Xiaomi Redmi EarBuds S Review: You Get What You Pay For

|

Xiaomi took everyone by surprise with the launch price of the Redmi Earbuds S. Priced at just Rs. 1,799, the budget TWS earphones are essentially designed to bring wireless audio experience to masses. As there's a huge market willing to make the transition, the Redmi Earbuds S seems like a viable option for anyone planning to ditch their old wired earphones.

 

Rating:
3.5/5

Redmi EarBuds S Review: Best Budget TWS Earphones?

Continuing the tradition, Xiaomi has loaded the Redmi Earbuds S with plenty of features. Like some premium true wireless earphones, the Redmi Earbuds S also promises a long-lasting battery life, 12-hours, to be precise. The budget earbuds seamlessly connect to your smart devices and also feature an IPX4 rated design. Additionally, the Redmi Earbuds S dedicated gaming mode (low latency mode) brings class-leading wireless latency to 122ms.

The spec-sheet is quite impressive for TWS earphones which are priced as low as Rs. 1,799, but as we know, on-paper specs and real-life performance can have a huge difference. That said, we used the Redmi Earbuds S in our daily routine for casual music and voice calls. Here are our thoughts on the budget true wireless earbuds from Xiaomi.

Redmi Earbuds S Design And Build Quality

Redmi Earbuds S Design And Build Quality

The Redmi Earbuds S ships in a tiny black color charging case. The pill-shaped case has a matte finish coating and is extremely lightweight to carry around; however, be careful while storing it in bag packs because the quality of plastic used is rather flimsy and too much stress can cause damage. This doesn't come as a surprise considering the sub-2,000 price-point. However, the lack of Type-C charging port is a bit disappointing.

Lightweight IPX4 Rated Earbuds
 

Lightweight IPX4 Rated Earbuds

The earbuds are neatly placed inside the casing and do not fall off even if you hold the case upside down. The magnets hold them pretty firmly. The buds are very lightweight and are built on in-ear design form-factor. There are no stalks to stick out from the ear like the Apple Airpods and the Realme Buds Air. The buds are IPX4 rated, which makes them sweat and splash-proof, just like the mid-range Galaxy Buds+.

Wearing Experience And Pairing Process

Wearing Experience And Pairing Process

The Redmi Earbuds S offer a secure fit but I did not find them very comfortable for long listening sessions. I started feeling ear fatigue after 30 or 40 minutes of continuous music playback. The wearing experience can vary from person to person and you might find these buds fairly comfortable for all-day use. They sit at 45-degrees in your ears and you can choose between three different ear tips to find the perfect fit for your ear type.

The Redmi earbuds S connect to your smartphones in a jiffy. Simply take them out from the case and wait for two to three seconds for your smartphone to detect them. There's no pairing button on the case so don't bother looking for one.

No Touch Controls But Physical Buttons On Earbuds

No Touch Controls But Physical Buttons On Earbuds

There are no gesture controls on the Earbuds S; instead, they rely on physical buttons to provide basic functionality. A single press on the left and right earbud plays/pauses the music and also lets you receive/end calls. You can double press on either of the earbuds to invoke the phone's smart assistant.

You can also long-press the buttons to initiate the pairing mode if you are not able to pair the buds by simply taking them out from the charging case. Last but not the least; you can activate the low-latency mode on the earbuds by pressing the button thrice.

Audio Performance

Audio Performance

The Redmi Earbuds S will disappoint you if you have high hopes from the sound quality. These are low-cost true wireless earbuds and only perform like them. They serve just fine for the first-time TWS earphones buyers or someone planning to use them mostly for voice call and as secondary earphones.

The audio delivery is mostly inclined towards the bass delivery, which is the case with most of the budget wireless earphones across the types (Neckband, TWS earphones, etc.) and brands, except the Realme Buds Air and the Buds Air Neo that focus more on mids and high frequencies.

I mostly streamed music via the offline music player on the device, and music streaming apps such as Spotify and YouTube Music. I could clearly hear the constant rumble in the background while listening to tracks, especially in the mid-bass region. Due to the overpowering bass, the tracks sound muddy and lack clarity.

The Redmi Earbuds S has a decent soundstage but the overall audio delivery lacks clarity. But the booming bass in the background creates a certain oomph factor, which will please consumers who prefer the particular kind of audio response.

An equalizer can come handy as it will allow you to fine-tune the audio to some extent. I had to use to while streaming music on the offline music player and it did improve the sound output. This shouldn't be the case but what can you expect from a pair of true wireless earphones that cost as low as Rs. 1,799.

Moving on, the Redmi Earbuds S serves well for voice calls in daily routine. I could clearly hear people on the call and the callers also did no complain about my voice. I mostly used the Redmi Earbuds S indoors and the microphones worked just fine on these budged earbuds for voice calls.

Battery Life And Connectivity

Battery Life And Connectivity

Battery life and connectivity are the highlights of the Redmi earbuds S. The budget earphones can easily last for more than three hours on one full charge with music being streamed at 80% volume. I managed to get almost 4 hours of battery life with volume levels fluctuating between 50 to 80%. The case can offer two additional cycles of battery taking the whole music playback to good 12 hours on one full charge. This is quite good for TWS earphones priced under Rs. 2,000.

As far as connectivity is concerned, the Redmi Earbuds S is as good as premium true wireless earphones. I did not face any connection drops during my review duration. The earbuds offer a stable connection even with long-range use. And while these buds work on Bluetooth 5.0, they cannot be paired with two devices at the same time. The buds connect to your smartphone individually and can stream music independently.

The Redmi Earbuds S also comes equipped with a dedicated gaming mode. The claimed 122ms low latency mode ensured smooth gaming experience on paired devices and the list included the premium Mi 10 5G, OnePlus 8 Pro and even some budget devices from Xiaomi and Realme. The performance might vary depending upon the device you are using to play games.

Verdict

Verdict

The Redmi Earbuds S naturally becomes a viable option because of two factors- the Xiaomi brand tag and plenty of features the TWS earphones bring to the table at such low price. These budged earbuds offer solid connectivity and battery life. The design is IPX4 certified and the buds serve well for voice calls. As far as audio is concerned, these are not meant for serious audiophiles and you only get what you pay for. Redmi Earbuds S are available in only black color at Rs.1,799 on mi.com, Mi homes, Mi Studios, Mi Stores, Mi Commerce and Amazon.in.

Best Mobiles in India

Best Phones

Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Yes No
Settings X
X