With the extinction of old school 3.5mm earbuds, or wired earphones, people have now turned to buying wireless earphones. Choosing a wireless or TWS earbuds isn’t as simple as just getting the first thing you see, or even the cheapest one on the market. There are a lot of decisions to be made in choosing the right one for you.
Yes, it can get overwhelming with so many tech brands, big and small, offering their own earbuds. We have some suggestions for things to look out for in buying the perfect earbud for you.
Price
Yes, the first consideration that narrows down your choices would first be price. Prices of TWS earbuds can range from less than PHP 1,000 to more than PHP 20,000 for some models. So first determine how much you’re willing to spend so you can shop from a specific set number of models within that budget.
There are TWS earbuds less than PHP 1,000 that do an acceptable job and can be your day to day driver, and the expensive ones on the other end of the spectrum offer premium sound and features that you might not want to live without after trying them out.
Design
TWS earbuds these days come in different shapes and sizes. The more common decision here is choosing what kind of earbud you are looking for. Is it a stemmed design, ala Apple Airpods Pro? Or stem-less like the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds? These aren’t just design choices here. Most stemmed design earphones have the microphone on the stem, so usually these kinds of earbuds offer a better call experience as it is closer to your mouth. Stem-less earbuds are small, compact, and very light so you can wear these kinds of earbuds for longer periods of time.
You should also consider the size of the earbuds. There are different sizes from big to small, make sure the one you pick is perfect for your ear size. If you are looking for something that you will bring with you while you exercise, such as going to the gym, or running, there are earbuds that offer “wingtips” or features that allow the earbud to stay snug in your ear as you exercise.
Lastly in design, you have to consider the size of the case. Brands offer their own take on case designs for their TWS earbuds. There are bigger ones which may offer more battery life, and smaller ones, like the case of the Nothing Ear 1 which can just about fit anywhere. Flat cases can be laid flat on most surfaces while curved cases look sexy and sleek.
Sound
The most important factor for some people buying TWS earbuds is definitely the sound. Some people don’t care as long as it works and plays their music, but a lot of enthusiasts out there want to have an audiophile experience. The great thing about sound is that you don’t even have to pay or buy the most expensive one to have good audio quality.
This is where trying the products out is very important. Don’t be shy to ask if you could try the earbuds for yourself, this is a very subjective thing, each person likes their music or sound a certain way. A review, of course, can tell you a certain TWS earbud sounds a certain way, but without trying it out, you’ll never know exactly if it’s what you like.
For example, some people are bass heads and some people are not. Check out multiple reviews first, but even better, try it out at a store if you can before buying one. Personally, a balanced sound signature is what you should be looking for so that it’s perfect for different genres.
Finally, the microphone quality should also be a big factor for you if you’re gonna be using these things a lot. If you are commuting and need to answer a call, you need earbuds that can cut through the noise and make your voice be heard. For Zoom calls and other online meetings, having good microphones on your earbuds can make such a big difference. Again, stemmed earbuds offer generally better microphone quality but there are exceptions to the rule, so watch YouTube videos, read reviews first before purchasing one.
Connectivity
You have to also consider if the earbuds you are looking at has good connectivity. What does this mean? You want earbuds that give you a great connection even if you are away from your device. You wouldn’t want a device that just disconnects or is interrupted the moment you walk a few feet away from your audio source.
Connectivity also means that the earbuds offer fast connection whenever you turn them on and disconnects as quickly as well. Lastly, for other people out there, multi-point connectivity is important, does it connect to multiple devices at once or do you need to keep manually connecting to one device at a time? Again, features like this do come at a cost but some people feel the convenience outweighs the price.
Noise Cancellation
Another feature that used to be exclusive to more expensive TWS earbuds is noise cancellation. Noise cancellation is a feature that blocks out noise from the outside, which is especially useful for airplane rides, or when you want to concentrate in a noisy cafe.
There are so many TWS earbuds right now with ANC, or active noise cancellation, but they come with different implementations. Some do it better than others but usually come at a higher price. One of the best ones for this is Sony’s WF1000XM4.
Battery Life
Last but not the least is battery life. Can your TWS earbuds last you an entire day? Or does it conk out after a few hours. Does the case hold enough charge so that you don’t have to find a socket all the time? Check out the battery capacity of various earbuds and the battery life of the case as well.
Also check if the case features fast charging. This allows you to top up the case in just a few minutes for hours worth of charge. This can be very useful in a pinch!
Conclusion
These are just some of the things you should consider when choosing a pair of TWS earbuds. Again there are so many out there from all the different tech brands. Finding the perfect one for yourself may involve a lot of trial, error, and a lot of research. So before buying one, make sure you consider some of our suggestions right here and you may just end up finding the one for you.
