Sidebar:
Hearable
options
The Apple AirPods Pro and Jabra Elite 85t represent the high end of the earbuds spectrum, but are by no means the only options for high quality. And quality is available across the price spectrum, starting with:
Samsung
Galaxy Buds Pro
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live (R3,000) were our Hearable of the Year for 2020, offering 7.5 hours of battery life, 28 hours including the case, and 6 hours with active noise cancellation, but mostly because they were the most comfortable wireless earbuds we have yet tried. The Buds+ (R4,000) go a few steps further, with Spotify integration, 12 hours playtime, dedicated woofer and tweeter. In other words, made for music. The Galaxy Wearables app is feature matched with Jabra’s Sound+, with the added benefit of integrating with smartwatches.
Now, the new Buds Pro, released last month, at the same or slightly higher price, bring several enhancements, including IPX7 water resistance, meaning it can be submerged in a meter of water for up to 30 minutes. It automatically reduces music or other sounds volume when one starts talking, so can react to voice.
Vivo TWS
Earphone Neo
At around
R1,200 to R1,900, it is probably the best wireless earbuds in the sub-R2,000
price category. Optimised for Vivo phones, with features like DeepX stereo sound
effects for video specific to devices, it still packs an enormous level of
high-tech into a low-cost hearable. Decent touch controls, in-call noise
filtering, a charging case, and 4.5-hours battery life make it a good budget
alternative to AirPods. TWS, for True Wireless Stereo, is standard in most name
brand earbuds. Despite the stalks and cheap materials, it is also one of the better-looking
earbuds in its price range.
Generic
TWS earbuds with charging case
If name brands and quality assurance are less important than wireless earbuds, the Mobile In Africa Store has a package deal on generic TWS Bluetooth wireless earbuds for only R299. With 4hrs of battery life on one charge, and 12hr of battery life with the charging case, it also comes with small, medium, and large earplugs to provide a more comfortable fit.
And then there is ultra-cheap
AliExpress is offering Bluetooth and waterproof TWS “Mini Sports Music Headphones with Microphone” for only $7.15, marked down from $14.31. This means that, if one shops around, one can find hearables for around a R100. But bear in mind that what you pay is what you get.
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