Xiaomi has introduced its new set of entry-level true wireless earbuds (TWS) in the Indian market named the Redmi Buds 4 Active. The Buds 4 Active are priced at Rs. 1,199 for now (Rs. 1,399 otherwise) and these come in Bass Black and Air White colour options. Let’s try and check what they really offer and where they might fall behind.
Design: The Buds 4 Active follow a familiar curved stem-cell design that comes in a plastic case with a USB type C port and LED indicator located at the bottom. Though the buds themselves are IPX4 water resistant, the charging case isn’t. The pebble-shaped case has a somewhat matte finish to it with a glossy curve going around the body. It’s a lightweight case and during frequest tries, the buds fit well and don’t wobble or anything while carrying around. The buds weigh around 3.6grams each and the case about 42grams. You get extra ear tips in the box for different sizes along with a short USB type C cable. I found these buds to be just about okay in terms of fit and comfort for longer durations. They weren’t itchy or downright uncomfortable but you may have to adjust them every half an hour or so while using them even when sitting still.
Features and audio quality: The buds support Bluetooth 5.3 with basic SBC audio codec and feature 12 mm drivers. They come with touch controls on the stem, but the controls aren’t very reliable and often demanded repeated attempts in order to initiate controls. There’s Google’s Fast pair, which allows it to be connected with Android devices quite quickly. You can use the Xiaomi Earbuds app in order to update its firmware, locate the buds or turn low latency mode on, so pretty basic stuff with an EQ option missing, which a lot of people may have wanted to tune their buds to their music taste and sound preference. Neither the app, nor the connected phone under its Bluetooth settings shows the battery left for the charging case (shown only for the buds). Oh, and you can use only bud at a time, too.
In terms of audio output, I found the buds to be more on the bass side than mid to neutral, which is in line with what the company markets it as for bass-heavy users. It delivers pop and even lofi stuff well, keeping mid-bass and vocals for movie soundtracks in tune without missing on much details at the same time. You can expect it to be more than good enough in delivering hip-hop stuff well, too though it can show some struggle with core metal and rock music. But overall, the pair delvers sound quality that’s perhaps better than most TWS under Rs. 1,500 today, with its tuning and bass heavy output, which would have been nice to customize a bit had there been EQ available.
For noise cancellation there’s Environmental noise cancellation, which actually does a decent job of cancelling out medium to low pitched noises around you. It can take a little hit on the overall sound quality, though it’s not a huge difference when indoors.
Low latency mode can improve on latency while gaming but it takes a hit on the battery life, as expected, so you might want to switch it on or off as suitable. For watching Tv shows or movies, I didn’t notice any significant latency for this mode to be kept turned on.
Battery life: The buds gave around 4 to 4.5 hours on a single charge, which isn’t too bad and quite close the company’s 5-hour claim. Xiaomi also mentions 30 hours of total battery life when including the charging case. Battery life here is something that doesn’t disappoint.
Verdict: All in all, the Redmi Buds 4 Active seem like bang for your bucks when it comes to entry-level TWS without too many compromises that you may expect. There are some noticeable absentee such as EQ settings, charging case battery level and more advanced audio codecs, but when it comes to what’s there on the table, the pair delivers with its good enough audio quality for the price tag, good battery life and design.
