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After the launch of TWS Bluetooth earphones AirBuds 1, AirBuds 2 and AirBuds 3, Blackview is receiving greater attention in the wearables market. Now they are back again with a new flagship model called AirBuds 5 Pro, bringing some breakthrough features. AirBuds 5 Pro is Blackview’s first available earbuds to offer Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation and Triple-microphone Noise Reduction on the higher-end market. So are AirBuds 5 Pro worth a try?
Unboxing
Inside the package box of AirBuds 5 Pro everything is well organized with 2 earbuds, 1 charging box, 1 charging cable, extra 4 pairs of soft eartips of different sizes and 1 user guide.
One of the highlights that differentiate Blackview AirBuds 5 Pro from other brands such as Apple and Huawei, will be more options for the ear tips. While most usually have only 2 pairs, AirBuds 5 Pro provides 5 pairs from minimum to maximum size to make it more suitable for different users. Everyone can find the appropriate size for a comfortable and secure fit.
Ergonomic Design & Comfort
For the charging box and earphones, the design is stunning and appealing. The charge box with Blackview LOGO carved on the center is lightweight and pocket-friendly. Made of durable ABS and PC material with UV coating and well-rounded profiles, it’s silky smooth to the touch. Any stains can be easily wiped off to maintain a clean appearance.
Inside the case, there are 2 stylish TWS earbuds. With the white color scheme and stem, it surely is a design inspired by the look of Apple AirPods Pro. The earbuds are mainly made out of ABS and PC material and feature a glossy finish on the outer side with a matte finish on the inner surface.
They’re pretty solidly built too. After dropping them to the floor from few meters high several times, they remain good from the inside out without any scratches or breaks. As for the waterproof qualities, while sweating at the gym, running in the sudden rains or accidentally dropping it onto a shallow water puddle, AirBuds 5 Pro functions normally. However, remember not to soak it for a longer time.
Each earphone weighs only 4g, it’s as light as you’re wearing nothing. The ergonomic structural design with tailor-made curves fits the ear nicely. The soft silicone tip covering the earbud, though not sitting too deeply inside the ear cavity, won’t pop out easily. Compared with earbuds without ear tips, AirBuds 5 Pro causes less discomfort even in long-time usage.
We tried them in different scenarios indoors and outdoors, such as walking, skateboarding, running, rock climbing and bicycling on rugged roads. And they work just fine without getting loose or falling out. Frankly, it’s perfectly engineered to cover daily uses.
Pairing & Tap Controls
Coming to the controls, even first-time earbud users will soon get familiar with the basic steps. It’s as easy as breathing. To pair up, just long press the button inside the charging box for 3 secconds until the indicator light flickers white. Then turn on the Bluetooth (it supports Bluetooth 5.0) on the smartphone and select AirBuds 5 Pro.
It supports also a single-ear use. Long press the button for 10 seconds and the light will flash white to delete the pairing history, so you can re-pair again. For situations like sharing with your friend to have one earbud connected to the smartphone for games and the other to the tablet for movies. Or you can connect them for work and entertainment separately, to enjoy two worlds simultaneously.
As for actual controls, tap twice the stem of the right earbud to play the music or go to the next track. Tap twice to answer or end a call. Tap triple time to activate voice assistant for weather, navigation or home control. For the left earbud, tap twice to turn on/off the ANC mode. However, the gestures might be finicky and require several attempts before you get used to it.
Hybrid ANC Performance
The biggest highlight of AirBuds 5 Pro is surely the adoption of dual-core digital noise reduction chip and hybrid ANC (active noise cancellation) technology. It should deliver a noise reduction depth of 35dB and could be the best-in-class noise cancelling technology in TWS earbuds.
To test the actual performance, we’ve tried the headphones in crowded subways, bustling KFCs, hustling shopping malls, noisy supermarkets, or even the places under construction. The noise cancelling results turned out to be pretty satisfactory. The noise is noticeably reduced to an acceptable level. You still hear it, but you’ll never be troubled by it.
