Xiaomi Redmi Buds 5 Pro Review Philippines: Xiaomi’s newest budget TWS looks and sounds great, and delivers legit ANC and great quality audio at a price that can’t be ignored.
Pros:
- Good ANC performance
- Great sound quality for the price
- Hi-Res wireless certified
- Relatively affordable price
Cons:
- Touch controls are limited to simple taps
- The design is a bit bland
Aside from launching a total of five(!) phones in Thailand over the weekend, Xiaomi also showed off two of its ecosystem products – the Redmi Watch and the Redmi Buds 5 in both vanilla and Pro variants. Today we’re taking a look at the Redmi Buds 5 Pro, a pair of really great-sounding ANC buds that won’t break the bank.
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Redmi Buds 5 Pro Review Philippines: Design
The Redmi Buds 5 Pro comes in three colors: Midnight Black, Moonlight White, and Aurora Purple. Of the three Aurora Purple is the most visually striking one, though the Midnight Black Review unit we got looked interesting enough on its own.
The surface of the charging case has a matte treatment, with the Midnight Black version sporting faux leather markings on the lower half. There’s a white LED strip on the front that indicates if you’re connected or if the buds are in pairing mode, and the magnetic clasps on the lid feel solid and there’s a nice, satisfying “click” sound every time you close it.
The Type-C charging port is on the bottom, along with the physical switch that facilitates pairing.
The buds are held in the case by magnets, and taking them out requires some effort which is good since they won’t accidentally drop out if you open the case upside-down. The Redmi Buds 5 Pro looks much like other TWS headphones we’ve seen. There’s a touch-sensitive strip on the side for hands-free music controls. Xiaomi includes a bunch of silicon tips in the package when you get the Redmi Buds 5 Pro so you can change out to the one that best matches your ear.
Redmi Buds 5 Pro Review Philippines: Software and features
While the Redmi Buds 5 Pro will work out of the box without downloading any software, to get the most out of it you will have to grab Xiaomi’s Earbuds software to be able to customize your experience.
Once that’s downloaded, you’ll be able to control the strength of the Active Noise Cancellation tech, as well as customize the gestures on the earbuds depending on what you want. Gestures are mostly relegated to taps and long touches though – the touch strip seems relatively simple to help keep costs down.
The Redmi Buds 5 Pro has all the features you’d expect from a modern TWS with ANC: you’re getting Bluetooth 5.3 with the SBC/AAC/LHDC codec, as well as an IP54 waterproof rating which means it’s not going to die if it’s subjected to rain or sweat.
Redmi Buds 5 Pro Review Philippines: sound quality and battery
How does Xiaomi’s budget ANC buds sound? Fairly good actually – Xiaomi advertises 52dB/4kHz wideband noise cancellation for these buds, and they deliver. I was wearing these when I flew back from Thailand from Xiaomi’s Redmi event, and they did a great job eliminating the drone of the plane’s engine, though they’re not as good as the ANC coming from more expensive buds like Sony’s WF-1000XM5 for example. But for what they are and what you’re paying for, ANC on these buds works great.
The Redmi Buds 5 Pro uses a coaxial, dual-unit architecture for its 11mm titanium-plated dynamic driver, which is paired with a 10mm piezoelectric ceramic tweeter. The sound quality is good, better than what we expected from a pair of buds at this price, with a pronounced sound stage, rich mids, and good lows. I suspect a lot of this great audio quality comes from the LHDC 5.0 audio protocol that was tuned by Xiaomi’s Audio lab, which also means that the Redmi Buds 5 Pro also has Hi-Res Wireless certification.
The app also allows for audio tuning for a more personalized experience, and the buds also have support for spatial audio for both games and music.
Battery life is quoted at around 6.5 hours with the buds when ANC is turned on. Running it without ANC extends that to around 10 hours per charge. As for the charging case, you’re looking at 24.5 hours of run time when it’s fully charged with ANC on. Without ANC, battery life is a little better at 38 hours.
Redmi Buds 5 Pro Review Philippines: wrap-up and verdict
The Redmi Buds 5 Pro is a great, inexpensive way to achieve top-end sound without breaking the bank in the Philippines. It has really good active noise cancellation for its price, has a robust feature set out of the box, and has excellent sound quality relative to its price. At just Php 3,399, you’d be crazy not to pick one up if you’re in the market for affordable buds.
Redmi Buds 5 Pro Price Philippines:
The Redmi Buds 5 Pro comes in Midnight Black, Moonlight White, and Aurora Purple and is priced at just Php 3,399.
