TOP 5 Affordable AirPods Alternatives for Everyday Use

One day, the world of wireless headphones changed: numerous brands from China came on the scene, which bombarded the market with inexpensive wireless headphones, questioning the coolness of AirPods. Against the background of this rain, Redmi Airdots wireless beans stood out from the headphones, which impressed with a democratic price tag, good battery life, the presence of Bluetooth 5.0 and pleasant (by the standards of TW headphones) sound. We have already seen such a scheme from Xiaomi a thousand times, so it is not surprising that they have become a hit of sales. A year later, the same story happened with Redmi Airdots 2.

As it turned out, Xiaomi actually sells us the same headphones in the same case, but with a couple of cosmetic additions. Externally, we have the same beans in the spirit of the once popular Meizu POP. Only instead of white gloss, black matte plastic is used. Less elegant, but more practical. Ergonomics has been preserved, and this is a plus, because the headphones are light, sit firmly in the ear and do not cause much discomfort after a couple of hours of use. The case is also protected from moisture according to the IPX4 standard (protection from drops of sweat and rain, you should not swim in them). Airdots 2 hold a charge of about 4 hours, then you need to hide them in a case. Again, no surprises. In fact, all the differences from the original model are in the redesigned microphone noise reduction mechanism and the appearance of the XiaoAI voice assistant, which is useless in our latitudes.

Inside, too, without surprises. The headphones received 7.2mm speakers with the same characteristics and similar sound, for which they were most loved. Xiaomi says that the sound has become noticeably better. It feels really better, but a little. The sound remained the same balanced and natural without distortions in the lower or upper register. There were no first Airdots at hand to compare them head-on, but it felt like everything was playing a little more assertive and more solid, and the bass seemed to have become a little more voluminous. Perhaps they just refined the digital compression algorithms. Or maybe they changed something in the hardware. Anyway, buying Airdots 2 at the affordable price of Airdots of the first modification is a great deal. Even despite minor flaws like a creaking briefcase or cheap plastic. For this money, you will find only dubious fakes for AirPods or products of little-known Chinese brands.

Xiaomi Mi AirDots 2 SE are in-ear headphones made in the form of 2 independent modules without a headband. They connect to the smartphone via Bluetooth 5 and synchronize with each other during power-up. The signal is transmitted simultaneously to both headphones, which provides a more stable connection. On the case there is a microphone with a noise reduction for voice communication and a multifunctional touch panel for controlling the player and calls. The battery life is about 5 hours. I liked that in the tests they held even more than stated. The classic charging case adds an additional 20 hours of battery life, then it needs an hour and a half near the outlet.

If he is talking about appearance, then immediately it is extremely difficult to distinguish them from real AirPods — neither in appearance, nor in weight, nor in design, they do not differ. The functionality is largely repeated. Except that integration with iOS is not so convenient, the iPhone remembered which headphones were connected to it, and immediately joined them as soon as they got into range. AirDots 2 SE are better integrated into the ecosystem of Xiaomi products and cost one fifth of the cost of Apple headphones. It is not surprising that in most stores they have become one of the most popular copies of AirPods.

With sound, the story is similar, as in the original AirPods, it is not impressive. Traditionally, for in-ear headphones, they lack an accent in the lower register and high-quality noise insulation. There is definitely more bass, but the bassheads are unlikely to leave satisfied. And in the subway you will hear the roar of the car, the sound of wheels, and all the announcements of stops. The volume margin is also not impressive, at a volume above 80 the music starts to sound dirty and overloaded. Therefore, they work much better as a headset. The microphone here is quite sensitive, the noise level is adequate, and the ears do not get tired of long-term wearing, thanks to the form factor of the "hard-core".

It won't be funny if the POP 2 headphones become the swan song of Meizu, according to which people will remember the once promising brand. The company is not doing well with smartphones, but they flew into the wireless headphones market with a bang. The first POP brought a stir to the headphone market in 2018, and a year later many specialized media called the second version the best wireless headphones in the segment up to $ 60. There were also comparisons with AirPods.

Let's just say that Meizu POP 2 is difficult to perceive as "AirPods killers", they are different and attract others. These are perfectly assembled in-channel sports headphones with splash protection (IPX5), good battery life (6 hours on a single charge), excellent ergonomics (they are really very comfortable) and competently made touch controls. And they also look great (especially with the backlight on) and they have a good microphone with a digital noise reduction, which will easily replace a regular conversational headset. Well, their most attractive feature is the combination of high-quality sound and a killer price tag. Despite the lack of support for hi-res audio codecs, POP 2 pleasantly surprises with the level of sound elaboration: even in fairly dense compositions, the sub-bass does not merge with the main bass, and that does not climb into the mid-frequency spectrum, covering everything else. Such detail is rarely found in TW headphones for $50. It's a pity that the volume margin is not too large, in a noisy subway you have to unscrew the slider to the maximum.

