Xiaomi Mi Neckband Bluetooth Earphones Pro review: Bang for the buck
Xiaomi is a pioneer of democratising high-end features such as portrait mode, macro, zoom camera hardware, fast charging and more with their Mi and Redmi branded phones. It has done the same with earphones by offering long-lasting battery life and good sound quality. Now, the company has launched Mi Neckband Pro.
With Rs 1,799 price-tag, the new Mi Neckband Bluetooth Earphones Pro is one of the most affordable headsets to boast the Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) feature.
I have been using it for more than a week and here're are my thoughts on Xiaomi's latest earphones.
Design and build quality:
The new Mi Neckband Bluetooth Earphones Pro features a standard design with no distinct features that instantly tell you it's a Xiaomi audio device. It has a soft silicone band with two ends featuring glossy polycarbonate-based caps, wherein small wires protrude with earphones. The latter is also made of shiny plastic material. Though it is lightweight, it offers a good sturdy hand feel. Also, the earbuds have magnets and users can attach them when not in use. It should be noted this action doesn't pause the audio or turn off the earphones. Users should manually power it down.
On the right side, there is a volume rocker on the right side with the power button below and on the opposite side of the tube, there is a tiny ANC on/off button. The placement seems odd. Initially, I used to accidentally press the power button and pause the music/hang-up calls while trying to switch on the ANC. But, after a few days of usage, the muscle memory of my fingers kicked in and was able to manage calls and enabling the ANC feature.
A little above on the right side, Xiaomi has incorporated a micro-USB port for charging. On the left side, there are no buttons at all.
In this aspect, Xiaomi engineers have made a good design choice, as all the buttons are grouped on one side. This will be helpful for users to instantly realise which side is the right and left and place it over the shoulder to fit the earphones to the ears without any fuss.
Most of the time, I, who wear spectacles, waste time looking for the small R and L engravings on the earphones. But, with the Mi Neckband Bluetooth Earphones Pro, there is one less thing to worry about.
Xiaomi's latest Mi audio device comes with soft ear tips and they come coated with anti-cerumen and also an anti-blockage speaker net design to resist earwax sticking to them and protect small particles creeping into the earphones. Also, They also come with an IPX5 rating, meaning they can sustain accidental water splash and sweating during a heavy workout session or jogging.
User-interface and performance
Setting up the Mi Neckband Bluetooth Earphones Pro is really simple and takes less than a few minutes to pair the earphones to a phone. Just switch on the power button and open the Bluetooth settings on the mobile, there you will find the device in the list to complete the pairing process.
Once the connection is established, the Mi Neckband Bluetooth Earphones Pro will automatically detect and pair with the companion phone every time it gets powered on.
You can control music with the power button and volume rockers. By long pressing the up button, it goes to the next track, and doing the same for the down button, it takes back to the previous track. By pressing the power, you can answer a phone call. Once done, you press the same to hang up.
Inside, it boasts a 10mm Bass driver. In practice, I listened to various genres of music ranging from classical Hindustani to modern metal to hip-hop to study the sound delivery and I am happy to note, the Mi Neckband Pro fared well.
Also, the mic works fine too; the audio quality on the other side of the phone was good and my voice had less distortion. However, I did note that the device worked fine while walking or in a stationary position, but while commuting on a mass transit vehicle, there were a few cases of a break in the voice. Its probably has to do with mobile cellular connectivity issue in particular stretches of Bengaluru.
With support for Bluetooth 5.0, Mi earphones maintain a pretty solid connection with the phone. I was able to hear the music clearly on the earphones while the phone kept faraway close to 30 feet, but only in open space with no opaque obstruction in between. If you were to move away from one room to the other with walls in between, the sound start to break.
This is not a deal-breaker, as most earphones exhibit similar behaviour under the aforementioned condition.
The Dual Cancellation (ANC and ENC: Environment Noise Cancellation) feature works to an extent, where it can block the surrounding noise spectrum up to 25 decibels. It works fine in terms of plugging the noisy chatter around the user in a canteen, but it can't stop the blaring horns of the vehicles on the road.
The Mi Neckband Bluetooth Earphones Pro promises up to 20 hours of battery life and it actually was able to deliver but only without the ANC feature. If you activate the latter, it drains the cell bit faster. Over-all, I am satisfied with the battery life prowess.
The retail package comes with a micro-USB plug and the device takes close to 90 minutes to fully charge from zero to 100 percent.
Final thoughts
The new Mi Neckband Bluetooth Earphones Pro offers excellent battery life and the sound quality is good and on par with rival brands in its class.
As far as the ANC is concerned, it works pretty well for its asking price, and truth be told, there is no competition to Mi Neckband Bluetooth Earphones Pro in this aspect.
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