Although the concept of modular True Wireless headphones is not entirely new, it is still not widely used, especially among the general public. The goal is quite simple, to use already existing wired earphones, detachable, and to add a Bluetooth receiver to them on each side, the whole then functioning like a little bulky True Wireless. With its Ionic 215 True Wireless, Shure has pushed the concept into an all-in-one product with a charging box.Â
The Beats Flex are the latest headphones presented by the brand and the most accessible, with a price of 59 USD. Beats offer wireless neckband headphones with a battery life announced at 12 hours and a precise and powerful sound for this meager price.
Lets check out the technical specification comparision and detailed analysis of Shure Aonic 215 vs Beats Flex.
| Shure Aonic 215 | Beats Flex |
| Excellent passive insulation | Immediate connectivity on iOS |
| Good battery life | Great battery life |
| Bluetooth 5.0, aptX and AAC | Full suite of on-board controls |
| EQ only works in-app | Auto-pause is a little clunky |
| Cumbersome charging case | No water resistance |
General
| Shure Aonic 215 | Beats Flex | |
| $ | CHECK PRICE | CHECK PRICE |
| Brand | Shure | Beats |
| Type | Over-Ear | In-Ear |
| Colors | Clear, Black, Blue, White | White, Gray, Nord Blue |
| Battery life | 4 Hours | 7 hours |
| Weight | 4.1 g (each) | 4.7 g (each) |
| Connectivity | Wired | Wireless, Bluetooth |
Design
| Type | In-Ear | In-Ear |
| Wireless | Yes | Yes |
| Driver Type | Dynamic | Dynamic |
| Noise Cancelling | Yes | Yes |
| Drivers | 14.3 mm | 1.34 cm |
| Dimensions buds | 41.4 x 18.5 x 16.8 mm | 37 x 18.81 x 16.13 mm |
| Foldable Design | No | No |
The Shure Aonic 215 begins with the headphones themselves, extremely compact, but above all totally in the design of the usual Shure productions. From the old-fashioned in-ear, semi-opaque acrylic shell, absolutely not protruding from the ear when in place.
But next to each small earpiece, a huge Bluetooth appendage wraps around the ear, like a sports earpiece. We will not talk about this receiver’s strange or even suggestive form, but this gives the whole weight and volume ultimately very substantial for True Wireless. The receiver is attached to the earpiece via an MMCX connector, one of the standards for detachable in-ear cables.
These receivers are not unique to the Aonic 215 system but are used in all TW Aonic headphones under TW1. It is perfectly possible to buy them separately. When connected, the headphones will also be recognized as Aonic TW1 and not Aonic 215 (remember to rename them). It is thus possible to later buy a more upscale model, type Aonic 4, and keep the receivers and the charging box (next paragraph). But above all, it does not make the headphones unusable once the battery is dead—a too rare example of non-obsolescence that must be welcomed.
Finally, to recharge, store and protect the Aonic 215, a charging box is delivered. Particularly imposing, it takes up almost exactly the design of the storage boxes for in-ear headphones, in the shape of a puck with a zipped opening in the middle. If we do not find charging by induction, the USB-C is at least in the game. Placing the headphones in the box and moving them requires a little more time and skill than the AirPods or Jabra Elite type models. Here, you have to use both hands, not to rush. The ultra-fast concept of True Wireless is hampered a bit by the hybrid aspect of the model.
While the build quality doesn’t suffer from any real flaws, nothing is quite luxurious either. Good assembly, relatively robust appearance, but only plastic. The headphones, originally built to be very light. (from a very long line of wired models), lack a little density to compare with models such as Momentum TW2 on the luxury side.
It’s all in the name of the product. The Beats Flex offers a semi-rigid neck strap system that fits perfectly on the back of the neck and gives a little flexibility to the wires connecting the headphones.
The whole is very light, but we immediately notice that it also seems very fragile. We will not have fun testing the strength of the Beats Flex as the cables seem to be torn easily. Too bad then that the brand, for the sake of savings, no doubt, does not offer protection for its headphones, even if only a small carrying bag.
Also, it is important to point out that the Beats Flex are not earphones made for sports. They have no protection against perspiration and splashing water. While we can use them from time to time for weekly jogging, we do not recommend them for the most seasoned athletes. The Beats Flex is the first and foremost headphone for everyday life, transport, or even walking.
The earbuds themselves are in-ear, and Beats offers a total of four pairs of earbuds to fit your ear canal as closely as possible. Small in size, they slip easily into the latter and provide good daily support.
