Apple's Beats by Dre brand is launching a new collaboration with graphic artist Verdy and the Tokyo-based Girls Don't Cry project, featuring custom-designed Beats Flex earphones in a distinctive blue and red theme with a detachable heart charm on the cable.
The collaboration includes an ad campaign featuring model Jasmine Daniels, who appears in a Girls Don't Cry-inspired bedroom listening to Koteri's "Something I Need."
"Im really happy to work on the Beats Flex earphones because it's my wife's favorite style," said Verdy. "We've made a friends-and-family version in the past, so I'm really excited to release this special colorway to the public."
Beats Flex originally launched in late 2020 as the lowest-cost option in the Beats family. An evolution of the previous BeatsX model, the Beats Flex connect to your device wirelessly over Bluetooth, but the individual earbuds are connected by a cable that wraps behind the neck.
Inline modules along the cable house the battery, electronics, and physical controls for the earphones. Standard Beats Flex were originally priced at $49.99, but Apple increased the price to $69.99 in late 2021, likely due to supply chain issues that increased the cost of components. Occasional sales have, however, continued to drop pricing to the $50 range from time to time.
The limited-edition Girls Don't Cry Beats Flex will be available for $69.99 (£69.99 / ¥9800) starting Saturday, April 1, via Girlsdontcryshop.com and Dover Street Market locations in the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan. Verdy will also host a special retail pop-up on April 1 at Rise Above Gallery in Osaka, Japan.
Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the first iOS 26.2 beta last week. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more.
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date....
Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose.
Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 11:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While it was rumored that Apple planned to release new versions of the HomePod mini, Apple TV, and AirTag this year, it is no longer clear if that will still happen.
Back in January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple planned to release new HomePod mini and Apple TV models "toward the end of the year," while he at one point expected a new AirTag to launch "around the middle of 2025." Yet,...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 9:15 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today announced that iPhone users can now create a Digital ID in the Apple Wallet app based on information from their U.S. passport.
To create and present a Digital ID based on a U.S. passport, you need:
An iPhone 11 or later running iOS 26.1 or later, or an Apple Watch Series 6 or later running watchOS 26.1 or later
Face ID or Touch ID and Bluetooth turned on
An Apple Account ...
Tesla is working to add support for Apple CarPlay in its vehicles, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Tesla vehicles rely on its own infotainment software system, which integrates vehicle functions, navigation, music, web browsing, and more. The automaker has been an outlier in foregoing support for Apple CarPlay, which has otherwise become an industry standard feature, allowing users to...
Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 3:29 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple today provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26.2, which adds a few new features worth knowing about.
Measure App
Apple's Measure app now features a Liquid Glass design for the level, with two Liquid Glass bubbles instead of white circles.
Games App
There's now an option to sort games in the Games app Library by size, in addition to Name and Recent.
CarPlay
The...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 2:49 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Update: It took a day, but Apple has now corrected its Apple Intelligence device compatibility list to show support for the earliest Apple silicon Macs. The original article follows.
Apple's website is causing some confusion among Mac owners, and for good reason – its device compatibility listing for Apple Intelligence appears to have dropped support for M1 Macs.
The U.S. version...
Tuesday November 11, 2025 1:23 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple has teamed up with Japanese fashion house ISSEY MIYAKE to launch iPhone Pocket, a 3D-knitted limited edition accessory designed to carry an iPhone, AirPods, and other everyday items.
The accessory is like a stretchy pocket, not unlike an iPod Sock, but elongated to form a strap made of a ribbed, elastic textile that fully encloses an iPhone yet allows you to glimpse the display...
So you get all the poor sound quality, poor battery and other inconvenience of wireless, but you still get all the inconvenience of having to physically have a wire hanging off your head too? Yeah sign me up
I had the BeatX which was its predecessor. The battery lasted a lot longer (8hr) than AirPods (5hr) and you can hang it like a necklace since there are magnets to attach the buds. It also had the W1 for device switching and easy paring and physical buttons for controls. If it wasn’t for the noise cancellation on the AirPod Pros I would probably still be using my BeatsX. The current Beats Flex actually has 12hr battery life compared to the Airpods Pro’s 6hr.
