There is no shortage of inexpensive earbuds that attempt to mimic the styling of Apple's AirPods, but matching the active noise cancellation (ANC) features of the AirPods Pro is usually a different story.
Not so with Edifier's new TWS NBQ Buds, which promise noise reduction and isolation as well as full ANC for $59. That's a fraction of the $249 AirPods Pro and cheaper than most of the Apple AirPods alternatives.
The TWS NBQ looks like this with the less plasticy Edifier TWS NB2 Pro unveiled at the 2021 CES. But despite this and its low price, the TWS NBQ promises a surprisingly wide range of features, not to mention that ANC is the star of the show, supported by an ambient sound mode that allows users to hear the outside world without having to stop the music.
It also allows you to use only one earphone at a time, in case you want to listen to something while keeping one ear open. And Edifier claims an impressive battery life of 7 hours on a single charge with ANC turned on, compared to about 4.5 hours for the AirPods Pro with noise cancellation and about 5 hours for the standard AirPods without ANC. The charging case only adds 18 hours to the earbuds' 7 hours, but turning off ANC saves 9 hours with the buds and 23 hours with the case.
Edifier also notes that the TWS NBQs are IP54-rated for dust and water resistance. While not fully waterproof, like most of the best workout headphones, it makes the earbuds virtually sweat-proof, giving this inexpensive pair another advantage over the IPX4-rated AirPods Pro.
Most of the other comforts of true wireless earbuds, such as interchangeable ear tips, touch controls, and a noise-canceling microphone, are also present for (hopefully) clear voice and video calls. unlike the AirPods Pro, they come in three colors: white, pink, and blue to choose from.
At $59 for all this, it begs the question of how the TWS NBQ can be so cheap. We wouldn't be surprised if aspects like comfort and general sound quality took one for the team.
However, if you are not interested in waiting to see if the AirPods 3 will have ANC and want to take the plunge, you can order the TWS NBQ directly from Edifier.
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