So if you want a quiet morning reading without hearing the subway noise, sweet nap in the office without hearing the sound of discussions and keystrokes, or a productive night work at home without hearing the laughs of kids, then try AirBuds 5 Pro. For safety reasons you can also turn off the ANC when being outside. Sometimes it could block the noises too well and immerse you so deeply, that you couldn§t hear the voice clues for dangers clearly on the road.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is also found to be pretty good. It features the 7mm dynamic driver and graphene-PU composite diaphragm and employs the compensation algorithm to restore the loss resulting from the Hybrid ANC.
As for the real-world performance, we chose Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, a powerful masterpiece bringing out the best in instruments and vocals throughout the track. Making it perfect for the sound test. Highs, mids and basses were delivered smoothly with enough clarity, punchiness and fullness, that fascinated us.
When watching the TV series Loki or playing the game Brawl Stars, with the ANC on, we heard the lines narrated by the favorite actors, the thrilling background music and the intense battle sounds clearly. Without the need of setting the sound volume higher. And all of then quickly drew us to the wonderful world of entertainment.
Overally, though not capable of restoring every note to its original brilliance (even the top-rated headphones cannot make it successfully), the earbuds tune the sound in a pleasing way for most mainstream listeners. Making them a good choice for everyday immersive audio enjoyment.
Call Quality
Call quality could be yet another surprise. It adopts the triple-microphone noise reduction technology and redesigned air ducts to prevent call noises.
For the actual performance, the receiver stayed at a quiet place, while the caller made both video and non-video calls at noisy parties and streets wearing or without wearing AirBuds 5 Pro separately. When with earbuds, the voice from the caller was loud and clear. When without earbuds, we heard more background noises instead of the voice. We also tried them while cycling by the sea with strong wind and the partner couldn’t hear the rustle, but just the voice.
Therefore, to get a voice call with families and friends or a video call for presentations and meetings without distractions, try the AirBuds 5 Pro.
In-ear Detection
Most TWS headsets support the in-ear detection function. For some earbuds, they may not automatically stopping the music, when taken off or starting when putting on again. AirBuds 5 Pro always works just right.
Charging & Battery Life
The indicator light inside the charging case shows an exact battery level. When it stays green, it means there is 90%-100% battery left. Turning orange, it’s with 15%-90% battery. Flashing red, it means that AirBuds 5 Pro is with low battery level (0-15%) and needs charging.
You can also choose from both wired and wireless charging. For wired charging, it charges via the USB Type-C port and it takes about an hour to be fully charged. For wireless charging, it’s compatible with most 1.5W wireless chargers and will be fully charged in about 2 hours.
There’s an indicator light outside the case to easily show, whether it’s currently charging (orange) or fully charged (green). However, the charging cable is not long enough and you have to find a suitable socket to get it well placed for charging itself.
Turning to battery life, it’s quite impressive and lasts longer, than you would expect. The case with full power can recharge the earbuds a bit over 5 times. On a full charge, we listened to music at about 30 to 40% volume with ANC on roughly 2 hours everyday. For a whole week, the earbuds and charging case never ran out of power. Besides, when in low battery, just charge the earbuds for 10 minutes and it can support an hour of movie watching. Turning off the ANC, you can easily get at least 24 hours of usage out of it.
Therefore, even if you’re a heavy headphone user for calls, gaming, music listening and video streaming everyday, you might only need to charge the case only once or twice a week.
Conclusion
To conclude, Blackview AirBuds 5 Pro is an excellent pair of TWS Bluetooth earphones, that offer great value for money. It works the best at its price range (under $100) with great noise cancelling, premium sound quality and impressive battery life. As long as you don’t find yourself a picky audiophile, the overall performance offered will not disappoint you.
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About the authorYing Hua
I'm an avid gamer and a bit of a Ninja when it comes to gadgets and technology. When I'm not busy with the latest Android and iOS games and I can be found writing at Gizchina.com.
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