Are Truly Wireless Earbuds Worth It?

We often see many people opting for wired earbuds, as they are free from issues regarding battery, connectivity or sound quality but we are witnessing that headphones cables are falling out of fashion. Wireless audio sounds better than ever. Compression formats for Bluetooth 5.0 are more reliable. Battery timings have increased with impressive performance.

Wireless headphones have existed for some time, basically since the Bluetooth as a standard was invented. Though battery powered and not physically connected to the phone, they have a cord connecting both buds and sometimes a band around the neck too. On the other hand, truly wireless earphones cut the cord between the earbuds, giving true freedom. But cutting the cord is not just enough when we talk about overall performance. So when we talk about performance following are some basic factors that are commonly looked upon:

Sound

Sound Quality is not like simple wireless or wired earphones. In most Truly Wireless Ear-buds sound is pretty ordinary. But some provide built-in EQ so one can boost the bass or adjust the sound other ways to suit one’s needs, e.g. Samsung Galaxy Buds and Jabra Elite Active 65t.

Battery

Battery life is always a concern when talked about wireless electronics. Truly wireless ear-buds have generally a 3-4 hour battery. If we talk about the most famous ones like the Apple AirPods offer 5 hours for iPhone/iPad, while Samsung Galaxy buds beat them by offering 7.5 hours battery. But the battery timing can be increased by using a charging case, that extends battery timing 20 hours generally. But it needs a break to charge them now and then since, but they mostly take half an hour to completely charge. So it’s not that big issue.

Wireless Range

The wireless range is sometimes the concern because the general concept is that Bluetooth cannot do distant coverage. In reality, the Bluetooth range may vary from 33(10m) to 328 feet(100m). Generally, the ear-buds wireless range is 30(10m), which includes Jabra Ellite65t, Sony WF-1000X Onkyo W800BT, and the Beoplay E8. But Apple AirPods are exceptional in this case due to Apple’s W1chip, they can go as far as 100feet(30m).

Design

If we look from the design and comfort perspective truly wireless earbuds beat wired and simple wireless earphones due to the absence of cables. Since comfort is the main theme of these headphones, they fit in the ear canal tightly and securely, and stay put even when constantly moved, are lightweight and have controls and buttons well placed to prevent fatigue.
Sometimes to get more battery life out of the truly wireless headphones, the manufacturer will place a bigger battery in the housing. This makes it heavy, which causes pain and discomfort. And also, they are small so a common problem can be easily losing them.

Price

Coming to the price true wireless is more expensive than their counterparts in simple wireless headphones, e.g. Beoplay E8 may cost around €350 while its compatriots like Beoplay H5 cost €50 less. But still, there are cheap ones which cost under $100.

Putting its luxury branding aside, it’s not cheap to make great true wireless headphones. In a small package to output high-quality music with limited power is a major challenge. Manufacturers had to invest in R&D to overcome them. Hence, most of the truly wireless earbuds worth trying.

Verdict

So Are Truly Wireless Earbuds Worth It? The answer is: Yes definitely and I think these wireless earbuds are the proof that technology is constantly being innovated and they indeed make us feel like we are living in the future already.