Today we will talk about the new TWS earbuds from the subsidiary of Xiaomi called the Redmi Buds 3 Pro. Even with a cursory glance at the characteristics and features, the new model causes genuine interest. Here you have an active noise control system, and a ambient mode, and wireless charging, and auto pause, and simultaneous connection to two devices. And the price is more than affordable! Not bad, huh? So, let’s see if the Redmi Buds 3 Pro is any good.
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Full specifications of the Redmi Buds 3 Pro
- Type: TWS, intrachannel
- Drivers: dynamic, 9 mm
- Bluetooth version: 5.2
- Audio codecs: SBC, AAC
- Active noise control: up to 35 dB
- Control: touch
- Battery capacity: earphones – 35 mAh each, case – 470 mAh
- Earphone time: listening to music – up to 6 hours (without ANC, 50% volume, AAC), calls – up to 3 hours (without ANC, 50% volume)
- Case battery life: up to 28 hours
- Charging: wireless, wired (USB Type-C)
- Charging time: earphones – up to 1 hour, case – up to 2.5 hours (charging by cable), fast charging of earphones (10 minutes of charging = 3 hours of listening time)
- Dimensions and weight of headphones: 25.4×20.3×21.3 mm, 4.9 g
- Dimensions and weight of the case: 65×48×26 mm, 45 g
- Water protection: IPX4 (earphones)
- Colors: Glacier Grey and Graphite Black
Price
The Redmi Buds 3 Pro are virtually impossible to distinguish from the Redmi AirDots 3 Pro. On the Chinese market, these headphones are known as AirDots 3 Pro, and in the global market they are called Buds 3 Pro. The official price for a global version is about $85. But you can save money and buy the Chinese version on AliExpress for about $50.
What’s in the box
The Redmi Buds 3 Pro comes in a presentable box in the color of the earphones with a three-dimensional image of the headset and a model name. Inside it are earphones with a case, a small charging cable, instructions with a warranty card, as well as 3 pairs of additional ear tips of different sizes – S, M and L. There are 4 pairs of ear pads in total.
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Design and materials
The earphone case looks rather restrained and is shaped like a rounded elongated capsule. With dimensions of 65×48×26 mm, it weighs only 45 g. The case is made of matte, slightly rough plastic, so fingerprints on it are practically invisible. In front, under the lid, there is an LED indicator, and a little lower is a button which is needed to activate pairing mode and reset the settings.
The brand name can be seen on the back, and the wired charging connector (Type-C) is on the bottom. The lid opens easily, locks well in the open position, and closes with a click, characteristic of a plastic case. In our review, the Buds 3 Pro are presented in Graphite Black, so the color of the case is dark gray, but the earphones are black.
The Buds 3 Pro themselves also look quite simple. The outer part of the case, where the touch panel is located, is smooth and slightly rounded, but it is not a monochromatic black, but with an overflow into gray, which creates a kind of imitation of a semi-precious stone. The panel looks nice in the light; much more interesting than the usual gloss. Here on the top there is a hole for one of the microphones, and there are 3 of them total: the second microphone is at the bottom edge, and the third is under the radiator mesh.
On the inner side there is a pair of charging terminals, an auto-pause sensor mesh, and a “leg.” In the case of the Buds 3 Pro, it is tilted slightly to the side for a better fit. It is worth noting that the earphone housing has an IPX4 waterproof rating, which means that they are not afraid of drops of rain or sweat.
Ergonomics and convenience
The Buds 3 Pro fit very well. Probably, this was facilitated by 3 factors: low weight (only 4.9 g for each earphone), ergonomic shape of the headset and the direction of the body upwards, not downwards or to the side. The earphones do not stick out of the ear and do not press. You can use them for a long time and they do not cause discomfort even after several hours of use.
Of course, we are all different and there is no universal earphone in the world that would suit everyone. But I recommend not dismissing the Buds 3 Pro. The earbuds are pretty cleverly designed, and most likely will fit you.
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Pairing with a phone
Unlike the “Chinese” AirDots 3 Pro, the global Buds 3 Pro do not have their own app at the moment. For some, this will turn out to be a disadvantage (what about the software update and advanced settings?), But when testing earphones without software support, I had neither the desire nor the need to do any manipulations in the app. However, knowing Xiaomi and Co., the application for global Buds 3 Pro may appear a little later.
Since there is no accompanying software, the earphones are connected via Bluetooth. As is customary with many manufacturers, if you use a Xiaomi, Redmi or Poco smartphone, earphones can be connected as easy as possible. For smartphones of other brands, you will have to do one more action.
