HONOR Choice TWS Earbuds Review Philippines: Forget The AirPods Pro

Finding a great pair of budget TWS earbuds that don’t sound like empty tin cans in your ear is a challenge, as many budget-tier choices compromise on quite a lot of things to keep price low.

HONOR thinks it’s perfected the formula of a great-sounding budget TWS in the form of the HONOR Choice. Made in partnership with MOECEN, these AirPods Pro-like TWS earbuds tries to offer a balance between a decent set of features and good sound quality while keeping a palatable sub-Php 2k price tag.

Pros

-Short stem design is ergonomic to the ears

-Good sound quality with Hi-Res Audio support

-Stable Bluetooth connection

Cons

-Unconventional USB-C port placement

AirPods Pro, is that you?

From the charging case to the earbuds themselves, you can see that the HONOR Choice was heavily inspired by Apple’s AirPods Pro. Like its more premium doppelganger, the HONOR Choice comes with a glossy white finish in both the case and the actual earbuds themselves.

Unlike HONOR and Huawei’s previous TWS earbuds, the HONOR Choice does not use a pairing button; you just pop open the case to initiate pairing instead, and you’re good to go.

Meme-worthy design has great fit and ergonomics

Even if the HONOR Choice looks like the Pea Shooter from Plants vs. Zombies, the design is a good balance of form and function. The short stem ensures better call quality compared to pill-shaped buds, and they make wearing the buds easier at the same time. Call quality is great; I’ve used the HONOR Choice for an hour-long conference call and the reception was clear on both ends.

Paired with silicone tips, the HONOR Choice is comfortable to wear even for long runs and walks. I’ve used them a couple of times while walking my dogs, and they stayed put in my ears without making me feel uncomfortable.

Aside from the great fit, the HONOR Choice’s Bluetooth connectivity is one of the most stable I’ve tried so far for a pair of ultra-budget TWS earbuds. Regardless if I use them indoors or outdoors, I barely experienced any connection drops with the HONOR Choice.

Battery life is impressive: I’ve used the HONOR Choice to binge-watch shows on Netflix or listen to my favorite tunes on Spotify, and they lasted around 5 hours before I got the low battery warning and had to place them back in the case to charge. The case has enough juice to charge the buds up to four times, and case charging is done via USB-C.

My only gripe with the charging case is the location of the port, which is under the case instead of at the back like most charging cases. It’s a small nitpick—aside from not having wireless charging—but in all honesty that’s a big ask for TWS buds under Php 2K.

Great sound quality

While it is a given that earbuds with silicone tips provide better lows, the overall soundstage of the HONOR Choice is balanced even with the mids and highs. From listening to heavy bass drops from Blackpink’s How You Like That Red Velvet-Irene and Seulgi’s Monster to guitar riffs from Red Hot Chili Peppers’ The Getaway, the HONOR Choice handles various music genres with a charm. Unlike with most budget TWS earbuds with silicone tips, the bass on the HONOR Choice is tempered and does not overpower the mids and highs.

Even more compelling is that they have support for AAC, letting you enjoy your high-bitrate music better compared to the more common SBC codec.

Verdict: Forget the AirPods Pro, get this instead

Being almost 90% more affordable than Apple’s AirPods Pro, the HONOR Choice is another compelling pair of TWS earbuds in the under Php 2k category. Aside from their functional and ergonomic half stem design, the HONOR Choice has a balanced soundstage that can play any music genre with no sweat. Pair that with features like support for AAC, USB-C port, and seamless, stable Bluetooth connectivity, HONOR’s latest TWS earbuds is a winner for those looking for an alternative to the AirPods Pro.

The HONOR Choice retails for Php 1,799 and is available at Prime Goods Online store and at Gadget Hunter PH’s official Lazada store.