Audio peripherals are an important asset to the smartphone accessory ecosystem. In emerging countries like India where smartphone manufacturers are following up to bridge the gap of packing premium features into a budget category. Noise, which is diversified into making affordable smart wearables and wireless headphones. Regardless, following a budget of around 3000 INR with active noise cancellation is a big challenge for the manufacturers. Enter Noise Buds Pop TWS, which offers an Environmental Noise Cancellation, optical sensors and quad microphones. Will these be able to make up space in the audio category. After using it extensively for 2 months, let’s find out in this review if it is a bang for your buck.
Box Contents of Noise Buds Pop
Noise Buds Pop
- Charging Case
- Charging Cable
- 2 Extra Sized Eartips
- User Manuals and Warranty Card
Specifications – Noise Buds Pop
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AUDIO
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Speaker Driver
6mm
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CONNECTIVITY
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Bluetooth
5.0
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Wireless Range
10m
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Compatibility
Android & iOS
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Latency
Up to 65ms in SBC codec and 85ms in AAC codec*
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PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS
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Earbuds Weight
4.5 grams (each earbud)
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Charging Case Dimension e
54.59*26.36*40.15 mm
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Charging Case Weight
36.6 grams
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Water Resistance
IPX4 sweat-resistant
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BATTERY & CHARGING
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Playtime
Up to 5 hours on a single charge and an additional 25 hours with the charging case
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Earbud Charging Time
Up to 2 hours
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Charging Case Charge time
Up to 2 hours
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Charging Port
Type-C
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Charging Indicator
Yes
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ADDITIONAL FEATURES
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In-ear detection
Yes
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Environmental Noise Cancellation
Yes
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Transparency Mode
Yes
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Hands-free Calling
MEMS mic in each earbud
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Hyper Sync
Yes
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Voice Assistant
Siri & Google Assistant
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Mic
Dual Mic
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COMFORT
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Form Factor
In-ear
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Ear tip Material & Size
Silicone (L, M, S)
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Controls
On-ear touch control (Transparency mode, Volume, Music, Call control feature on both earbuds, Siri and Google Assistant)
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DESIGN
Every true wireless affair starts at the charging case. A glossy finish coats the case and the plastic feels durable and doesn’t exclude quality but it’s prone to smudges and scratches. A USB Type-C Charging Port lies at the bottom while a button on the rear side starts the pairing process. There is the branding of ‘Noise’ and houses a battery indicator illustrated at the front of the charging case. I loved its small compact size which makes it to be easily carried around with you.
The earbuds hold dangling stems with a glossy finish which looks attractive with a notification light on the top and Noise branding on the bottom. Each earbud is arrayed with optical sensors that enable automatic ear detection and auto-resume functionality which usually lacks in this price segment. The in-ear styling sits snugly and comfortable for longer sessions. I’m not a big fan of plastic used here, they feel a bit cheap. But at this price point, you can’t complain either at least they fit in your ear concha. This should be useful for long outdoor running and workout.
COMFORT & AUDIO QUALITY
The Noise Buds Pop has an IPX4 certification which is not the best but they should withstand any terrestrial workouts. As we’ve said earlier that fit is a very subjective topic, it depends on the shape of your ears. The small-sized ear tips worked for me during our review period. It also bundles various sizes of ear-tips for different ear sizes.
The earbuds sport a minimalistic design and come in two colour options:- Pearl White and Gunmetal Grey. We’re using the Gunmetal Grey colour for our review period. The Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity withstands a stable connection under a 10-meter wireless range and supports two Bluetooth codes:- SBC and AAC codecs. Each earbud has an inlaid panel for touch guiding controls which has 2 gesture supports that insists single tap to increase/decrease volume levels, a double-tap to play/pause the music and a triple tap to turn off/on the transparency mode.
As a lot of peripherals offer a good frequency with amplified bass, the Buds Pop produces balanced sound quality. This amplifies the vocal clarity more often than bass and treble which results in a good level of mid-range frequencies. The 6mm drivers used in this are very far to stand against the competition which produces sufficient audio quality as its core purpose is not to deliver a bass-rich experience.
Listening to songs like These Days by Sidhu Moose Wala and Angad by Forty Seven, which emphasises vocal be more clear than the bass, we had a tough time enjoying bass songs. As soon as we switched to some soothing songs like Riha by Anuv Jain and Aziyat by Pratsofficial, its sound quality furnishes well where mid and high frequencies are equally good with a little compromise on bass. These are tuned down for delivering more clarity and clear vocals more than bass and treble.
Let’s address the elephant in the room which is the Environmental Noise Cancellation(ENC). The ENC is a slightly cheaper approach to ANC where noise cancellation is initiated by the microphone and replacing it with other audio frequencies to cancel it. For ANC, it uses an electronic component that requires excellent optimisation to proceed with noise reduction. This is the only reason some of the expensive pair of peripherals also degrades the sound quality when there’s not a proper optimisation. This is where ENC comes into the picture.
CALL QUALITY & BATTERY
With quad microphone support, it becomes much easier to cut down the ambient noise which does a decent job in cancelling the outdoor noise. With a snug fit and music, you can easily isolate yourself well. It’s not the best noise cancellation in the world so don’t have higher expectations with this. You can’t complain over ENC which is fulfilling noise cancellations needs at such a price tag.
Unlike many other TWS out there, it also includes features like Transparency mode which uses the quad mic to let the external noise come in for better audibility. The microphone is fine for casual calls but emits a slight echo. However, as we moved to crowded places, we struggled while communicating over a voice call.
Noise claims its battery to offer 5 hours of music playback. In real-world testing, this 600mAh battery in the case, I clocked 3 hours on a single charge with ENC on. Your mileage will rely on volume levels which I pushed to 90% volume for the consumption of music. Meanwhile, the included case can power up the earbuds 6 times giving you a claim up to 30 hours of music playback. Powering up the earbuds takes 2 hours to go from 0% to 100% with the case.
THE UNBIASED VERDICT
The Noise Buds Pop comes for Rs. 3499 and ships in two colours: Gunmetal Grey and Pearl White. If you’re more into vocal clarity rather than heavy metal bass, then the Noise Buds Pop will be your option to go for. It holds some demerits as well such as a smaller 6mm driver which produces bass which is not heavy and a lack of IP rating in which competitors are far ahead. If you’re someone who loves extra bass, these earbuds are not for you.
There are some better alternatives available which include Realme Buds Air 2, which have a rich bass 10mm drivers with a decent battery usage which costs around Rs.3,299. If you can stretch your budget a little more, then you can opt for Oppo Enco W51 which has a better noise cancellation at which price it boils down to the market which marks as Rs.4,990.
Disclaimer: We tested the Noise Buds Pop for two months before writing this review. All our reviews are unbiased and are published without the brand getting to read it before you guys. We don’t change our reviews on pressure from brands and that’s the reason we are not sent review units from companies like Samsung, OnePlus and a few more.
