Yes, Lenovo Makes Earbuds—and They’re Better Than I Expected

Wait, Lenovo makes wi-fi earbuds? I felt foolish about this hole in my data after spending years reviewing the corporate’s laptops. Curious about what the PC maker may obtain within the audio area, I jumped on the prospect to check its Smart Wireless Earbuds, which—and right here comes one other revelation—aren’t the primary from the model.

Where the earlier effort was a fundamental pair that price $50, the Smart Wireless Earbuds add noise cancellation and the flexibility to hook up with a number of units concurrently, amongst different perks. At $100, they’re twice as costly however match properly inside the “affordable ANC” value bracket alongside the 1More ComfoBuds Pro, Nothing Ear (1), and Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro. As such, Lenovo is aiming for these to be a extra inexpensive various to the AirPods Pro ($250), Sony WF-1000XM4 ($280), and different flashier fashions.

Having the most recent options does solely a lot to assist these stand out in a suffocatingly crowded subject. After utilizing the Lenovo buds for the previous few weeks, I’m not satisfied they do something factor higher than the competitors. Still, the Smart Wireless Earbuds are a very good worth at $99—and probably an amazing one if you could find them on sale.

Searching for an identification

Where the earlier fashions had a compact round form requiring deep insertion, the brand new Smart Wireless Earbuds have the stemmed design made in style by Apple’s AirPods. Lenovo despatched me the black variations (in addition they are available white) which have matte gunmetal grey on the skin of the stems and a black inside. They would look almost similar to Anker’s Soundcore Liberty Air 2 (and the various different opponents) if not for some aggressive angles.

The similar goes for the case, which is simply as a lot a clone of all the things else available on the market. Where the earlier fashions had a novel casket-shaped (sorry for the darkish imagery) sliding case, the Smart Wireless Earbuds case is a rounded rectangle that opens like a trunk. The case is all black—right down to the invisible Lenovo emblem on the highest. Lenovo has completed a high-quality job of sculpting a design language throughout its laptops, however I don’t see the identical factor occurring with these earbuds. The styling right here is nameless, simply misplaced within the sea of wi-fi buds you should buy on Amazon. Hopefully, Lenovo can land on a signature look, and hopefully, it’s extra distinctive and fewer clunky than this one—oh, and whereas we’re at it, let’s consider a extra memorable identify.

At least the Smart Wireless Earbuds are snug. They’re so light-weight, at 4.5 grams (AirPods Pro are 5.6 grams), that I shortly forgot about them as I buried myself in work. Like different earbuds with stems, these relaxation gently on the decrease a part of the ear (the intertragal notch, if we’re being snobby) and the silicon tip timidly enters the outer ear canal. The bulb-shaped casing is relatively massive, although, and I may really feel gentle strain in opposition to my concha. For that motive, they aren’t fairly as nice to put on because the AirPods.

Included with the Lenovos are 4 ear ideas in varied sizes (SS, S, M, L), which ought to accommodate most folk. My spouse, who has hassle discovering earbuds that match her tiny ear holes, mentioned the SS (small small) silicone ideas saved the buds safe with minimal strain. She even did a 40-minute Peloton experience with out them falling out. For me, the mediums match nice, and never even a headbanging session to my favourite childhood emo rock band Rise Against may set them ajar.

When I took them to a climbing fitness center, solely a failed dyno made them fall out. They did, nonetheless, begin to come free as I clung upsidedown to an overhang so I’m undecided I’d belief them on a run. They additionally began slipping as soon as sweat entered the equation, however not less than their IPX4 water resistance ranking (they’re splashproof) reassured me that they wouldn’t crap out. To be clear, these aren’t the primary earbuds I’d seize for health—that’s a two-horse race between the great Jabra Elite Active 75t and Beats Fit Pro—however the Lenovos will do exactly high-quality for the occasional sweat-breaking Yoga session.

