Vivo TWS Earphones Neo review: Good enough for its price
In the past three months, there seems to be a lot of interest in budget Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) earphones, particularly in India. For a couple of years, it was dominated by top tier brands such as Apple and Samsung.
But, as the government began lifting restrictions on online shopping and delivery, several companies launched a series of wireless earbuds. Almost all gained good traction and the pent up demand was probably due to the need for a good and compact earphone to attend calls and join virtual meetings via PCs and phones at home. Vivo, not to be left out, recently launched its own TWS Earphones Neo for Rs 5,990.
I have been using Vivo TWS Earphones Neo for a week and here are my thoughts on the device.
Design and build quality:
Most of the earpods' cases in the market are inspired by seashore pebbles. Even the Vivo TWS Earphones Neo too has similar design language, but have to say, it has its own uniqueness. The case is smooth and curvaceous but tapers to the edge. That's a big plus, as this comes handy to slip-in the earphone case into the pockets without fuss. Many times, I forgot, it was present in the pant pocket.
The Starry Blue model is glossy and looks good to the eyes. But, the light-weight (45.7g)polycarbonate shell looks iffy and I am not sure if it can survive if you put it in the back pocket and sit on a flat surface or suffers a fall.
Also, the magnetic power of the cap is also weak and doesn't produce that satisfying sound of the lid closing. On the bright side, it has enough magnetic power to pull the earphones' stems into the slot.
Case dimensions: 58.1 x 51.6 x 24.0mm
As far as the earpods are concerned, it comes with half in-ear design. This is a subjective topic, as some may like or but others not. It is not just Vivo, but other brands too gamble on the ill-advised market research that one size fits all. However, in actuality, these earbuds have a unibody design with smooth plastic tips and fall off more often.
If they at least offer silicone-based ear tips with multiple seize, any of it will surely fit and stay even during the heavy workout.
Vivo earphones come with IP54 dust-and-waterproof certification and can sustain while doing exercises.
Each Vivo earbuds weigh just 4.7g and during the testing, it was able to stay in my ears while normal walking and on stairs. But, it couldn't while doing Yoga and physical workouts.
Interface and performance
I love the Vivo TWS Earphones Neo instant connectivity interface. In just a few seconds of opening the lid of the case, my iPhone was able to detect and paired in no time
Once that is done, it was just smooth sailing. Even the sensors on the Vivo earphones are sensitive and immediately pauses after taking off from the ears. With Bluetooth 5.2 support, the earphones were able to maintain a strong connection with the paired phone for close to 10 meters in an open space, or in a big living room.
Also, it's easy to pair another phone. Just have to open the case and long-press the main function key just below the LED light indicator.
The touch sensor on the stem of the earpods is really good. You can slide finger up and down on the stem to control volume and if double-tap on the left, you can pause/start a song. On the right side, a similar double-tap gesture will take you to the next song.
However, its really disappointing that iPhone users won't be able to clearly get the information on the battery life of the earbuds and unlike other brands, Vivo doesn't offer an iOS app.
There is just the Android version dubbed as the Vivo Earphones app. This will show the battery life that's it.
If you happen to own the latest Vivo X50 series, it will offer more such customisation of functions for touch sensors, also option to boost audio quality, mega bass, clear high pitch.
Vivo TWS Earphones Neo ship with 14.2mm dynamic drivers and worked exceptionally well in terms of delivering a good hearing experience. Whatever genre of music I played, be it Carnatic, Hip hop, or Rock, the Vivo earphones came on top and have no hesitation to say, it is best in its class. I even watched a few YouTube clips to test the stereo quality, it excelled again thanks to 88ms latency.
Most importantly, the noise cancellation feature works only while on-call does a fine job and pretty happy with the microphones, which takes clear voice input and puts it across the other side with clarity.
The earphones also support aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec, but only a few top-end phones such as Vivo X50 Pro and others with the latest Qualcomm chipsets can play them.
Battery life:
Each Vivo TWS Earphones Neo buds come with a 25mAh battery and during the testing, they were able to live up the hype to deliver more than five hours in a single charge. The case comes with 400mAh and will offer an additional 22 hours. In total, you are assured to get more than 27 hours.
It comes with a Type-C charger cable with the retail box and takes close to two hours for the case (with the earphones) to fully charge and the only way to know is a green light indicator.
Final thoughts (4/5)
Over-all, Vivo TWS Earphones Neo is an excellent audio device for its price. It costs Rs 5,990 and will be available in two colours-- Moonlight White and Starry Blue.
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