Did Meizu get the perfect headphones? No, they're great, but not perfect. There are no perfect ones. More often in the network, the same claim to POP is found on the network: after about six months of use, some owners have one of the headphones starting to play quieter. They also periodically suffer from loss of communication between the left and right "ear". Perhaps it's the headphones themselves, perhaps it's that they are trying to make friends with old or low-cost smartphones with an outdated Bluetooth receiver. During the tests, we connected them to the OnePlus 7T Pro with the fifth version of Bluetooth and there were no communication problems. But the case is achtung. He seems to magnetize all the dust and dirt in the room to himself, wiped it last night, tomorrow morning he is dirty again. Black magic, no other way.

In 2020, the so-called Chinese smartphone builders of the second wave finally became a force to be reckoned with. Both the OPPO giant and its subsidiary Realme have recently been noted for a scattering of really interesting smartphones that have snatched market share from Xiaomi and Huawei, which suffered from sanctions. And it was only a matter of time before they would take up such a tasty morsel as wireless headphones.

Released at the end of August, the Realme Buds Air Neo stands out for its unusual positioning. Externally, it is a 100% copy of Apple's iconic AirPods. Inside ― their complete opposite. Apple headphones were technically advanced headsets with excellent ergonomics and lousy sound. The Realme Buds Air Neo, on the contrary, is fine with sound (of course, by the standards of its type), but there are problems with convenience. There are no problems with landing in the ear, but the microphone is not too sensitive, and the noise reduction on the contrary is too rough. The responsiveness of the touch control could be higher, sometimes you have to literally knock on the earphone panel to switch the track or pause it. But there are a minimum of random touches. And 3 hours of battery life is not very impressive. Other competitors from China work 4-5 hours. Some may take all 8 hours.

But playing Realme Buds Air Neo is surprisingly pleasant. Especially if you remember that these are $40 wireless earbuds. I would like to describe the sound with the epithets "clean" and "lively", with good detail and without wheezing at maximum volume. The 13 mm driver focuses on medium and high frequencies, but it lacks bass. Activating the Dynamic Bass Boost option doesn't help much. This is a feature of all inserts, Buds Air Neo has nothing to do with it. But the ears do not get tired, as from vacuum models. You can wear them in your ear for half a day and not even pay attention to them. As a result, Realme turned out to be a decent solution for those who want to get rid of wires without getting into debt, and for whom the nuances of sound are more important than everyday convenience. If you don't want to limit yourself to some buns, then you can do a little and take a full-fledged Realme Buds Air with wireless charging, proximity sensor, auto-pause and USB-C.

After Apple tried to scrap the good old 3.5mm audio output and brought truly wireless headphones to the scene, every major smartphone manufacturer hastened to occupy a new niche and started producing headphones. Following Xiaomi, Huawei and Meizu, the Chinese giant OPPO also entered this scene, which in one 2020 managed to mark three interesting true wireless models. The OPPO Enco W11 model has become an excellent example of how to make comfortable and balanced headphones with good sound, and an acceptable price tag for most people.

OPPO looked towards Apple and realized that true wireless headphones are not just headphones, but an important element of everyday life. In the morning, on the way to work, you can listen to your favorite podcast in them, use them as a comfortable headset in the afternoon, and pull a barbell in them in the evening, under a cheerful playlist from Spotify. Therefore, the importance of aesthetics and convenience increases significantly. So, the OPPO Enco W11 looks more expensive than they actually are. The white glossy case is qualitatively assembled and looks great, and the bean headphones themselves look neat and sit firmly in the ears, without causing discomfort when worn. The housing is protected from moisture and dust according to the IP55 standard. The touch sensors on each of the headphones are clearly configured ― the buttons respond accurately to touch and do not suffer from phantom clicks when you try to pull the earphone out of your ear. Each W11 channel can work independently, both are connected to the smartphone directly without separation into a master and slave earphone.

For speech transmission, there is also a noise generator with one microphone, as in other inexpensive models, but it works for five. The headphones are connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth v 5.0 protocol. The connection takes place instantly, the communication quality is stable and reliable. If we combine all this with the terms "design and ergonomics", then the Enco W11 will come close to Samsung Galaxy Buds at this level. Therefore, the only undisclosed question remains the sound. Considering that OPPO specialists are far from new to sound issues, we expected that the W11 would at least not lose face. And so it turned out. Diaphragms made of titanium-based composite materials give a clean, pleasant and balanced sound across the entire spectrum. I was pleasantly surprised by the articulation of the bass ― it sounds clear and accented, without falling into a mess and not obscuring other instruments. This is really a worthy competitor to "folk" models like Meizu POP 2 and Redmi Airdots 2, which many have come to love precisely for the high-quality sound by the standards of TW models.