Deepavali, the festival of light marks the triumphant return of Lord Rama and Sita after the bitter battle in Sri Lanka. It is seen as the victory of light over darkness.
In India, it is celebrated with a lot of fervour with crackers. But, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the celebration is kind of muted.
However, we can still spread joy and keep our spirits up at home by sharing thoughtful gifts with loved ones. Compact earbuds are a good option given how the work from home is the new normal and need to attend phone calls for most part of the day.
DH will help you find feature-rich truly wireless stereo (TWS) earphones according to your budget needs.
Sony WF-1000XM3
It has dual microphones—one feed-forward and one feed-back—on the surface of the headphones catch more of the ambient sounds of your surroundings, whether it's in-flight noise, city traffic, or office chatter. It captures ambient noise and passes the data to the HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1e. Using a new algorithm, the HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1 then applies noise-canceling processing in real-time to a range of environments.
Sony earbuds come with 6mm drivers and boast Digital Sound Enhancement Engine HX (DSEE HX) that can upscale compressed digital music files, bringing them closer to the quality of High-Resolution Audio.
It supports Google Assistant, Apple Siri, and Amazon Alexa smart voice assistants. The placement of the headphones' Bluetooth antenna has been optimized to ensure wider coverage. This helps keep the signal strong for uninterrupted streaming.
It promises to offer six hours of listening time and the charging case offers three full charges to keep you going throughout the day. In total, it can offer 24 hours of noise-free listening time.
With noise-canceling off, it's even longer — 8 hours of power on a full charge, with a further three charges from the charging case, for up to 32 hours of playtime. It also supports fast charging and just a 10-minute quick charge can give you up to 90 minutes of playtime. It is available for Rs 19,990.
Apple AirPods 3rd Gen
The new AirPods now boasts some of the key features of AirPods Max and Pro models including Adaptive EQ that tunes sound in real-time based on how AirPods fit in the user’s ear.
Its inward-facing microphone 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.
Also, it supports spatial audio. Using advanced spatial audio algorithms, and by 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 3rd gen boasts a new skin-detect sensor that can accurately discern if AirPods are in the ear or is in a pocket or on a table and pauses playback when removed.
Furthermore, to help with sound clarity, beam-forming microphones block out ambient noise. This comes in handy to offer the hands-free experience to call 'Siri' to perform tasks such as control volume or move tracks without having to move the hands.
Apple AirPods 3 promises to deliver up to six hours of playback time and up to 30 hours of total listening time with the charging case. Also, just five minutes of charging can enable AirPods to offer one hour of listening time. It costs Rs 18,990
Both AirPods and the MagSafe Charging Case are rated IPX4 sweat and water-resistant rating.
In a related development, Apple Music has listed playlists specially curated to mark the Deepavali (Diwali) festival in India. Apple editors have come with dedicated Hindustani Classical, Carnatic, Devotional, and also other genres of music-related 90's Bollywood Hindi, Tamil, and other regional languages.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2
The new Galaxy Buds2 is designed for a comfortable fit made to be worn all day and promises to provide premium sound quality.
For a more perfect fit, Samsung has developed the ‘Earbud fit test’ in the Galaxy Wearable app. It also comes with an IPX2 water-splash-resistant rating.
It comes packed 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), supports 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.
Google Pixel Buds A
The new Pixel Buds A series boasts custom-designed 12 mm dynamic speaker drivers to deliver full, clear, and a natural sound, with the option for even more power in those low tones with Bass Boost.
Each earbud also connects to the main device playing audio and has strong individual transmission power, to keep your sound clear and uninterrupted.
It features Adaptive Sound, which increases or decreases the volume based on your surroundings. This comes in handy when you're moving from the quiet of your home to somewhere noisy like a city street, or while jogging past a loud construction site.
To ensure the user's voice during a phone call is clear and audible, Pixel Buds A-Series use beamforming mics to focus on your voice and reduce outside noise, making the calls crystal clear, though of course, overall call quality depends on signal strength, environment, network, and other factors). Once your call is over, users can quickly get back to the music with a simple “Ok Google, play my music.”
The Pixel Buds A-series promises to deliver up to five hours of listening time on a single charge or up to 24 hours using the charging case. It also supports fast charging. Just 15 minutes in the case, it can offer up to three hours of listening time. It costs Rs 9,999.
Oppo Enco Buds
The new Enco Buds come with a 2-layer composite diaphragm as well as the AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), a high-definition audio transmission protocol for crisper sound.
To ensure crystal-clear phone calls, the company has incorporated 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 features Open-Up Auto Connection 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.
It supports Bluetooth 5.2 that allows users to be 10 meters away from their phone while they listen to music or make a phone call.
Furthermore, the Bluetooth 5.2 chipset supports binaural low-latency transmission that solves the problems of interference and disconnection to provide quick and stable connections.
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 IPX5 rating, meaning they can sustain heavy sweating during a heavy workout session.
The case comes packed with a 400 mAh battery，that can support 24-hours music playtime when fully charged along with the earbuds. It costs Rs 1,999.
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