I’ve no qualms with the charging case nor do I’ve a lot reward to heap. It’s a black squircle with three white LED battery indicator lights on the entrance edge. On the again is a USB-C charging port, however if you happen to’re residing a wire-free life, the case helps Qi wi-fi charging. If I had a bone to select, it’s with the scale of the case. It’s not massive, per se, however it’s significantly taller than the AirPods Gen 3 case and didn’t really feel snug in my semi-skinny denims, which implies it positively received’t squeeze into the unhappy excuse for a pocket on a ladies’s pair of denims.

Multi-device pairing, hooray!

Pairing the buds to my laptop computer and telephone was a cinch, and with the multipoint function, I may preserve them related to each units concurrently. I believe I may need thrown my fist up in celebration when the buds robotically re-connected to my Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and Google Pixel 6 after they’d disconnected. I’d go so far as to say that these are about nearly as good because it will get from exterior Apple’s backyard wall—with one caveat: multipoint solely helps pairing to 2 units.

Getting again to the preliminary pairing course of: connecting these is as straightforward as lifting the lid on the case and holding a round button for 3 seconds. That motion places the buds into pairing mode so you possibly can select “Lenovo PS-1551B” out of your Bluetooth settings. Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity from the buds to my Pixel 6 and Surface Laptop Studio was robust. The connection didn’t stutter after I awkwardly stood within the nook of my condominium dealing with the wall.

My tinnitus and I aren’t followers of the entire “push the plastic piece into your ear” factor, however the contact controls on these buds are delicate sufficient to the place a delicate faucet registers an enter. That’s good and dangerous. On the one hand, my delicate inside ears have been saved from having a nozzle plunged into them; nonetheless, there have been cases the place a single faucet was registered twice, inflicting the track to skip ahead as an alternative of pausing.

I additionally encountered a delay between the second I tapped the skin of those buds and the foolish bubble-popping sound that alerts you when that motion registers. When this occurred, I might attempt once more, just for the buds to register all of my makes an attempt. And lastly, I want the floor space of the contact controls was bigger—your finger has to land proper on the highest of the stem to get these to take motion. I don’t need to sound too harsh as a result of the controls work high-quality more often than not, however these one-in-10 misses can infuriate.

The contact controls deal with playback with one faucet (on both bud) for pause/play, two faucets for the following track/reply or finish a name, and three faucets to go to the earlier observe. An extended press on the left bud rejects a name or brings up the voice assistant whereas a protracted faucet on the precise bud turns ANC on or off. These take a while to recollect however felt intuitive as soon as I acquired the hold of issues. If you neglect these gestures, the Lenovo Smart Wearable app (extra on this later) permits you to view and customized them.

High Lows and Low Highs

Driver measurement is commonly a helpful measuring stick for sound high quality, and Lenovo’s 11-millimeter dynamic drivers are among the many largest of their class, matching these on the Nothing Ear (1) and $249 Master & Dynamic MW07 Plus. But creating a balanced sound signature is way more nuanced than utilizing the largest tools accessible, and these Lenovo’s inconsistent efficiency proved as a lot.

Weak bass, the standard Achilles’ heel of wi-fi earbuds, wasn’t the offender this time. Rather, the Smart Wireless Earbuds delivered a satisfyingly weighty low finish however struggled to tame peaky treble tones on sure tracks. During the refrain of The Killers’ traditional “Mr. Brightside,” the overlapping guitar twangs and cymbal smashes muddied right into a messy cacophony of shill tones that punished my sibilant-sensitive ears. I used to be relieved switching over to the AirPods 3 and Jabra Elite 75T, which did a greater job of rounding down these excessive notes.

To a lesser diploma, these sharp treble sounds might be heard on different rock and various tracks like within the pitter-patter of the drums in Still Woozy’s “Kenny,” the funky electrical tones in slenderbodies’ “mirror,” and the closing crescendo in Frightened Rabbit’s “I Wish I Was Sober.” In a relatively shocking twist, the Smart Wireless Earbuds carried out greatest on songs with deep bass rhythms. I’d seize these Lenovos earlier than the AirPods 3 when listening to the aggressive, rhythm-driving sub-bass thud of Jay Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild” and even the refined, mushy tapping in Tora’s “In Deeper.”

