Xiaomi is one of the very brands in the industry that offer feature-rich earphones for low prices with fewer compromises. Now, it has launched brand new Redmi Buds 4 Active for Rs 1,399.
I have been using it for the last several days and here are my thoughts on the latest Xiaomi earbuds.
Design and build quality
The new Redmi's new earbuds are super light. Each weighs around 3.6g and the case is just 41.2g. The latter resembles a pebble and has a smooth ceramic texture with a matte finish. It is just perfect and portable to carry around with ease. It can easily slip into the pocket and can be retrieved with less hassle too.
This model is called an air white and the company is offering another bass black colour variant too.
The earbuds sport a familiar in-ear bud design language in a compact form factor. It has the right length of the stem, not too small or not too long. It has a flat side, which is touch-sensitive, and at the base, it features two pinpoints for charging when kept in the case.
It also sports silicone-based tips and the one offered with earbuds fitted perfectly in my ears. The company also offers two other pair of tips in different sizes too.
The silicone tips of the earbuds do a wonderful job of sealing the ear from outside noise. It should be noted that the earbuds come with IPX4 splash-and-sweat-proof rating, which means they can sustain sweats during heavy workouts at the gym or even while jogging in the park too. Yes, the silicone tips do play their part in keeping the earbuds comfortably fixed in the ears and even we are running, it ensures the earbuds stay in their place.
I happen to travel on busy mass transit vehicles such as buses in the city, I didn't feel any anxiety of losing them during the rush hour.
User interface
Setting up the Redmi Buds 4 Active really easy. It barely takes a few minutes. Initially, I just paired the Xiaomi earbuds to the iPhone using just Bluetooth and later tried with an Android phone. The company recommends users install the Xiaomi Earbuds app, but it serves just two purposes, to know the real-time battery life left in the earbuds and the case, and secondly to upload new firmware for the latter.
And, the app doesn't offer any customization option- Equaliser, which can help users adjust audio delivery in terms of high bass, acoustic, adjust treble and other aspects to match the individual's tastes. But, on the bright side, the earbuds are ace in delivering the best audio quality. More on that in the performance section.
With Bluetooth 5.3 technology, it can support a stable wireless connection with the phone or any compatible device for up to 10 metres (around 32 feet).
It also supports Google Fast Pair, which comes in handy in early detection and smooth connection with Android devices.
The touch-sensitive stem of the Redmi Buds 4 Active can help you pause/play audio with a double tap gesture. For skipping to the next song, you have to triple-tap. To answer the call, users have to double tap it, and to hang up, you have to triple tap.
However, you can't control the volume and you have to adjust on the companion device. This is the only pain point to complain about Xiaomi's new earbuds.
Performance
Given the low-cost price, I am amazed at how good the Xiaomi earbuds are. They deliver a crisp and clear listening experience.
Inside, the earbuds feature a 12mm driver and support a 20Hz-24KHz frequency range. And, it supports low latency (60ms) for better audio sync with the phone while playing games.
The Redmi Buds 4 Active does an excellent job of picking up the voice during the phone call clearly in the buzzing office environment. Even outdoors during the rush hour traffic, some loud horn sounds sneak in but overall delivers a good phone call experience.
The company says the earbuds support Environmental Noise Cancellation feature, but I am not sure how effective it is, but I am pegging that the silicone ear tip is doing the heavier workload of sealing the noise from entering the ear.
And, the battery life is excellent. I charged only once when opened the earbuds from the package. I have used earbuds for several hours intermittently spread across five days and yet, the case barely lost 25 per cent.
Each earbud comes with 34mAh battery capacity and the case houses a 440mAh cell. The Redmi Buds 4 Active can last for five hours and with the case, it can deliver for 30 hours.
Final thoughts
Though there is no equalizer option, Redmi Buds Active 4 does a fantastic job of delivering clear and crisp quality music to the ears. Not sure how effective the ENC feature works, but the silicone ear tip does a fine job blocking the outside noise and ensuring disruption-free audio delivery. Be it music or podcast or during the phone call, I was able to hear them clearly on the earbuds.
Xiaomi's Redmi Buds 4 Active is undeniably the best earbuds under Rs 3,000 in the market.
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