TL;DR: If you are in the market for a set of wireless earbuds and Apple tree's AirPods are outside your budget, EarFun Air wireless earphones are a decent offering. They lag slightly backside AirPods in terms of craftsmanship and comfort, simply the extremely lower price betoken outweighs the shortcomings.

Wireless sound has ballooned in popularity, in part thank you to Apple AirPods. This becomes all the more axiomatic with a quick stroll through the mall or the park. Wireless is the way to go these days, and Apple currently holds about one one-half of the wireless earbuds market. In terms of user experience, AirPods are tough to beat, but that comes with a steep cost tag and ecosystem limitations. These days standard AirPods retail for ~$140. The Qi wireless charging example bumps that up to $170, and if y'all want AirPods Pro, exist ready to crush out $250.

Now, AirPods work great if yous already are in Apple'due south ecosystem of devices, they will pair easily and more often than not work seamlessly within that walled garden when you become from one device to another. Move to an Android telephone or Windows laptop, and the experience is no better than your average competitor. Another gene to consider is that standard AirPods are decent just not great sound devices, so a less expensive alternative is definitely in order.

Sony's highly regarded WF-1000XM3 are superior to AirPods in the audio department, simply they're nonetheless nearly $200. Google, Amazon, Huawei, and Samsung all take competent alternatives, but the least you will pay for these are previous-gen Galaxy Buds which are pretty decent for $110, nearly others are around $150+. Jabra's $150 Aristocracy 75t are great, too, for sports.

So when a pocket-size electronics startup called EarFun contacted us and offered for review a set up of new AirPods alternatives that would simply price $60 on Amazon, we were all ears (pun intended).

The EarFun Air "true wireless" earbuds are the company's newest offer, and then nosotros tasked two of our writers who already used AirPods on a regular footing to try them out for a couple of weeks. And then here'southward what nosotros think...

In terms of craftsmanship, the EarFun Air earphones are on par with AirPods. They feel sturdy and are perhaps just a touch heavier. They do have a slightly different design than the standard AirPods, looking more like the AirPods Pro. They come with 4 different sizes of eartips and, when properly fitted in the ear, felt more secure than AirPods. Information technology never felt like they were going to fall out, except when they became moisture from sweat. Apple's standard design can feel a bit insecure in the ear, even when dry, and especially when jogging or doing high impact exercises.

The charging case feels durable in general, simply the lid seems flimsier than Apple's. AirPods holders employ a machined aluminum hinge while the EarFun Air instance is entirely plastic. The articulation does showroom a little flex when purposely overextended, but it could pause more easily than Apple'southward if the case were sat on with the top open.

EarFun's showtime generation wireless earphones called EarFun "Costless" had physical switches for pausing and pairing, merely the company brought touch controls with the EarFun Air which nosotros tested, this is a welcomed comeback. These can accept some getting used to, but the same can be said almost the AirPods' bear upon controls.

One leg up the EarFun Air has over AirPods is that you can adjust the volume by touching and holding your finger on i earbud -- left for down and correct for up. AirPods volume can just exist controlled past the device it is continued to, which is annoying. AirPods do let you to apply Siri to control volume, merely information technology is a clunky experience at best.

The EarFun Air case has both a USB-C port and a Qi roll for wireless charging, but like the AirPods. However, charging time is a chip longer (around two hours). Perhaps more chiefly, the EarFun Air charging case's single LED indicator isn't a reliable mode to tell the accuse level. Knowing whether the unit of measurement is fully juiced is a chip of a guessing game.

Battery life is also somewhat inconsistent and depends on volume and use. EarFun claims these tin can final up to 7 hours, and they do if you're listening to podcasts or music at effectually 25-30 percent volume. At 50 percent, they merely last well-nigh 4-five hours, and a bit less for calls. Nosotros got correct around iv hours of talk time on a single charge during telephone calls.

In our tests, the earphones could get 4-5 charges from a fully juiced up case, which is about the same as AirPods. An unmentioned benefit we discovered while using the EarFun Air buds was that 15 minutes in the instance equals nearly an hour of apply at 50 pct volume.

The output quality is decent for a pair of wireless earbuds and should be indistinguishable for most people. The mids and highs are surprisingly clear despite the noticeable bass heave. AirPods accept more accurate bass reproduction despite their small size, which tends to be more to the liking of audiophiles. Still, the bass boost on the EarFun Air isn't equally exaggerated as most other popular headphones such as Beats or Skullcandy, but more in line with something like Audio Technica AD900X open-back headphones. The AirPods' sound is surprisingly similar, just not nearly as loud.

As for input, the microphone is mediocre, but the AirPods' mic is somewhat disappointing too. Neither input mechanism screams "high quality." It will exercise a decent chore indoors for voice calls, but if you're exterior, they may option up some background racket and wind interference.

1 matter we really liked with the EarFun Air is the voice feedback. With the AirPods, you only get a subtle sound result as a hint that they've connected or need charging. It is easy to miss the "depression bombardment" sound when listening to music or when you're in a noisy area like the subway. EarFun Air eliminated this with its voice prompts, which was nice. The notifications also work independently with each telling you when they're continued. With AirPods, often only one volition indicate it is connected, which can be frustrating equally you spend a few minutes figuring out why you're only getting sound from one side.

Not quite as good as AirPods, merely at a 3rd the price, they're certainly worthy of consideration

Although nosotros experienced a little discomfort inside the ear with the EarFun Airs, this was partly acquired by not having the proper ear-culvert tips fitted. Afterwards switching cup sizes a couple of times, nosotros were able to find the correct fit, and much of the discomfort was alleviated.

That said, even with the most comfortable eartips, the inner part of the ear becomes a bit sore later an hour or ii of use. By comparison, AirPods can be worn for most of the day without experiencing whatsoever discomfort. So in that respect, the EarFun Airs are non quite on par with Apple'south offering. This may be seen as a small compromise considering they are much cheaper. Additionally, memory foam tip replacements could increase comfort. Aftermarket foam eartips are readily available for as low as $7 on Amazon, and so it'south non an expensive postal service-purchase upgrade.

Overall, EarFun Air wireless earphones aren't trying to be as proficient as the AirPods, but they do an outstanding job at a significantly lower cost point, making them a worthwhile alternative. Sound quality is acceptable for all but audiophiles. Craftsmanship standards are non as high as Apple's, but well within the range of similarly priced competitors.

If you're looking for inexpensive wireless buds, we do believe the compromises are worth the savings, especially for those not already locked into the Apple ecosystem. EarFun Air tin can be found on Amazon for $60 but the company is currently offering them at a discount for $49.99 until the cease of the month. Just check the coupon box on the product page to get the discount.

Shopping Shortcuts:
  • EarFun Air Wireless earbuds on Amazon
  • Apple AirPods on Amazon
  • Sony WF-1000XM3 on Amazon
  • Jabra Aristocracy 75t on Amazon
  • Samsung Galaxy Buds on Amazon
  • Huawei FreeBuds 3 on Amazon
  • Amazon Echo Buds on Amazon