in better in black, gray, or blue.

The buttons on the remote are easy to click, and it supports the standard button-presses: One click on the center button to play or pause, two clicks to advance, and three clicks to go back. It took me a while to get used to the remote being on the left side, which is common with Beats headphones, even though itвЂ™s on the right side on other Apple headphones. (You canвЂ™t listen to them while charging.) Then the inline remote is a little further up the cable on the left side, which puts it right below your chin in a pretty easy spot to reach up and grab. One of the plastic pieces has the on/off button, and the other has a Lightning port youвЂ™ll use to charge the BeatsX. The wire that connects the two earbuds wraps around the back of your neck, and plastic pieces on either side act as anchors to keep the whole thing stable.

Beatsx which is right and left