Apple is quietly increasing the price of this accessory because of the shortage

Apple’s Beats Flex headphones showcased alongside the iPhone 12 in October 2020 now cost more. Indeed, Apple has decided to quietly increase the price of this popular accessory, increasing the bill from € 49.99 to € 69.99.

On October 23, 2020, Apple unveils the iPhone 12, a symbolic step since it is the brand’s first smartphones to be 5G compatible. During this keynote, the Cupertino company also took the opportunity to unveil the Beats Flex, all new wireless headphones.

The Beats Flex quickly found success, not least thanks to their excellent value for money. Available at € 49.99 only, these headphones quickly established themselves as an affordable gateway to the Apple headphones ecosystem. It must be said that they have a few arguments to make in addition to the price, like 12 hours of autonomy, the Fast Fuel charge (1.5 hours of listening in 10 minutes of charging) and Apple W1 chip integration which offers instant connection with Apple devices.

However and to everyone’s surprise, Apple suddenly decided to increase the price of Beats Flex on the official stores of Beats by Dre and Apple. Previously priced at € 49.99, in-ear headphones are now available at € 69.99, i.e. an increase of € 20.

Read also: Apple launches Beats Studio Buds, AirPods Pro for Android smartphone

Apple is pushing up the prices of Beats Flex

After having scoured several merchant sites, this new price list seems (for the moment) only in force on the previously mentioned official stores. On Cdiscount for example, the Beats Flex are still displayed at 49.99 €. So if you are ever interested in these headphones, we advise you to go for them before the prices are updated.

Of course, Apple has not made an official statement regarding this price increase. It’s a safe bet, however, that the global semiconductor shortage has something to do with it. In front of rising manufacturing costs caused by these difficulties, Apple has to compensate somewhere.

And it starts with the Beats Flex, an inexpensive entry-level product that is probably much more sensitive to the pressure on production costs than other Apple products. It remains to be seen whether other Beats by Dre or Apple products will follow this path and go through the tariff revaluation box.