As Xiaomi is expanding its IoT products list we are getting more and more products in Nepal too. In Nepal, there are very few choices when it comes to budget TWS and Xiaomi have come up with there own Redmi Earbuds S. It is the budget offering from the company, which supports a similar design to there previously launched Mi True Wireless Earbuds. Redmi Earbuds S is available for purchase for Nrs.3,199. Let’s see what this TWS offers at this affordable price and are they any good.
Built & Design
Looking at the design, Redmi Earbuds S features a pill shape case with Matt finish and shinning Redmi logo up in the front. The case features a thick design though it is small in size. We get a micro USB port for charging as the case has a 300mAh battery making the weight of the total package about 35 gm. Though we don’t get a cable inside the box. I will discuss the battery performance of the case and the buds later in the review. The case has a good built with quite a satisfying click when you close the lid.
Talking about the design of the buds, they are quite light at just 4.1gm. The buds feature a multi-function button on both of the earbuds. We get a single mic on the top side of both the earbuds, whose performance is not much to praise. Earbuds have a matt finish around with replaceable ear cups with two different sizes tips provided in the box.
Connection & Controls
It was very easy to pair the device for the first time. I just took the earbuds out of the case, white light started to blink. First, the buds pair with themselves, and within a few seconds, you will see a new Bluetooth device on your smartphone named “Redmi Earbuds S” and you can just simply tap and connects. For next time, the buds connected with my device seamlessly.
The buds pairs over Bluetooth 5.0 and has a nice range. If you have a large room then it can stay connected without any problem and give a reliable connection. But if you are a bit far away or with walls in between then the buds might be in a problem to connect properly. The connection might see some improvement in the next generation. The Buds supports SBC (subband) codec. It would have been great if we had support for the Aptx codec but we should not forget that this piece of tech costs only 3,200.
The buds make a tactile button on both the side. Talking about there controls
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Single Press to Play or Pause the Music/video. It even works with Youtube & Netflix app, Windows laptop, while using Youtube on the web or any other streaming platform.
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Double Press will trigger the voice assistant. (Google assistant on Android and Siri on iOS.
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Trippe press will trigger the low latency gaming mode.
As of now, these actions are not remappable. As we do not get controls for skipping the tracks or getting back to the next tracks directly from the buds. You can ask your assistant to do it, or do it manually via your device.
Performance
Redmi Buds are okayish when it comes to sound quality. The buds seams to empathize with Bass. The sounds from the buds seem to be much uplifted in low and high bass. You will get decent output when you listen to Bollywood songs or even while watching sports. But when it seems to instrumental separation, the buds seem to lack a bit in that department. With the buds, you get a max output RF of 20mW.
Before using Redmi Earbuds S, I was using Mi Earphones Basic. If we compare the sound signature of both the earphones. They are quite comparable but, I preferred the Mi Earphone basic, as while using with Xiaomi phones you get much more control over the Equaliser and changing the sound profile. If you are found to listen to music and want the best quality possible, you can use any third-party equalizer app to change the settings of the buds according to your like. Music streaming apps like Spotify offer built-in equalizer settings.
The buds also have low latency gaming mode, which reduces the latency to as low as 122ms. This helps a lot while you are playing fast games like C.O.D Mobile and PUBG. To access the gaming mode you have to press the button three times in either of the buds. But the sound seems to crack a bit when you use Buds on full volume in the gaming mode.
Talking about the call quality, the microphone is located at the top of each of the buds. The microphone quality of these buds is not something to praise about. They produce tiny and muffled sound on the other side while calls and the software-based noise cancellation was not on the point. While making calls like Messenger, the mic didn’t even catch my voice but it worked fine with Viber or google duo.
Battery life
The buds claim to provide 4 Hr of playback on a single full charge with a 40mAh battery on each of the buds. With my usage, volume mostly at somewhere around 80%, I got 3 hours and 20 mins of battery endurance. While using in lower volume settings it was somewhere near that 4Hr mark. While the carrying case has a 300mAh of battery which can charge the buds fully twice. The buds take about 1.5 Hr to fully charge inside the case, while the case can take somewhere around 2.5 to 3. This type of battery life is not extraordinary. In the market, with few hundreds, we get products like Realme Buds Q which claims up to 20Hr of playback with the case. Which is much more than 12 Hr on the Redmi Earbuds S.
Redmi Earbuds S
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Inexpensive
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Decent Sound Quality
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Light and Ergonomic
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The mic is kinda trash
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Battery life might need some improvement
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Price is justified
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Touch controls might have been better
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Would like to see Type C charging next time
So, this was our experience of using the Redmi Earbuds. What are your thoughts about these? Let us know in the comment section below and also tell us which next TWS do you want us to review.
