Whomever designed this NEVER exercised, it’s horrible and the reason has everything to do with the location of the controls and microphone. For comparison with its predecessor the BeatsX, I’ve included a photo to show location of old vs new. Here are the problems: 1. The controls for volume, function, and microphone have all moved further away from the ear and now rest on the neck. This means fumbling around trying to find them. You can’t see the controls, so it forces you to find the cord, then slide your fingers down the cord until you locate the controls resting somewhere on your neck. On the predecessor, the BeatsX, they were higher up towards the ear, making them easier to find, fingers needing only to slide an inch or so. That may not sound like a lot of extra effort, but imagine you’re running. Your arms stop swinging not for a second or two, but several. It’s not just locating the controls, it’s problem two. 2. Problem #2 is the actual design of the controls. On the predecessor, the BeatsX, the controls sat on a tapered rocker design. Once you found the controls, they were easy to operate. The center point of the rocker was pressed and held to call up Siri (or Hey Google), to advanced to the next song track, go back a song, or answer an incoming call. On the new Flex, the buttons have been separated and moved far apart. The up/down volume is on the side, unnatural to the position of easy use. You have to first find the controls, then rotate to side, then feel again for the rocker switch. It’s a 3-step process now and is clumsy. Think about doing that on a run. It takes several seconds and 100% will throw off your stride. 3. What was the center function of the rocker on the BeatsX has now moved to a stand alone button, but there’s little elevation to the button height AND it’s next to the mic. This means it’s difficult to find, then distinguish from the mic itself. And because it’s small with little elevation off the left side battery, it’s very difficult to depress, especially when sweating. It’s all around a very crappy redesign of the controls making them difficult, if not impossible to use during exercise. 4. Finally, Apple has moved the mic from about 3 inches below the ear where it was nearer the mouth, onto the left battery as shown on the image. This means it’s sitting on the neck. AND, because of the design placement relative the earpiece, the mic actually sits up against the neck itself. This means the mic is obscured and noisy if moving. Try noisy as all heck. It’s impossible to carry on a real conversation while moving. Overall this is a horrible redesign for anyone using them for sports or any moving activities. Don’t even consider them for a moment, run from them. They’ve been reengineered for sitting at a desk. They’re not even usable for simple walking. The added battery life would be a big plus if functional, they’re just not. The sound quality is about the same. No real change. Overall, BIG Apple misfire on this redesign. You’re gonna see a pretty quick redesign soon, these problems are highly noticeable. BeatsX were out for years. I’ll be surprised if they don’t hit reset in 18 mos. on the Flex. Until then, don’t buy if you’re using for a workout. Total waste of money, you can do better for half the cost. While I was willing to pay $100 for BeatsX, the BeatsFlex are a poorly designed product equivalent to the low end $25 or less products you can find from China. They’re really that bad, so don’t say I didn’t warn you if you get em!