AppleInsider Staff
Apple recently raised the price of its Beats Flex earphones by 40%, a substantial increase for the nearly year-old device that was initially marketed as an entry-level product.
The price hike, first spotted by Portuguese language blog MacMagazine, was quietly introduced in the past few days and brings Beats Flex from $50 up to $70. Corresponding increases were rolled out worldwide.
Beats Flex is still the cheapest Beats option sold by Apple behind the wired Beats EP on-ear headphones.
Apple has not explained the sudden change and pricing for other products with similar internals remains unchanged.
Introduced in October 2020, Beats Flex is a follow up to the Beats X wireless earbuds and features a W1 chip, 12-hour battery, USB-C connectivity and improved acoustics. W1 integration enables quick syncing with iOS devices and support for Audio Sharing. Beats Flex is also compatible with Apple's Find My service when paired with a device running iOS 14.5 or later, or Mac running macOS Big Sur 11.3 or later.
Most third-party resellers have updated pricing to reflect Apple's changes and are showing the earphones available for $70 in the U.S.
Verizon is still selling Beats Flex for $50 and currently has a number of color options available. It is unclear if and when the carrier will update its pricing.
Marko Zivkovic
Mike Wuerthele
Malcolm Owen
Andrew Orr
Christine McKee
William Gallagher
Chip Loder
16 Comments
For some odd reason this makes me want them more.
I avoid things in the grocery store that are on sale because there's a reason they're on sale (and those reasons are never provided to the consumer.) I've bought many things on sale in the past only to discover later why they were on sale. Never again.
If a car manufacturer is offering special value pricing on some model, it's usually because that model isn't selling well. And there's probably a reason why it isn't selling well. No thanks.
What’s with the accusatory tone? ‘Apple quietly hikes the price…’
You expect a media blitz to announce it?
One does want to know. Has it to do with supply chain issues, have materials gotten more expensive, why only this product?