Apple Discontinues urBeats3 After Releasing Beats Flex

Apple this morning quietly introduced new Beats Flex headphones, marking the launch of the brand's most affordable wire-free headphones to date.

urbeats3
Beats Flex are priced at just $50, and are identical in design to the BeatsX earphones. With lower-cost Bluetooth-based Beats headphones now available, Apple has discontinued the UrBeats headphones that it previously offered under Beats branding.

UrBeats3 were priced at $60 and were available in Lightning and 3.5mm versions, and with their discontinuation, the Beats brand is no longer offering affordable wired headphone options. The $130 wired Beats EP headphones are still available, though.

For those who prefer wired headphones, Apple still sells EarPods with Lightning and 3.5mm connector options for $19 each, but EarPods no longer come free with iPhones.

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Expected to Release iOS 18.3 Next Week With These New Features

Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3. Notification Summary Changes Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries Apple Intelligence...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
Apple Pay Walmart Feature

Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.

Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today. A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
truecaller

Truecaller iOS Update Rolls Out Real-Time Caller ID Support

Wednesday January 22, 2025 2:07 am PST by
Popular caller ID app Truecaller is rolling out an update that brings real-time caller ID support to its iOS subscribers. Apple introduced Live Caller ID Lookup in iOS 18, allowing third-party caller ID apps to securely retrieve information about a caller from their servers, hence today's Truecaller update. iPhone users can enable the Live Caller ID Lookup feature by going to Settings ➝ ...
ipad pro 2024

New iPad Pro Reportedly Launching This Year

Tuesday January 21, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple plans to release at least one new iPad Pro model this year, according to a supplier-focused report today from Korean website The Elec. It is likely that the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models would be updated simultaneously. After receiving an OLED display last year, the report said the iPad Pro will receive only "minor" changes this year. Overall, the next iPad Pro is expected to...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Launching This Year With These New Features

Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device. The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...

Top Rated Comments

az431 Avatar
56 months ago

I have yet to find a pair of Bluetooth headphones that does not have any noticeable lag for video or games.
Sigh.
10 years using Bluetooth headphones, and not a single one had any lag.

And just FYI, sound does lag in real life.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jcshas Avatar
56 months ago
I still love my Beats X for working out. I also own a pair of AirPods Pro, but the Beats X stay in my ears better during workouts.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B4U Avatar
56 months ago
I have yet to find a pair of Bluetooth headphones that does not have any noticeable lag for video or games.
Sigh.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iSayuSay Avatar
56 months ago

That‘s a bummer. I’ve had my BeatsX for about 2 years without any issues. The battery life is diminished but fortunately they’re still going strong.
Same experience here. I’ve had my BeatsX for almost 3 years before I sold it because I get bored and want new features of H1 chip. Now I’m rocking the new corded Powerbeats for workouts.

Yep I sold it because it’s still work, in a proper condition and still hold 3-4hours of playback between charge after I use it almost daily, for 3 years!!

Can’t say the same for the wife’s original AirPods. Two years in and it’s practically useless. The case battery is still fine but the buds’ barely survive an hour before the low-battery note chiming in. Not to mention a few times that one bud is dead, won’t charge or connect for no reason.

I will keep buying corded wireless headphones until true wireless is more reliable and ready with proper battery life. Way too delicate and quirky as it is, especially for $200++
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
480951 Avatar
56 months ago

16 years using Bluetooth and a current member of Bluetooth SIG, every single one still have latency.
Please kindly share the ones that you found no lag so that I can stop buying new ones and end up with more disappointment. :)
I haven‘t had a single lag issue with voice since Bluetooth 4. My AirPods Pro work flawlessly with my AppleTV. Same with my cheap $30 Skullcandy headphones. The $20 Redmi Airdots I purchased? Definite lag though. If it’s there it must be milliseconds and imperceptible to me because I look for it.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iSayuSay Avatar
56 months ago

FYI BeatsX are wireless. True fact ;) their not the “true” wireless meaning no cable but you’re still using Bluetooth.
LOL okay mate.. like I said.. corded wireless or neckband style wireless, or wired-wireless headphones. Whatever you want to call it. But the point is, I love BeatsX (and now my new Powerbeats) being more reliable, simple and live longer. Single Bluetooth module, single battery status, single piece design that is harder to lose for workouts. And most importantly I can actually turn them off.

With AirPods, you can't really turn it off so it continuously cycle the battery (hence the terrible lifespan). Even when sit in the case doing nothing, the buds keep sipping into the case's battery for some reason. No volume rocker also turned out to be a PITA for our use. There's also three effin' batteries status to maintain, THREE!

Look mate, I'm not trying to argue anything. You love AirPods or true wireless for what it is? Great, but it's not for me, nor my wife. I just hope Apple keep making new corded wireless in the future, because I will keep buying it.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)