Christmas 2021: Best smartspeakers, earbuds to gift this festive season
The first half of 2021 saw the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic causing the loss of thousands of lives and fortunately, the second half turned for better thanks to the increased speed of vaccination, which led to a steady dip in the infections.
Now, Christmas festive season is upon us and it's the time of the year, most of us relax and enjoy the year-end holiday. What better to sit around with loved ones and listen to some good music. If you are planning to buy any gifts, smart speakers and earbuds are good thoughtful options. Besides dishing out good tracks, they are also good in carrying out tasks such as switching on Internet-of-Things (IoT) gadgets such as smart lights, smart TVs, security cameras and other stuff with just voice commands.
DH lists some of the best smart speakers and earphones in various price bands that are worth buying this festive season.
Amazon Echo Show 10
Amazon's Echo Show 10 flaunts a 10-inch flat touch-display panel docked to a cylindrical speaker similar to the Echo Studio, but in a smaller form factor. Most importantly. the sound output is loud and at the same time, very crisp even when the volume is on the higher side.
It supports Amazon Prime Music, Spotify, JioSaavn, Gaana, and Apple Music and other music streaming apps and OTTs too. It is a good gadget to spruce up the living room. Also, users can control IoT devices with ease.
Must read | Amazon Echo Show 10 review: The best gets better
Apple HomePod mini
Recently, Apple launched new colour range of HomePod mini in India for Rs 9,900. It is 3.3-inch tall and comes with colour-matched details such as tinted touch surface, mesh fabric, volume icons, and woven power cable.
It boasts a proprietary acoustic waveguide design, which can direct the flow of sound down and out toward the bottom of the speaker for an immersive 360-degree audio experience.
The three-microphone array is tuned to hear 'Hey Siri,' and a fourth inward-facing microphone help isolate sound coming from the speaker to improve voice detection when music is playing.
Apple HomePod mini comes packed with an Apple S5 chip, an Apple-engineered full-range driver, a neodymium magnet, and a pair of force-cancelling passive radiators, which enables deep bass and crisp high frequencies.
In addition to white and grey, it is now available in three more colours-yellow, orange and blue.
Google Nest Audio
It features an optimised metallic grill with a fabric cover. Inside, it houses a 19mm tweeter for consistent high-frequency coverage and clear vocals, and a 75mm mid-woofer to deliver the enhanced bass effect.
Google smart speaker is powered by a 1.8GHz Cortex-A53 quad-core processor with a high-performance Machine Learning hardware engine. It has a built-in Chromecast, supports Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz), and Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless connectivity.
It boasts a special Media EQ feature that enables the speaker to automatically tune itself to whatever the user is listening to music, podcasts, audiobooks or even a response from Google Assistant. And Ambient IQ lets Nest Audio also adjust the volume of Assistant, news, podcasts, and audiobooks based on the background noise at home, so the user can hear the weather forecast even over the noisy background of a TV. It costs Rs 6,999.
Must read | Google Nest Audio review: Well-rounded smart speaker
Amazon Echo Dot (4th gen)
Amazon has done a wonderful job with the spherical design for the new Echo Dot, which resembles a Magic 8-ball fortune teller toy.
It features a premium fabric finish and bright LED light ring and is rightly placed at the bottom of the sphere and flashes up whenever Alexa digital assistant is invoked.
It is 3.9-inch wide and 3.5-inch tall. With the all-new form factor and the right placement of the LED ring, the new Echo Dot adds great value to any room you place in the home. Our review unit is a Blue colour model. It also comes in black and white colours.
It will get you the latest updates on the sports, real news, weather information, event or appointment schedules so that you can plan the day's routine accordingly. It cost Rs 4,499.
Must read | Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen): Great entry-level smart speaker with improved design
Xiaomi Mi Smart Speaker
The new Mi Smart Speaker features a sturdy metal mesh with 10531 sound holes and a 63.5mm sound driver. It has a 12W speaker at the front and is powered by DTS Professional tuning and Texas Instruments’ TAS5805M Hi-Fi Audio Processor and promises 360-degree surround sound output.
It is powered by Google Assistant and can be paired to the phone via the Google Home app and used to control numerous IoT gadgets and appliances such as lights, thermostats, security cameras and more. Users can also use the Chromecast functionality to stream shows, movies, and music on their TV or speaker. For now, it supports only English and Hindi languages. The Mi Smart Speaker will be available at a price of Rs 3,999.
Must read | Xiaomi Mi Smart Speaker review: Amazingly good
Earphones
Now that we are done with the smart speakers for home entertainment, let's focus on the earbuds. With compact form factors, they are very handy for virtual meetings be it at home or at the office with clients staying in remote places.
Apple AirPods (3rd Gen)
Apple's latest AirPods come with a renewed design and one noticeable change over the previous iteration is the shorter stem. It should be noted that the battery life remains the same.
Also, the new AirPods (3rd gen) features inward-facing microphones and monitors for sound, and then Adaptive EQ, powered by computational audio, tunes the low and mid frequencies to account for what may be lost due to variances in fit.
Furthermore, it supports spatial audio. Using advanced spatial audio algorithms, and applying directional audio filters to subtly adjust the frequencies that each ear receives, the new AirPods can place sound all around the user.
With this, AirPods 3 users can feel a three-dimensional theatre-like experience, placing sound virtually anywhere in space, and with Dolby Atmos, users can also enjoy the multi-level experience with dynamic head tracking, so music, video, and even Group FaceTime calls feel more immersive compared to the previous iteration.