Features
| Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| Music Controls | Yes | Yes |
| Quick Charge | Yes | Yes |
| Speakers | Yes | Yes |
| Water-Resistant | IPX4 | IPX4 |
No automation type optical sensor or accelerometer on the Aonic 215; everything relies on the single button at the root of Bluetooth receivers, in the middle of the circle. In addition to switching on, switching off (automatic if placed back in the box), and pairing, three actions are possible, with one click, two clicks, or a long click. This triggers respectively: play/pause, sound feedback, call to the smartphone’s default voice assistant. In short, it is not possible to navigate the tracks or to adjust the volume. This only allows you to enjoy a small part of the experience that extended its arms to such large receivers, having plenty of room to place other buttons.
The Shure Play app, used for the entire Aonic galaxy (including the Aonic 50 headphones), is still mixed up. Fairly clear, with a dark design deviating slightly from the standards, it can only make a few small adjustments.
The first point allows the sound power and the setting of the Bluetooth receivers to be slightly adapted for the targeted headphones. The application recognizes only Aonic TW1 receivers, so you must remember to specify via a command prompt which Aonic model is used. In addition to this small sound adaptation, not useless, Shure Play allows you to update the model or to adjust the power of the “environment” mode.
To control your music without taking out your smartphone all the time, Beats has placed various controls gathered on the branch located on the left earphone.
On edge, a large volume button allows to increase or decrease the volume. Below, a tiny button allows you to pause the music, go to the next or previous song with two or three quick presses, and a long press calls your phone’s voice assistant.
If the button, too small for our taste, finally falls under the finger after a few hours of use, it remains difficult to activate the fault of a too-short stroke. You have to press hard to activate it.
On the right earpiece, there is a single button for switching the Beats Flex on and off. The two earphones are magnetized, and once reunited, the music cuts automatically. Detaching them reactivates playback but only in a short period of time (between 10 and 15 seconds). In fact, you will have to relaunch your music from your smartphone.
Battery
| Battery Type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Battery Life | Up to 7 hours | Up to 12 Hours |
| Capacity | 30 mAh | 35 mAh |
| Charging Time | 1 hour | 2 hour |
| Charging Port | USB-C | USB-C |
| Qi Wireless Charging | No | No |
When it comes to battery life, Shure Aonic 215 is already perfect on paper. With the AptX codec (which consumes more power) and at moderate but sufficient volume (thanks to the high isolation), we reached around 7 hours, which is an excellent result for this kind of product. In AAC, it will be quite easy to exceed 8 hours or even reach 9 hours.
Beats indicate in its documentation 12 hours of listening in total on a single charge; Charging takes about 2 hours to go from 0 to 100%. 10 minutes on the mains allows you to recover approximately 1h 30m of autonomy to finish an album, a video, or a podcast before going home.
On the other hand, we must talk about the USB-C cable provided by Beats. With only 20 centimeters, a mains connection quickly becomes hazardous if you do not have an outlet near a piece of furniture or your desk. Beats does not include an AC adapter in the box.Â
Connectivity
| Bluetooth | Yes 5.2 v | Yes 5.0 v |
| Supported Codecs | SBC, AAC | SBC, AAC |
| Multi-Device Connection | No | No |
| Connection | Wireless | Wireless |
| Range | 10 m | 10 m |
Large receivers, but still subject to the limits of power and autonomy of True Wireless, the Shure Aonic 215 go to the max of what currently exists in terms of integrable codecs, SBC, AAC, and AptX. Largely sufficient in practice. However, no multipoint connection, which is a shame for a high-end product. Unfortunately, if the range is good enough, we experienced some right / left micro-desynchronizations, especially in roaming conditions.
The Beats Flex has built-in Bluetooth connectivity and is compatible with Android smartphones and tablets. They connect in the same way as all wireless accessories. Acquisition by Apple requires iOS users are privileged thanks to the integration of the W1 chip, the same as that of the first-generation AirPods. Just turn on the Beats Flex, and the iPhone or iPad automatically recognizes them. One-click later, the headphones are paired and recognized by all devices connected to the iCloud account.
Conclusion!
The Shure Aonic 215 True Wireless system is not far from achieving something grand. Good battery life, excellent insulation, obvious technical quality, the basics are there. Still, the ergonomics and the application are too poor, the ancillary functions non-existent, and the frequency response a little too atypical to be sufficiently universal.
The Beats Flex don’t lie about the merchandise: they’re good quality wireless headphones for anyone who doesn’t want to invest a fortune in them. Despite rather confusing bass, the sound rendering is honorable, but the device can count on other assets such as perfect integration into the iOS ecosystem and solid autonomy to convince.
