I once put on truly wireless headphones, and the cables after that, even if it was a flexible headband on a wireless headset, became annoying. Therefore, I perceive all new ears like Apple's AirPods with enthusiasm and try to drive for a while. In 2018, in addition to AirPods, I managed to vilify Jabra Elite 65+, Samsung IconX 2018 and Sony WF-1000X. As a result, we got a comparative plate under the cut - it contains objective data. And everything else is my subjective observations and a topic for discussion.
I have to admit that Apple and Samsung did their best: almost everyone I know believes that the first wireless plugs came from one of these brands. But in fact, several companies showed such “ears” at once, in January 2015 at CES: FreeWavz, Bragi and HearNotes. All these pioneer headphones did not take off as expected. The following year, on July 15, Samsung tried to roll out its “true wireless headphones” - Gear Icon X also did not become truly massive. And then in 2016, Apple’s marketing machine hit the road and took off: AirPods became popular on their own and dragged an entire segment with them. Now, on the way to the office (in Moscow), I manage to notice about 10 people with recognizable white plugs. And a few more - with something alternative.
In 2018, there was plenty to choose from. In addition to the mentioned four, there are options in different price categories: B&O (E8 ~ 20 ₽), JBL (Free ~ 000 ₽), crowdfunding TicPods (~ 9 ₽, still out of stock). Onkyo (W000BT ~ 9 ₽) and Bose (SoundSport Free ~ 000 ₽) also have these. And Meizu does not stop dumping (Pop TW800 ~ 30 ₽). And Huawei showed its variation on the theme (FreeBuds ~ 000 ₽). And while I was driving the previous one, Sony even came out with another good model (WF-SP15 ~ 000 ₽). In general, if it is interesting, the experiments can be continued, and the plate can be expanded. Well, let's take a look at what we have.
Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC),
AirPods
Samsung
IconX 2018
Sony
WF-1000X
Jabra
elite 65t
Color
Common
operation time
~30 hours
15.
8.
~24 hours
From one charge
~5,5 hours
5.
2.
6.
Charging from the case
4,5
2
3
3
fast
charging
10 min. → ~1 hour of work
no
10 min. →
~1 hour of work
Interface
lightning
USB Type-C
micro-USB
micro-USB
Sensory
control
Yes
no (buttons only)
Gesture management
no
Yes
no
Fast
Connection
iPhone only
no
Bluetooth
4.h
4.2
4.1
5.0
Water protection
no
n / a
n / a
IP 55
Headphone weight
(in grams)
4
8
6,8
6,5 - left,
5,8 - right
Case weight
(in grams)
38
54,5
100
67
Declared
range
n / a
20 Hz - 20 kHz
Official
price (₽)
Sound
I don't even want to try to describe the sound. All four models sound normally. Fine. Not bad. In short, whatever one may say, it's still Bluetooth with all the consequences. That is, not audiophile devices, not Hi-Res.
Another thing is soundproofing, there is something to tell about it. Jabra, Samsung and Sony are classic plugs, while Apple has in-ears. With them in transport is more difficult. They do not fit snugly, and the rumble from the outside still breaks through. Even if you turn the volume up to the maximum, sometimes you have to turn on subtitles on YouTube with AirPods in the subway: it seems to be audible, but you can’t make out all Dud’s words.
Jabra has active noise cancellation, the sounds of the street almost do not break through. Plus, in the Sound + application, you can turn on the HearThrough mode, and then the sound from the outside will, on the contrary, pass. The volume is enough for the eyes.
Sony has a very cool passive sound isolation, thanks to the foam ear cushions. WF-1000X are inserted deep into the ear, and there the plug straightens out. But with the declared active noise reduction, it seems to be not very good - what is “On”, what is “Off.” - the difference is minimal. So I preferred to turn this feature off completely - and so everything is loud and clear.
The Samsung IconX soundproofing is OK, and I never turned the volume to the maximum. Like the Jabra Elite 65t, they have the function of passing external noise through microphones. But it only works if the headphones are connected to an Android phone, because only there is the Samsung Wearables app with such settings.
Falling out or not
I did not fall out of any of the four: that the liners, that the plugs. I went to the gym in them for training, rode a bike, deliberately shook my head - everyone sits tight. Another thing is that it turns out that not all people are so cool. I let friends vilify these models and in the end did not reveal any dependence: some fall out, while others do not. Some have Jabra and Apple sitting like a glove, while the rest strive to fall out. Someone did not drop out only Sony, someone Samsung. At the same time, Samsung and Sony have protruding parts on the headphones that rest against the ears for reliability, while the similar Jabra design does not. But, in short, my advice to you: before you buy any such headphones, try them on live.
There is also a moment of comfort when you wear headphones for several hours in a row. Personally, I start to get tired of plugs: my ears start to itch, I want them, excuse me, to “ventilate”. But the trick, obviously, is not that they are wireless. With wired plugs, I usually have the same story.
First connection
Apple has tried to make life as easy as possible for the user. If you have an iPhone, connecting AirPods will take a couple of seconds: open the cover of the case, the iPhone immediately asks you to hold down the button on the case, a couple of seconds - and you're done.
But with Android, such a number will not work: first you need to hold down the button on the case, then the AirPods will go into pairing mode and can be found among Bluetooth devices, as usual.