I connected to a Xiaomi smartphone, and it was enough for me to just turn on Bluetooth, take the earphones out of the case and a second later the Buds 3 Pro connection window appeared on the screen. If you connect to a smartphone from another brand or to another device in general, before connecting you need to put the headset into pairing mode by holding the button on the case for 2 seconds. Then the indicator should flash and you can search for the device. In the future, connection to the device occurs automatically when you open the lid of the case.
Simultaneous connection to two devices
The Redmi Buds 3 Pro supports simultaneous connection to two devices, which is very, very convenient. The connection sequence is quite logical. First, we pair with the main device, then put the earphones into pairing mode again and search for the Buds 3 Pro on another device. It’s a matter of a minute.
To try it, I simultaneously connected the earphones to a smartphone with MIUI 12.5.1 and a laptop with Windows 10. Before switching to another device, a beep is heard in the headphones. By the way, the headset switches between sound sources quite quickly, with minimal latency, and there is no need to adjust or reconnect anything at all. On which device you press the “Play” button, the sound will come from there.
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Controls
The Buds 3 Pro has touch controls, which, in my opinion, is the best solution for TWS-earphones. With a double tap on any headset, you can turn on playback, pause, and answer an incoming call. Triple tap on any headset selects the next track, declines an incoming call or ends the current one; to turn on the ambient mode or noise control mode the user can touch and hold on any of the earphones. The Buds 3 Pro also has an automatic pause function when you take out one of the earphones and an automatic playback when you put it in.
Sound and ANC
In my opinion, the Buds 3 Pro sound very decent. You should not expect anything special from them, but it’s more than fine for this price. With 9mm speakers, the Buds 3 Pro boast well-defined bass, clean middle frequences and moderate highs. The detail is quite good, the sound does not fall into the mess and is well balanced even at maximum volume. In terms of sound, I have nothing to complain about, it’s pleasant with all genres: instrumental, jazz, electronics, and all kinds of metal and alternative. You can watch movies as well.
The Buds 3 Pro support the ambient mode and active noise control, which cuts off up to 35 dB of ambient sounds. The format of earbuds already has passive noise reduction, but in the case of ANC in Buds 3 Pro, only some of the external noise reaches you. All sounds, from gusts of wind to speech, become distant, so you can concentrate on music or an audiobook even in noisy places.
The ambient mode also works well – you can easily maintain a conversation without removing the buds. The manufacturer claims that for some smartphones (more precisely, even for some versions of MIUI), the headset supports adaptive noise reduction with AI, which analyzes the level of ambient noise and selects the desired mode yourself, as well as two-level ambient mode. It has not yet been announced which smartphones or Xiaomi shell versions support them, but it was not possible to test these feature on MIUI 12.5.1.
Headset mode
The audibility is good for both parties. There are no issues at all with conversations indoors, and in noisy places it is necessary to speak louder. The usual for this kind of earphones. The only thing I would improve in them is the volume level (it is a little lacking), and everything else is fine.
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Connection and latency
The Buds 3 Pro confidently keep the connection with devices; I did not notice spontaneous disconnections or signal interruptions, and switching between two sound sources is quite fast. If we talk about delays, then I did not notice them when connecting either to a laptop or to a smartphone, or when watching media content, or during voice transmission. Everything is stable.
Battery life
The charging case received a 470 mAh battery, and each earbud also has 35 mAh. The manufacturer says that the buds will survive up to 6 hours of listening to music with noise control turned off and at 50% volume, and during telephone conversations up to 3 hours under the same conditions. Together with the case, the headset can last up to 28 hours in total.
According to the actual use scenatia, we have the following. 2 hours of listening to music at maximum volume with ANC turned off drains the battery from 100% to 60%. That is, if you listen to music loudly, then 4 hours is all you’ll get. But if you turn on ANC, then the result will, of course, be more modest. A full charge of the buds will take about 1 hour, and recharging in the case takes up to 2.5 hours. The Buds 3 Pro supports fast charging: 10 minutes of charging will give you 3 hours of playback. Wireless charging is also supported.
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Verdict
All in all, the Redmi Buds 3 Pro look like interesting and competitive 2021 earbuds. Having a quite adequate price tag, they sound good, provide a solid ANC and ambient mode, which is rare in this price segment. You can also count on convenient touch controls, auto pause, and wireless charging.
Sure, it’s a little strange that there’s no app, but there’s no real need for it anyway. The app will most likely be rolled out later. In my opinion, this is an excellent solution for those who are looking for earbuds with good sound, noise control, wireless charging and other features relevant for TWS earphones at an affordable price.
Do we know if ANC works when only using one earpiece and if so does it work on either side unlike the Bose Quiet Comfort buds where only the right side works in single earpiece mode. Reason I ask is that I’m deaf in my right ear.
goods na goods to pri