On my daily commutes, music is one of those perks that make it more bearable. Since the beginning, I’ve been using wired earphones because I’ve found that Bluetooth ones have been very expensive. They rarely go below Php3,000 and the ones that do are usually from questionable Chinese brands with virtually no reviews. That was until I heard about the Mi Sport Bluetooth earphones. So I quickly got a pair and this is my quick unboxing and review.
First off, let me put a disclaimer that I am not an audiophile. My ears are very basic to say the most. So don’t expect me to go in-depth on this layman’s review.
My running friend, Kebs, recommended this to me along with Mi’s fitness watches, the Amazfit. Both offered great value at a budget price, but since I don’t plan to run for the rest of the year, I prioritized the earphones because I can use them daily.
I searched online and found them easily at Lazada and Shopee. However, I suggest to buy them at the Mi store because the ones from the online markets have the prompts in Chinese. The ones in actual stores have been calibrated to English already. Plus you get a 6 month warranty (just present the box and receipt).
So I went to the Mi store in SM Megamall and bought a pair for the regular price of Php1,190. By the way, the Mi store is a wonderland. They sell a variety of appliances from mobile phones and laptops to umbrellas, extension cords, and TVs. I’ll definitely go back there and check out more of their offerings.
Once I got the package, I quickly found a seat so I can start fiddling with it. The earphones are contained in a small box. The packaging is very simple and clean. Unfortunately, Mi has stopped making the earphones in black. The only colorway available right now is white.
At the back of the box we can see all the details, which impressed me for the price. It keeps up with all the ones I’ve seen that were more than twice as expensive. Now, up to 7 hours playback time is the bare minimum for an effective wireless earphone, but it’s not a problem for my daily commutes.
Inside the box are the earphones, a tiny manual, a tiny USB cord, and some extra rubber earbuds. Upon closer inspection, the earbuds are in different sizes so you can adjust according to the fit of your ears.
Turn the earphones on by pressing and holding the button at the microphone node. A voice prompt will tell you that it’s awake (“power on”). Then pair it with your phone. The pairing was quick, it was immediately detected by my phone. In about 3 minutes after opening the box I was already listening to music. Pretty good for Mi to put some juice in the battery. It lasted me the commute home as well as a private concert in my room before I had to charge it.
Aside from the obvious volume controls, hold the + volume to skip to the next song and the – volume for the previous song. Double tapping the button in the microphone node calls the last person you talked to on your phone while single tap turns the music on or off. For an incoming call, press once to answer and hold to reject. Pretty straightforward.
The fit of the earphones was good for me. The semi-rigid ear hooks made sure that they wont pop out during activity. As per Kebs, they are also sweat-proof, as he has used them in his training runs on the track. It comes with a cord tightener which isn’t attached to the actual earphones themselves. This makes it prone to getting lost so I left it in the box. I didn’t feel the need to shorten the cord anyway. 4/5
Soundproofing is decent. The volume is actually pretty loud which is common for in-ear devices. I played it at max volume for a few songs before cranking it down to a more comfortable level. At regular volume, outside noise is pretty much minimized so it’s just you and the music. 3/5
Sound quality is not something I can comment on. While reading the reviews, there were some terms like mids and lows and highs, but I’m not really familiar with them. All I know is it play the sound just as good as my laptop and my PC. I can hear the music clearly and it doesn’t sound like the cheap earphones playing music through an empty can. The bass isn’t that booming, but it is still noticeable. Adequate. 4/5
The battery, as before, is okay. It’s the same as most Bluetooth devices out there. On testing it to the limit, I got around 5 to 6 hours, depending on the standby time. Good enough for me, because it also charges very quick. 4/5
And that’s pretty much it. I’m very happy with this purchase. Mi has been known to offer good products at decent prices and this earphone is no exception. I’m really happy with it because I no longer get tangled with strangers when squeezed together at the MRT and and LRT.
I’m a little late with the wireless movement, but I can really see the perks, especially being tangle-free on my commutes. I’m one step closer to accepting phones without headphone jacks now. 🤣
-jgzn
Jai Online 