Description
Flexible, secure-fit wing tips for all-day comfort and stability
Custom acoustic platform delivers powerful, balanced sound
Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking for immersive music, movies and games1
Two distinct listening modes: Active Noise Cancelling and Transparency Mode
Enhanced by the Apple H1 chip for Automatic Switching2, Audio Sharing3 (with another pair of Beats headphones or Apple AirPods) and “Hey Siri”4
Sweat and water resistant (IPX4-rated) earbuds
Up to 6 hours of listening time6 (up to 24 hours combined with pocket-sized charging case)
MJR –
Over the past 5 years or so I’ve purchased various off-brand and cheap headphones, which have inevitably failed. I decided to treat myself to some decent headphones. First impressions are great. The headphones are nicely packaged and feel premium. The charging case feels and looks nice. Connecting the headphones to my iPhone was straightforward. Being Apple by a different name (Apple owns Dr Dre) these headphones integrate nicely into iOS. As an example you open the Bluetooth settings menu and the phone displays the settings for the headphones without having to dig for them. They also work very well with my Garmin Music smart watch. The sound quality is very good, though I’m sure there are some frequencies that they aren’t so good at. The noise cancellation is also very good and blocks out wind noise, speech and other unwanted distractions. I bought these headphones for running, which they are perfect for. The wing tips mean that they stay in your ears, and there is no need to keep readjusting them. I’ve used them on 10m runs and short runs and never felt like they were about to fall out. Others have said that they start to feel uncomfortable, though I’ve not noticed this. The controls are very intuitive, and easy to operate when running, even when wearing thick gloves. Single tap – stop, double tap – skip forward, triple tap – skip back. Hold left – volume down, hold right – volume up. Though see below regards the ANC controls. Unlike other headphones it’s very hard to accidentally skip forward or backwards when trying to change the volume etc. and this works well even when running. The ‘Find My’ integration is good. A few times I’ve misplaced one ear piece in the house and been able to use my phone to locate it. The only downside I’ve found is the controls. You can set that long press is volume up or volume down, _or_ that long press is switch between transparent and noice cancellation mode. This is fine when you are using them with an iPhone – the phone provides the volume control and ANC settings. It’s less helpful if you are connected to a watch or non-phone – you’ve essentially got to choose whether you want easily accessible ANC or easily accessible volume. It would be nice to be able to re-map the buttons to a custom configuration. Then again this is probably advanced use and beyond what most users would want! In short they aren’t cheap but they just work. Would definitely recommend. 24 people found this helpful
Antonio Costa (verified owner) –
I’ve had these for around 6 months, I needed a replacement pair as my Bose soundsport buds were starting to give up on me and these were on offer so I thought I’d give them a go. I use them most days either when running, walking or on a commute and they really are great earbuds. Very comfy and they are very secure in my ears, i’ve run up to 10 miles in them and they have always stayed in place. Its easy to pause or skip songs without needing to use my phone which is a bonus. The battery life is excellent, I’ve used them on a 3 hour round trip on the train and the battery has barely dipped. They sync really well with my phone which is a lot better than the bose which were constantly losing connection. The sound quality is outstanding, sometimes it can be a little too good especially when out running I find it better to pick the Transparency option because it filters out a lot of background noise but you can still hear the traffic, that said, the noise cancelling option is great on a busy train and you want to drown out the noise! Honestly I can’t find fault with these, I much prefer them over Bose now and I would definitely buy another pair. 16 people found this helpful
fox0204 (verified owner) –
These are a great bunch of earbuds, absolutely sit nice and comfortable in the ear especially great for sports as they don’t fall out like most earbuds do for me that are without the ear tip. I have big ears in general therefore the ear tip barely reaches the crease in my ear but still good enough to hold the earbud while running. As mentioned already the earbuds are definitely pricey, well over 2 years since release but they are worth it, can’t do anything about the fact that we will be chargers just for the brand, but undeniably the quality too. One thing I’d change is the case quality it feels cheaply made. Overall I have them a solid 8 12 people found this helpful
Jane C (verified owner) –
Got these with a major discount to replace my existing earbuds which were heading for the great gig in the sky. Easy to set up, flexible with the fitting due to the range of tips and they feel like they’re going to stay in your ears thanks to the wingtips – the main reason why I buy this type of earbud. The noise cancellation is average but the quality of sound is easily acceptable to my ears. The case is twice as big as it could be but if a bigger case means I get more charges out of it than I’ll live with it. Love the minimalist look of the buds and they charge slightly quicker than I expected when using the right cable and plug. The buds connected the first time via the app which is functional without being overly fussy and the price, given the discount for Black Friday, made the purchase that little bit sweeter 3 people found this helpful
Carlos Braga (verified owner) –
I have gone through so many earbuds from other manufacturers and being disappointed. Finally I found earbuds that actually work. You do have to get the hang of putting them in your ear, as every ear is different and the way I fit them in mine is the opposite of what other people have said works for them. I just rotate counterclockwise and they lock in place and in the gym no matter what exercise I’m doing they never fall out. The active noise cancellation function works very well and the general sound from my music is good including a very good base.
