While wireless earphones aren't truly perfect yet in terms of sound quality, they are improving steadily and more tech brands are jumping on the bandwagon with their own wireless earphones or rather earbuds/earpods. This isn't the first time that HONOR Malaysia released a pair of wireless earbuds as they previously did with the HONOR FlyPods, but now, with the Magic Earbuds, one would ask what's the difference between the two? Welcome to TechNave.com and here's our review of the HONOR Magic Earbuds.
To be honest, when we got our hands on the HONOR Magic Earbuds - we couldn't help but think that they were inspired by the Apple Airpods which were in turn responsible for setting the current wireless earpiece trend. Thankfully, HONOR have done their own take by integrating actual earbuds instead of copying so these actually stay in your ears better and won't fall out so easily.
Inside the box, it consists of a warranty card, USB-C cable, and extra ear silicone tips (3 different sizes inside the plastic + the default ones on the earbuds, 4 in total)
The USB port at the back of the charging case
The Magic Earbuds in the flesh, nice presentation
The design is more or less the same as the HONOR FlyPods
Like most earbud products, HONOR also offered four different ear silicone tip sizes for your preference. According to the company, they came up with four instead of the standard three because they want everyone to have the best and comfortable experience while wearing the Magic Earbuds. That's really considerate of them, doesn't hurt to have more options after all so that's 10 points to Gryffindor HONOR.
If a smartphone performance is usually based on mobile gaming and camera quality, then a pair of earphones' performance is reflected in the features and sound quality. The Active Hybrid Voice Cancellation was the first to be tested (and the longest to conclude lol) and this is for network calls. Well, well, this feature actually works but it's not perfect - the feature does block out noises like people talking in front of you, but if someone is shouting or crying out loud, you may hear it (just a little).
You won't notice it at first, but there are a total of 3 microphones for each earbud
How this works is that the Magic Earbuds uses a beamforming technology on the outer two mics to pick up your voice while removing the ambient noise as much as it can. Then there's a third mic as well, which is located at the ear tip to trace for voice signals and getting rid of unwanted noises.
This is a really good feature for the Magic Earbuds especially in this current pandemic period. Having a call with your friends and family, as well as online meeting should be quite comfortable and less distracting for you. As for the sound quality, we have to say it's quite commendable, although it's not as top-class as premium earphones (you will know), at least the bass and vocals are quite clear.
Another nice add-on from the Magic Earbuds is the IP56 water and dust resistance feature. This is surely a nice bonus for the consumers, so the practical use for this is when you go for a jog or exercise (the sweat) or when you're walking under the rain. On top of that, HONOR Malaysia said that the earbuds can last up to 3 hours of music playback and 2 hours of network call with the Active Noise Cancellation feature activated. If you turn that off, the earbuds will last longer for around 30 minutes more.
From our experience, the Magic Earbuds have never "died out" in our ears during the review period, this is because we only tested them for a week and didn't stress the earbuds to the maximum. We only listened to songs for about 2 hours a day, with some phone calls here and there, so about 3 hours in total and we have never had to charge the Magic Earbuds case either. That says a lot about the battery life, but results may vary depending on heavy usage and we believe this is a regular rate for other users as well.
People would mistake your Magic Earbuds for an Apple Airpod lol
All in all, if you care about the sound quality and are looking for a noise-cancelling feature which the Magic Earbuds have (ANC and the Hybrid Hybrid Voice Cancellation) then you should definitely consider them. In comparison, most earbuds with the same said feature can easily go over the RM600 price range, so we think for its price for just RM499 it's pretty good. Here are another 10 points to HONOR for balancing quality and price.
HONOR Magic Earbuds Specifications
- Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling
- Three microphones to help get rid of the annoying 32 dB1 sound
- ‘Intuitive Touch Controls’ touch controls
Pros - Good noise cancelling features and battery life duration, neat and comfortable design with four different sizes of silicone ear tips, and good sound quality
Cons - Design looks similar to the Apple Airpod for those who aren't familiar with HONOR's product, also the water and dust resistant grading could have been higher a bit
Conclusion - Overall the sound quality is good enough with two useful noise-cancelling features. For RM499, it beats out plenty of other earbuds for having similar features so it's a good balance between quality and price
So what do you think of our review? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more tech reviews at TechNave.com.
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