AirPods 3 promises to offer six hours of listening time and up to 30 hours of total listening time with the charging case. Also, it has a sweat-and-water-resistant coating. It costs Rs 18,500.
The only thing missing in the AirPods 3rd gen is the Active Noise Cancellation. So, prospective buyers can go for AirPods Pro, which by the way costs Rs 24,900.
Recently, the company also launched Apple Music Voice Plan. It is a low-tier plan and costs just Rs 49 per month in India.
To subscribe to the Apple Music Voice Plan, users just have to ask Siri on their device -- 'Hey Siri, start my Apple Music Voice trial,'. Or, users can sign up through the Apple Music app.
Also, it should be noted Apple offers custom engravings on the AirPods cases. Users can ask for a unique mix of emojis, numbers, and text. Also, they can choose from Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Gujarati, Telugu, and English for free. Furthermore, users can also personalise their purchase with thoughtful gift options by shipping selected Apple products and accessories with a beautifully wrapped gift box and customised card, or a special message on the packing slip.
Besides AirPods, users can also avail engraving service while buying iPad, AirTag, Apple Pencil (2nd generation), or iPod touch. However, it is available only on Apple's official website.
Sony WF-H800
It sports an ergonomic tri-hold structure, designed to contact three different points on the ear for a secure, comfortable fit.
Under-the-hood, it features Digital Sound Enhancement Engine HX (DSEE HX), which promises output digital music files with rich, natural sound and helps in restoring the details of the high-range sound lost in compression.
Also, users can customise the WF-H800's sound through the Sony Headphones Connect app for Android iPhone. It offers eight pre-set EQ, one manual, and two custom settings. It supports Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri.
Furthermore, on a full charge, the headphones offer up to eight hours of battery life and additional eight hours through the case. Also, it has fast charging, where in just 10 minutes of charging ensures up to 70 minutes of music playback. It costs Rs 14,990 and will be available in black colour.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2
The Galaxy Buds2 flaunts a smooth pebble form factor and is ergonomically designed for a comfortable fit. It should be noted that Samsung has developed the ‘Earbud fit test’ in the Galaxy Wearable app. It also comes with an IPX2 water-splash resistant rating.
Inside, it comes with dynamic two-way speakers (with Woofer + Tweeter driver units) to deliver crisp, clear high notes and deep bass, while Active Noise Cancellation helps block out unwanted noise. Users can also simply tune back in with three adjustable ambient sound levels.
It promises that the voice will be clearer on calls, thanks to a new, machine learning-based solution that filters out a variety of distracting background noises. It features three mics ( two outside and one inside), support Bluetooth 5.2 and comes with Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Hall, Touch, Voice Pickup Unit (VPU).
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 comes in four colours-- Graphite, White, Olive and Lavender-- for Rs 11,999.
Must read | Samsung Galaxy Buds2 review: Feature-rich premium earbuds
Realme Buds Q2
It comes with Active Noise Cancellation(ANC) up to 25dB sound level. It also features a Transparency Mode, which enables users to listen to the ambient sound in one click and dual-mic noise cancellation for calls, which helps in significantly reducing surrounding noise during a call.
The Realme Buds Q2 offers 28hrs total playback, 10mm bass boost driver, 88ms super-low latency and can be customized with the Realme Link App. It also has intelligent touch controls, supports IPX5 water resistance and provides 3 hrs playback with 10 mins of charging. It comes in two colours- Active Black & Calm Grey -- for Rs 2,499.
Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro
Redmi's latest Earbuds 3 Pro features a lightweight compact form factor design with a glossy finish and each earbud weighs just 4.6g.
It ships with a dynamic driver and balanced armature driver, both of which promise to provide enhanced bass and the perfect midrange sound for a good listening experience.
It houses a Qualcomm QCC3040 Chipset with aptX Adaptive Audio Codec. The dual-driver setup comes paired with the Qualcomm aptX adaptive audio codec for a high output music experience with minimal distortion. Qualcomm aptX adaptive is designed to deliver HD audio wirelessly over Bluetooth with an adaptive bit rate that adjusts automatically to provide seamless glitch-free audio at all moments.
With a 600mAh battery, it promises to deliver close to seven hours of listening time on a single charge and gets up to 30 hours of total playback time. The Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro case supports Type-C fast charging and can quickly get charged in around three hours and earbuds in about 1.5 hours.
It comes in three colours-- Pink, White, and Blue-- for Rs 2,999
Oppo Enco Buds
OPPO Enco Buds earphones boast a 2-layer composite diaphragm as well as the AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), a high-definition audio transmission protocol for crisper sound.
It features an AI-based intelligent call noise-cancellation feature that can differentiate between ambient sounds and human voices to effectively block out background noises, while you are on phone calls.
It also boasts an Open-Up Auto Connection feature to automatically turn itself on when the user opens the charging case. They come with intuitive, smart touch controls to pause your music, switch between songs, and adjust the volume. Users can also set up customized touch controls on their smartphones using the Hey Melody App for complete, natural control over their audio experience.
With Bluetooth 5.2 support, it can manage good connectivity with the phone for up to 10 metres. It also supports super-low 80ms-latency Game Mode that improves audio-visual sync in twitch-action games; users just need to triple-tap the earbuds to activate this mode.
Also, Oppo Enco Buds come with an IPX5 rating, meaning they can sustain heavy sweating during a heavy workout session.
The case comes packed with a 400 mAh battery and promises to deliver close to 24-hours of music playtime when fully charged along with the earbuds. It costs Rs 1,999.
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