This eliminates the need of wearing a tracker or a watch on your wrist which you may find uncomfortable while working out. Since most people generally listen to music while working out, the Amazfit PowerBuds eliminates the need for an additional accessory to track your heart rate. More importantly, though, the Amazfit PowerBuds are primarily a pair of truly wireless earphones so it is important that they sound good too apart from helping with fitness. For a price of Rs. 6,999, does the sound output and feature-set of the Amazfit PowerBuds justify the price? Let us find out.
Build and Design
The Amazfit PowerBuds come in two colorways – Black and White and we were sent the black variant for review. The case looks fairly simple and stealthy in black and it has a good amount of heft to it. We are glad Amazfit went for a matte finish look rather than a glossy exterior. The hinge mechanism on the case feels sturdy and there is no flex which is reassuring. The overall footprint of the case is slightly larger than usual but that is for good reason. There is a big battery in there which we will talk more about later, and the second reason for the slightly chunkier design is the cavity in the lid to house the winged attachments for the earbuds themselves. These hooks or wings attach magnetically to each earbud and since the PowerBuds are exercise/workout oriented, they help the earbuds stay put in your ears even while performing rigorous activities.
The fact that they can be detached and tucked into the lid of the case itself makes it all the more convenient. The earbuds are docked in with magnets and are quite strongly held inside the case. There is a button on the inside for pairing as well as checking the battery status using the LED located on the front of the case. The rear of the case houses a USB-C port for charging. The lid snaps shut and is held in place tightly by magnets and when you combine that with the form factor of the case, you cannot really open the case with one hand. Moving to the earbuds, the Amazfit PowerBuds have a unique elongated design since they also need space for the heart-rate monitoring circuitry apart from the drivers for music playback. While we initially thought that this might cause some discomfort due to the additional weight, we had no issues using the PowerBuds even for an extended period of time at a stretch. This is due to the fact that Amazfit has designed the PowerBuds in a way that it matches the shape of your ear canal when you wear it.
Apart from the silicone ear tips, the portion of the earbuds that houses the heart-rate monitor is also covered with soft rubber which also adds to the comfort. While we are not the biggest fans of in-ear style earphones since they do not feel very comfortable or they just fail to stay put inside our ears, the design of the Amazfit PowerBuds along with the ear hooks made the experience much better. Since they are meant to be used while working out, the PowerBuds are also IP55 rated.
Sound Quality
The best way to describe the sound signature of the Amazfit PowerBuds would be to say that they sound very balanced and when required, they can also boost the lower frequencies to give you the extra oomph. In the normal mode, the PowerBuds surprised us with clear vocals and just the right amount of bass. The reason we say surprised is that the earphones intended for working out generally emphasize on bass while compromising other parameters, which is not the case with the PowerBuds.
The instrument separation can do with some tweaking as background music at times may seem muffled, but we were happy with the sound output, for the most part, be it for Arijit Singh’s slow melodies or Eminem’s fast-paced hip-hop filled with low-ends. If you are listening to EDM or tracks that are specifically meant for working out, you can turn on the special workout mode on the app which will boost up the bass levels. The PowerBuds use ENC for voice calls and the quality of voice was pretty good but the other party often complained that we were not sounding loud enough.
Functionality
The Amazfit PowerBuds connect to your smartphone through the Amazfit app and from here, you can check battery levels, set tap gestures for each earbud, update the firmware, monitor your heart rate, etc. The PowerBuds support tap gestures on both earbuds which can be customized to skip tracks, play/pause music, activate transparency mode, etc. Transparency mode is an interesting feature that lets you hear your surroundings even when you are playing music. This is helpful when you are conversing with someone as you do not have to remove the earphones from your ear. It uses the mics on the PowerBuds and amplifies the external sound. The PowerBuds also have in-ear detection which means you can remove them from your ear to pause music and put them back in to resume.
Battery Life
Amazfit claims up to 8 hours of battery on a single charge and while it is impossible to listen to music for that long at a stretch, we made a playlist and played it continuously with the earphones off and it lasted for 7 hours and 13 minutes on 100% volume which is splendid for a pair of TWS earphones. The case provides an additional battery life of 16 hours which means you should easily be able to get through a week by charging the case once.
Amazfit PowerBuds Review: Verdict
The Amazfit PowerBuds retail in India for a price of Rs. 6,999 and with some bank offers, you can get an additional 10% discount during the sales. For that price, you are getting a pair of TWS earphones that have a very balanced sound output that does not blow up the bass completely, a very snug fit thanks to ear hooks, heart-rate monitoring, and excellent battery life. For this price though, there are earphones that sound better than the PowerBuds like the 1More Stylish True Wireless or the Lypertek Tevi so if sound quality is of utmost importance to you, those are better options. However, there are very few options out there for TWS earphones that have heart-rate monitors built-in so if you are specifically looking for that, the Amazfit PowerBuds are your best bet at this price point. Buy Amazfit PowerBuds