Fortunately, a lot of the Smart Wireless Earbuds’ sonic shortcomings may be corrected utilizing the Equalizer function within the Smart Wearable app. Here, you possibly can select from six presets, one in every of which supplies you handbook EQ controls. Switching between these—Extra Bass, Natural, Vocal, Jazz, Treble, and Custom—alters the sound signature considerably. The default “Natural” setting wasn’t all the time your best option—I most well-liked Mr. Brightside on the “Extra Bass” setting, even with its wobbly low finish.

I had an admittedly random collection of earbuds at my disposal, and general, Lenovo’s Smart Wireless Earbuds landed someplace within the center for sound high quality—forward of the 1More ComfoBuds (not pictured above) however behind the M&D MW07 (bear in mind, they’re $300!) and Jabra Elite 75T—however once more, that is genre-dependant.

ANC, Call Quality, and Battery Life

The lively noise cancellation just isn’t efficient. It reduces ambient noises just like the sound of a heater or AC hissing within the background or the drone of an airplane engine performed by way of a speaker (rattling pandemic), however solely minimally. Those low tones have been nonetheless audible, simply not as current as earlier than. Everything else, from folks talking to a TV enjoying within the background, is basically ignored—mids and excessive tones are barely dampened however not sufficient to note. Also value mentioning is that turning on ANC introduces a really slight hiss, although it’s not loud sufficient to listen to when music is enjoying.

The Smart Wireless Earbuds do a greater job of intentionally letting sounds in than conserving them out. Turning on ambient noise listening boosted the quantity of all the things round me and made me alert to my environment so I may safely use these open air or chat with my spouse with out eradicating them from my ears.

Everyone I spoke to mentioned the six microphones on these buds made my voice sound clear. Eager to see what the fuss was about, I opened Audacity and recorded a brief clip utilizing the headphones earlier than switching to the mics on my Logitech C920 webcam. I used to be shocked. The earbuds sounded so a lot clearer—it was as if I used to be talking into a correct USB mic. Well completed, Lenovo.

Phillip Tracy · Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds Mic Test

The mixed battery lifetime of the buds and case is 28 hours with the buds lasting for seven hours on a cost throughout audio playback and the case carrying one other 21 hours of juice. Video or telephone calls drop the runtime of the buds to 4.5 hours. Lenovo doesn’t specify, so we are able to assume that is with ANC off (I reached out and can replace as soon as confirmed). Turn on noise cancellation and people runtimes will drop some. Regardless, these are glorious numbers, notably the seven-hour runtime of the buds, which tops the Nothing Ear (1) by an hour and embarrasses the AirPods Pro (5 hours).

Should I purchase the Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds?

Lenovo’s Smart Wireless Earbuds have been higher than I had anticipated contemplating I’ve by no means been massively impressed with the sound high quality of its laptops. Most folks will discover these snug and also you get nearly each fashionable function, together with noise cancellation, wi-fi charging, and customizable EQ settings, all at an agreeable value. The six microphones sound nice for telephone and video calls, and the flexibility to hook up with a number of units concurrently is a useful function that’s notably absent from opponents.

There is room for enchancment. While cozy, the design is clunky and uninspired—which implies these will doubtless fall underneath the radar. Also, whereas the 11mm driver can sound good, they battle with sure genres, and the lively noise cancellation is so weak that it would simply be value conserving it off to preserve battery life.

So, must you purchase them? That’s a troublesome query to reply as a result of it’s past anybody’s attain to check the innumerable wi-fi earbuds choices available on the market. What’s clear is that the Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds provide a compelling set of options for under $99. These are a very good possibility if you happen to’re on a finances, however if you happen to worth design or sound high quality above all else, make sure to take a look at the Nothing Ear (1) and Sennheiser CX True Wireless.