Spot jogging, music, taking calls... it’s a great time to buy a pair of truly wireless earphones. Of course, with the 3.5mm jack slowly disappearing from smartphones, one is left with no choice but to buy one of these if a new phone is on the shopping list. Things to look at while making a purchase? Fit, sound quality, battery life, call quality and, of course, design and weight. Enter Amazfit PowerBuds, which has so far been making all the right noises with smartwatches at affordable prices.
Solidly built
Let’s get a big question out of the way: Does it fit well? It fits more than well. No amount of shaking would shake these audio cans off your ears. The earbuds come in a neat case, which has a premium feel and just about the right size to slip into the pocket without any fear of getting scratches from, say, the car key or coins. It has a solid built.
Inside the box are some ear tips, which really help a person like me, one who has Mr Bean ears. Once popped into the ears, there is an option to attach magnetic earhooks which are inside the charging case. The pebble-shaped device is also water and dust resistant, which some higher-end earbuds fail to offer, the Sony WF-1000XM3 for example.
Feel the vibrations
The sound is one of the best, offering highs that are crisp and the mids are warm while the bass has just the right hit. It’s undoubtedly among the best-sounding truly wireless earphones in its category. In case you want to play around with the sound, you can do so from the equalizer on the app. All kinds of functions can be accessed with double and triple taps on either of the earbuds. The touchpads are effective, without any fail.
The other big feature is noise cancellation. It’s not at the same level as what high-end earbuds have to offer but for the price, it’s good. It easily drowns out the fan and — now that we are working from home — most of the noises coming from the kitchen! There is also ambient mode, which is basically turning off noise cancellation so that you are better aware of your surroundings.
The supported codecs are mSBC, SBC and AAC. The last mentioned offers higher-resolution playback, which is something one can easily feel. Importantly, there are no issues with audio latency while watching YouTube videos.
Coming to the mic, it’s brilliant. Outside or inside or with people talking around you, while speaking your voice would come across very clear. Even vehicle sounds won’t be a big hindrance.
Here’s where we have to say that no pair of truly wireless earbuds is perfect. There is a heart rate monitoring option as it’s equipped with a PPG heart rate sensor. Though the earbuds are compatible with iOS and Android, those who are within Apple’s ecosystem would probably go for an Apple Watch and look at all the details on their Watch. As for Android users, many wear some brand of fitness band or smartwatch, which shows all the details. In other words, this feature is unnecessary.
Though some have complained about the weight of each earbud being 6g but for a person who doesn’t wear earbuds for hours, it’s okay. What we like more is the eight hours of playback the earbuds offer (while the charging case offers another 16 hours).
Is it for you?
The sound is above average and when it comes to fit, it’s snug as a bug. And there is great battery life. What Amazfit should have focused more on is the sound department (like better noise cancellation) and perhaps bringing down the weight of the earbuds. Yet, no amount of criticism would deny Amazfit PowerBuds of the big brownie point which comes in the form of crisp sound and good-quality mics.
At a glance
- Device: Amazfit PowerBuds
- Weight: Earbuds 6g x 2
- Supported codecs: mSBC, SBC, AAC
- Driver type and size:
- MC, 9mm
- Water and dust resistance:
- IP55 (earbuds)
- Battery life: About eight hours on a single charge. The charging case provides an additional 16 hours
- Price: Rs 6,999