Michael May –
I got these during the Black Friday period so the price was better than normal. As a heavy sweater I was worried about buds slipping out of my ear during running. But the little wing tip on these perfectly keeps them in place and they haven’t fallen out whilst at the gym, cycling or running. They did fall out once whilst at home when I was rearranging my hat (it’s cold out!) – but it did pull my ear quite a lot and I had only just put them in and probably had not fully rotated them in my ear to make the fitting secure. Compared to my previous set, which had over the ear arms, it is much better in terms of physical usage. The sound quality is very good. The default sound setting is fine – there are other options you can switch to in the app, but I found these artificial so have stuck with the standard setting. I use them outdoors a lot – running and cycling. The noise cancelling (ANC) works well – eerily well when you are inside. Outside you do get some noise leaking in but nothing like my previous pair. But what you do get is wind noise depending on the direction relative to your position. I guess this is when the wind blows across your ear and so isn’t directly entering the ANC system. It’s not really bad, but it did take me by surprise – I initially tried adjusting the ANC setting to see if I was in the wrong mode. The pass through mode works well. The default set up is that a long hold on either button changes the ANC mode. These are physical buttons – in general these are great (and can be configured to perform different actions) – but it is easy to press them when inserting the buds into your ears. The case is a little flimsy – not typical of Apple products. But there is a reassuring “snap” as the buds click into place. I’ve only charged the case once so I can’t give a long term battery appraisal. But out of the box, I’d used them for maybe 12 or 13 hours at least before having to charge the box so it seems ok to me so far. So not quite perfect but these are by far the best ear buds I have had. If you can get them at a Black Friday price then go for it! 4 people found this helpful
Ximena Forga –
I bought these earbuds after looking at various running site reviews. I have quite small ears so find it hard to get in-ear headphones to stay in place when moving or if there is excess perspiration or rain. My old headphones had clips which fit over the ears which were also good but as I wear glasses I found the fit wasn’t great. I looked at Apple AirPods but I felt that needed some more extra stability when it’s raining or sweating during a workout. I don’t want them to fall out or become loose mid way! The wing design is a great feature and the tuck nicely inside the top fold in the ear shape. I had to look at YouTube to work out how to wear them admittedly but after a few wears there’s no issues on fitting. Some reviews say that they’re uncomfortable but I’ve found them fine for running – albeit I can see this might be the case after a couple of hours. The sound quality is great, noise cancelling mode works well and, most importantly, they don’t come loose. You can hear a little wind noise when running but if you wear a running hat like me in the colder seasons that seems to solve this. Operation and connectivity is also good, through Bluetooth, and there’s been no issue with that. With a long press you can set whether you want the buttons on each bud to act as either volume up/down OR Siri connect and noise cancelling on/off (this option is chosen through your phone Bluetooth setting). A short press stops/starts the music or answers a call. These buttons are quite sensitive so probably might not be the best for side sleeping on a pillow, but I don’t use it for that. In summary, very happy with these earbuds so far. Seem to last well on the battery too. Will update this review if there’s any change. 11 people found this helpful
Bebolina (verified owner) –
There are so many options for noise cancelling earbuds nowadays. I am SO pleased to have settled on this pair of earbuds after hours of comparing prices, functions, reviews of fit, etc. They are easy to use, they stay in place, they sound great, they charge rapidly, the app is no hassle, and they look a lot more discreet than other models! Removing an earbud will pause the listening automatically, which is really useful at times. One can change the noise-cancellation mode with an integrated button in the earbud, as well as move through a playlist (that isn’t super easy, to be honest), but with those two set up one can’t change the volume from the earbuds. Only through the connected device. (I’ve not really tried and tested the microphone quality, so won’t comment on that.) SOUND: they pack a punch and what a sound-quality! I was impressed by the clarity and bass (I’m no expert there, please read other reviews for this). Thanks to noise-cancellation and this audio-quality, I’ve heard details in songs I know very well that I had never heard before. This on its own might not be worth the overall price, but it remains the best sound I’ve heard using earbuds. FIT: those fit me incredibly well (relatively big ears here but most earbuds fit me similarly), and they are indeed next to impossible to shake off. I’ve not tried running with them yet. No issue while eating though. I’d definitely say they are more stable than the regular shape for earbuds, which used to fall whenever masticating or removing a sweater. However, my girlfriend has tried them and simply couldn’t have them fit in; she has MUCH smaller ears than me and has always struggled with earbuds. So I guess the conclusion is that these have an average size for average ears. They don’t stick out, look discreet and pretty cool. Really pleased with the aesthetics of it! NOISE CANCELLATION: I have hyper-sensitivity to sounds and can happily say that these have made my life a lot easier. With music in at a normal volume, I can’t hear most people anymore and must lip-read. In a train? Quiet. In a London street? Quiet. Open-space chat behind my back? Quiet. Of course, none of that becomes 100% silent, but I’m not overstimulated or distracted anymore. And importantly I don’t need to turn up the music to unsafe levels anymore. 10/10! I’ve tried ANC on a Sony headset, and it made me dizzy for some reason. None of that here, those earbuds have immediately become my gold standard for comfort and noise cancellation. BATTERY & CHARGING: it couldn’t be easier to charge those. However, to know how much battery you have left in either the earbuds or their case, you must open the app. Alternatively, you’ll hear a sort of gentle jingle whenever close to 10% left. They charge incredibly quickly and last a while! Listening to music with noise-cancellation on for a whole afternoon without having to worry about the battery is nothing short of wonderful. If need be, a few minutes charging in the case will extend listening time by 1-2 hours. CASE & APP: I find the case beautiful and really ergonomic. When opened, the lid feels a bit fragile on its hinges, true, but when closed (there’s a decent magnet) it all feels sturdier than I feared reading some of the reviews. That said, I’m overly careful with such things. I connect them on an Android smartphone: absolutely no issue connecting them or using them afterwards. The app is fairly straightforward, if anything lacking some space for personalisation (not that it’s needed for most users, I reckon). Overall, really pleased with these and I will recommend them over and over again. Worth the investment! 5 people found this helpful