Last year, the vivo brand entered the Ukrainian market. The company began expansion with smartphones at different price points
What is it?
True Wireless In-Ear Headphones with 25 Hoursbattery life based on the case, the flagship Qualcomm QCC5126 wireless dual-core processor, two noise-canceling microphones, aptX support, touch and voice control and Apple AirPods-style design. The company claims that the development of the model lasted two years and thousands of testers took part in them.
For those who want to know more
Qualcomm QCC5126 – flagship chipsetline of ultra-energy-efficient chips (up to 10 hours of music playback on a single charge with a 65 mAh battery) QCC5100 for voice-activated Bluetooth devices. Supports voice assistants, aptX of various formats, Bluetooth 5.0 with data transfer at 2 Mbps and built-in hybrid active noise reduction.
How do they look? Are they comfortable?
From what is currently available for Android, headphonesvisually closest to Huawei FreeBuds 3. But, of course, they are the spitting image of Apple Airpods. In terms of size and weight, vivo TWS 1 is smaller than its Android competitor. Both the headphones themselves and the case. The earphone weighs 4.4 g (so far this is a record for lightness among what I have held in my hands). The legs are shorter, the two microphones are located on the body in the same way. The main part is approximately the same, except that it is symbolically thicker and shorter. But what is not noticeable visually is felt on the body. vivo TWS 1 seem to penetrate a little less deeply and are a little more noticeable inside. But this is only in the first seconds; they are invisible when worn. They do not interfere with the ear and do not fall out; they fit like a glove. You can even tilt your head and shake – don't fall out. You can run, train in the gym. Unless you use them reclining and constantly move your head, they can slip out.
We had a white model on the review. The color scheme is not for sluts, although there are no problems with fingerprints on them. Firstly, the headphones are made in such a way that in some places the seams on the body are striking. I could not consider whether one part protrudes above the other, or some dust leaked, but the strips are noticeable in places.
Therefore, if some kind of headphone sticksdust, etc., then it becomes even more noticeable. It is unlikely that someone will peer into your ears in search of flaws on the gadget's body, but when the headphones are in an open case, people around you will notice sloppiness when you get them. The case inside also needs to be looked after, because the dust can clog into the corners and become noticeable. Insidious white, alas. Therefore, I would advise if you buy, then the model is in black.
The case itself – compact, will fit not onlyin any bag, but also in any pocket. Scratch resistant despite the glossy finish. It has a Bluetooth connection mode button on the back – It’s also small, just go and press it on purpose, and accidental presses are completely excluded. Front – a small diode that shows how the charge is. Usually it lights up green/red, but to connect the headset you need to wait for the white signal. By the way, there is no diode inside. Perhaps the location outside is more logical, since the light is always in sight. No wireless charging, wired interface – Type C.
How to use them?
The manufacturer calls the headphones“Intelligent”, but there is no third-party Android application on Google Play yet. May appear over time. They are compatible with the vivo Jovi smart assistant, which is on the company's smartphones. The assistant motivates the owner of the device for healthy lifestyle (for example, reminds about the need to drink water, move, etc.) and, as a whole, imperceptibly integrates into the user's life. As far as I understood, in the version for our country there are no special pluses from Jovi paired with a smartphone yet, they do not work with Google Assistant.
The vivo TWS 1 case supports multiple gestures.The announcement stated that gestures – customizable, but it turns out that without the application only the default settings work. Like its colleagues in the shop, this model can automatically turn off music if one of the headphones is not in the ear, and turn on – if playback was paused, when the second brother returns to his place. I have little experience using true wireless models yet, but I noted that, unlike similar models from Sony and Huawei, this one does not start playing music again when both headphones are outside the ears. Here – like a clock.
Does the vivo TWS 1 sound good?
I'll start with the technical nuances.The characteristics of the model indicate that it is equipped with two microphones for active noise reduction. Since there is no application, there is no way to control this option. According to my observations, the headphones effectively cut off conversations around them, but technical sounds – such as the rumbling of the engine, opening/closing doors in transport, they practically do not cut off. For example, if you are traveling in a crowded ground vehicle, then the conversations of people, even if they are right above your ear, will not disturb you, but you will hear the operation of the bus engine. You can also hear the movement of cars near the road. When talking on the phone, audibility in both directions is excellent.
The specifications indicate that the delay timesignal is 180 ms (for Huawei FreeBuds 3 – 190 ms). This is a good indicator indicating that the headphones are comfortable, for example, watching videos on Youtube. In real life it’s really comfortable, 180 ms is not felt at all. But if everything is fine with the speed, then there are questions about the stability of the signal. Headphones begin to slow down in winter if there is a lot of clothing – a scarf, a hat, a smartphone is in the pocket of a down jacket, and there is also a handbag in the signal path. The WF-1000XM3 TWS headphones had the same feature, but the FreeBuds 3 did not encounter this problem.
Regarding the musical abilities of the device,then they are quite bassy, which is not always characteristic of wireless headsets, but at the same time the sound, especially at high volume, is dirty, the device drowns, which is just typical for them. In direct comparison with FreeBuds 3 and Oppo Enco Q1, competitors prefer.
What about the battery?
Despite the fact that vivo TWS 1 is more compactFreeBuds 3, and the case is smaller, the manufacturer promises the same battery life – 4 hours from its own battery and another 20 hours from the case. In real life, it seemed to me that vivo headphones last longer than Freebuds 3, although the difference is symbolic. In any case, there has never been a time when I went shopping for a long time and was left without music. Usually I listened to them for three or four hours a day, in fact, this is a solid work week without recharging the case. But since the headset does not have an application and you can only see the charge status in the Bluetooth settings for the headphones themselves, I didn’t take any risks and tried to charge them once every 4-5 days.
What are the alternatives?
If TWS headphones with working noise reductionthere is nothing on the market, there are quite a lot of models where this function is present in some form, but not brought to fruition. Most likely, when vivo TWS 1 appears on our market, it will be part of some promotions with brand smartphones. In this case, this will be an excellent offer, the model is comfortable and will suit the sound quality of most users. And for those who didn’t have enough for Airpods, it will also please the eye, since the headphones are too similar. But if you're looking for a true-wireless model with great noise cancellation, you'll have to fork out for something more substantial. Ideally – Sony WF-1000XM3, but Huawei FreeBuds 3 is also okay.
In the dry residue
Vivo's True Wireless Headset is more a musthave accessories in the lineup of a manufacturer that has smartphones without an audio output than an iconic accessory. But here it is worth noting that in vivo they tried to maintain a balance between an affordable price (for most markets $ 140 will be such) and a quality offer. If you need all the best from technology for an Android smartphone, then you are clearly not here, if you are brand-loyal and will look for a TWS-headset without any complaints, then vivo TWS 1 can be considered as an option, especially if the manufacturer will offer a profitable “ package "with a smartphone.
3 reasons to buy vivo TWS 1:
- excellent ergonomics;
- good autonomy;
- You will find some kind of promotion where they will be paired with a brand smartphone at an even more affordable price.
2 reasons not to buy vivo TWS 1:
- not the best implementation of noise reduction;
- not very accurate implementation of the case.