Τrue wireless Earphones were a 2019 gadget trend, a need created originally by Apple in order to sell its… 200$ airpods. The market was flooded by clones of AirPods of various quality in materials and sound performance. Many companies decided to forget about Apple’s ugly shape and go on with a more minimal design, that could be easily inserted in the ear – while at the same time retaining minimal size but decent battery life. A huge number of companies managed to launch TWS earbuds, and the public mainly demanded two things: the first was noise cancellation features – for usage in transportation media or in the office. The second was the ability to keep the earbuds on their ears while exercising (no matter how hard) or use them when swimming! Apple recently followed this trend, launching their latest AirPods Pro as a mean to cover both needs but… so did the competition – at more affordable prices as you will find out.
I recently decided to buy Xiaomi’s Mi Airdots (based on the fact that budget IS a factor for me), but then a new product grabbed my attention. xFyro, a crowdfunding company recently released ARIA Waterproof Earbuds and I was immediately intrigued to find how they fare in everyday usage. So we asked xFyro to send us a review sample and… that’s what we’re going to do today! The ARIA Earbuds may have the size I need, but the true “eye catcher” here is their waterproof ability, as these earbuds have IP67 certification! This means that a person can use then in the swimming pool, shower or in a very dusty environment (like the beach) without any issues – according to the company obviously. Aria Earbuds also support Bluethooth 5.0 technology for an even more stable experience, reduced power consumption and better sound quality. Great news for someone who wants to keep his/her smartphone in the gym’s locker-room while training or having a shower just a few meters down the corridor, listening to their favorite music – streaming from their smartphone!
ARIA Waterproof Earbuds – Specifications
- Type: In-ear headphones
- Connection: Wireless Bluetooth
- Back-design: Closed-back
- Headphones
- Driver size: 16mm
- Weight: 10-11g
- Microphone & Controls: Yes (built-in)
- Water-protection: Yes (IP67 = IPX7)
- Wireless
- Bluetooth: 5.0
- Battery life: 8 hours
- Charging time: Under 2h
- Active noise-cancelling: No
- Charging cable: Micro USB
- aptX: No
- Wireless range: 33ft (10m)
- Microphone
- Type: Built-in
ARIA Waterproof Earbuds – Retail Box
ARIA Waterproof Earbuds come in a simple carton box that has the following inside:
- Aria true wireless earbuds
- Charging/Carrying Case
- 3 pairs of silicone eartips
- 2 pairs of ear wings
- Charging cable – Micro-USB
- User manual in English
The contents are typical for the category. The enclosed user manual is one of the best – by far – that I have seen for a gadget/wearable, as it proves to be extremely helpful and easy to understand. The charging/carrying case – a part usually “forgotten” by companies or buyers – has a good round shape that fits in your pockets and can be easily handled when taking them of from a trousers’ back pocket.
You can buy ARIA Waterproof Earbuds from their official page:
Aria Earbuds – Design
The Aria earbuds are designed to be inserted inside the outer ear. I have small ears and the buds simply fitted as… a cork in a bottle of wine! There is absolutely no comparison with Apple’s or Xiaomi’s design in this matter. They do fit my ears… like a cork (if you catch my meaning), providing a feeling of safety, that they will NOT fall into the ground! The ear-wings are excellent as is the in-ear probe. The last one must have the correct eartip depending of the width of your ear hole. Be careful: a perfect fit means total noise isolation from your outer environment so make sure you try all sizes until you find the one that better suites your ear size.
However, there is a small disadvantage to this design – something that Apple tried to fix with their latest AirPods Pro: the in-ear pressure is kept constant – and this is not normal. From time to time I had that feeling of… ascending or descending altitude and had to blow air with my nose closed in order to bring some leverage. Perhaps this is on me, and others may not face it, so I cannot say that this is definately bad. Other than that you can wear them all day – but note that despite their small weight, you can feel them when you have them placed inside the ear. Indeed this last part is important to me as I want to know if something is… still with me or I have lost it.
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Both buds have LED indicators on them as to notify for the activity when paired, charging etc, a feature that improves their usability and performance.
Aria Earbuds – Connectivity
I have to say here that, you will probably need the manual in order to connect them correctly to your mobile or laptop. Don’t worry, the company has done a great job as I‘ve mentioned above with the manual and in a couple of minutes you will be able to have a stable connection with your phone, tablet or laptop.
As we have mentioned already, the device supports Bluetooth 5.0 – the latest standard in wireless communication, something that guarantees that you will have a solid connection with impeccable sound quality. While there are no hiccups in the connection, there is also nothing to brag about. Maximum range is about 8-10 meters depending on the placement of a wall (gym wall or locker door) between you and the source. I would like to have double that range thus moving around in the gym hands-free, or when I take a dive in the swimming pool to be honest.
Since I mentioned the swimming pool, I have to say that the IP67 certification is doing exaclty what it should. I used the Aria Earbuds and took a dive in my gym’s swimming pool with no issues! Music was still being played while swimming, but to be honest, it’s strange to have earbuds inside your ears while swimming, as you’re always afraid that you might lose them in the bottom of the pool!
Aria Earbuds – Control
Aria True Wireless Earphones provide an excellent control ability, better that those found in most of the headsets in the market. The user can tap on BOTH the buds in order to perform different actions. One disadvantage however is that the taping noise inside the ear canal may not be the best for your ear. For some of you out there it could prove to be a bit tiring after a while and should be used IMHO only when you don’t have your smartphone nearby. Tapping on the buds can provide all the standard actions: play/pause, skip/previous, volume up/down, accept/reject/end calls, activate Siri or Google Assistant and turn on/off connectivity features obviously.
Aria Earbuds – Sound Quality
To be honest, the music quality differs from that of the phone call quality and this is something that has to be mentioned.
Sound quality is great for music or films (there is some latency here as it is usual for wireless headsets), while bass and tremble are placed in the medium range. Be careful of the sound volume – you don’t really need to increase it a lot, as these are in-ear buds and setting them to a maximum volume could possibly harm your ear.
On the other hand, phone call quality is not perfect, if I have to be honest about it. Conversations are somewhat average in quality, because the microphone is placed on top of your ear and not in front or at the side of your mouth. When in traffic or when there’s external music being played back, the person calling you may have some trouble hearing you. So it’s better to take your phone calls in a somewhat quiet environment, if you want to have optimal performance there as well.
ARIA Waterproof Earbuds – Battery
ARIA Waterproof earbuds are being advertised as an 8 hour battery life device, and we did get approximately 6-7.30 hours depending the usage. Note that music playback affects less the battery than making phone calls. An advantage is that you can use only one bud in case of need and in this situation, you can enjoy up to 8 hours of battery life! I don’t know whether multiple charges may give you any extra minutes of usage, but if I had to say, then I think 7 hours is a realistic battery life – and a quite impressive I might say for such a small type of earbuds!
You can buy ARIA Waterproof Earbuds from their official page:
I got them and they are bad! dont buy. Soundquality is alright but batterylife is nowhere near the 8 hours. More like 2,5 to 3 hours at most.
Thanks for tipping the other prospective buyers. This realistic review is in stark contrast to Nick’s review in the last paragraph of the article.