Samsung seems to want to implement IconX connectivity to Galaxy smartphones in the same way, but apparently this applies to other devices. And about IconX 2018 in the Galaxy Wearable app, it says exactly that: press and hold the Bluetooth button on the case. After that, the headphone icon appears on the screen, click it, and then pairing occurs.
For Sony and Jabra, for the first connection, you need to put the headphones into discovery mode. To do this, both of them have mechanical buttons on the case, which must be held down for a few seconds and wait for the blue diode to flash.
In general, if you want to use branded software with headphones in the future, it’s better to connect for the first time through native applications, and not just look for BT devices in the standard menu. Otherwise, they will then ask you to carry out the procedure again, and for this you will first need to break the pair.
Management
Two models have exclusively touch control - these are AirPods and IconX. Apple doesn’t have a lot of fun: a double tap on one earphone is Play / Pause. In another way - the next track or Siri call, depending on how it's configured. There are no other options.
Samsung has a lot of gestures, and it doesn't matter which earbud you touch. On the one hand, it was difficult for me to remember all this, and on the other hand, it’s cool that, for example, you can control the volume without taking out your smartphone.
Sony has implemented all the control on small buttons, not sensors. On the right earpiece, you can press the button one, two or three times in a row. Accordingly, the track will pause, switch to the next or jump to the previous one. On the left earpiece, the same button is responsible for turning on and off the Ambient Sound mode, when the microphones capture sounds from outside and output to the speakers. By the way, these are the only headphones of all four that do not have auto-pause if one of them is taken out of the ear.
Jabra also has mechanical buttons, but they are not located at the bottom, like Sony's, but on the side - perpendicular to the ear. At the same time, the buttons are quite rigid, so every time you need to switch the track or change the volume, the earpiece is pushed a little deeper into the ear. Not very nice.
Covers
The design of the covers, it seems to me, is quite recognizable. Guess where whose, in the photo with the photoshopped logo?
And now with the logo
The essence of all cases is the same - to charge and store the headphones when they are not in use. And although they are arranged differently, there is one problem with all of them - you constantly confuse the headphones and their seats when you send them to charge. It would seem that you take them out and insert them sequentially: first from one ear, and then from the other, but in real life for some reason it’s not like that.
Apple's smallest and lightest case is 38 grams. Easily fits in the "hour" jeans pocket. The magnetized lid opens smoothly and closes easily, and the earphones are also held on by magnets. When you return them to their place - to recharge - they seem to be sucked into the nests.
The Samsung case is not much larger in size, so it fits in the same pocket. The difference in weight is not particularly noticeable - 54,5 grams is also not much at all. But this thing opens only by pressing a mechanical button. On the one hand, it’s annoying to do this every time, but on the other hand, if you drop the case, the lid will not open and the “ears” will not scatter to the sides. Plus, the earbuds are held in place by magnets. To charge the "plugs" you just need to put the contacts on the mating pins in shallow recesses in the case.
Case Jabra is also quite compact, but a little more weighty, 67 grams. The lid closes tightly, without magnets, but with a latch. Headphones are placed in deeper than Samsung cradles, but they are also not particularly fixed there. Sometimes you have to open the case again to shift the headphones if the charging contacts do not match.
Sony has the largest case and is not very convenient to carry in your pocket (however, in the next version they have already corrected this moment by making the case smaller). 100 grams, secure lid with heavy duty hinges. And to be sure that the headphones will not fly out, they must be pushed into the sockets until they click - only then they start charging.
Working hours
The operating time of such headphones depends not only on the capacity of their own batteries, but also on the capacity of the battery in the case. While the “ears” are in the case, they are charging, and when you take them out again, they are almost certainly already 100% charged. Everyone except Sony needs 10-15 minutes in a case to then work for an hour.
Surprisingly, the most compact device turned out to have the most powerful battery. The Apple case can fully charge the earbuds at least 4 times. The total is about 30 hours of work. Next comes Jabra - Elite 65t can work a total of a day. Samsung's IconX 15 gives out 2018 hours. And Sony showed itself worst of all in terms of autonomy - the WF-1000X only lasts 8 hours. However, they will need to be charged every two hours.
Microphones
No one has been perfect. If the wind blows, it blows out all the microphones, no matter how many there are, and no matter what software algorithms the manufacturers use. You can immediately pull out the phone and talk on it, otherwise "on the other end of the wire" they will not hear you.
When it's quiet around, the person on the phone hears you well. But when it's noisy, not everyone does well. As an example, keep a recording from the iPhone's built-in microphone and, in turn, from all the headphones that I had, with a working hair dryer in front of me.
What did I choose
My main phone is iPhone. Therefore, the main headphones, despite not the most top-end sound, I made AirPods. They are corny the most convenient: I opened the case, inserted the “ears” into the ears, and everything is already working. With other models, the connection does not always happen instantly, and sometimes one of the pair of headphones “falls off” from Bleutooth.
But I still carry a Jabra Elite 65t as a spare. Subjectively, they have the richest sound, and isolation from the outside world is better, because these are just earplugs, not earbuds. Yes, they are second in terms of working time.
I put the rest on the shelf - for history and in case the main ones are lost. And I must say that for half a year of life with such headphones, I'm still afraid of losing them.
Source: habr.com