Xiaomi Buds 4 Professional Overview: Fairly Good, however Overpriced

Nowadays, just about each main smartphone firm has began making wi-fi earbuds. 

It makes loads of sense: earbuds pair straight with a telephone by way of Bluetooth, and are a simple approach to start constructing an ecosystem of associated merchandise which might be designed to work collectively. 

Xiaomi has been within the wi-fi earbud enterprise since 2018, shortly after the corporate expanded its operations into Europe. However none of its releases have been fairly as costly because the £239.99/€249.99 Buds 4 Professional (to not be confused with the finances Redmi Buds 4 Professional), the corporate’s most premium audio product to this point. 

So, do they justify that prime worth? Regardless of a protracted checklist of positives, the quick reply isn’t any, though that’s primarily because of the energy of the competitors. Learn on to seek out out why. 

Design & construct

• Two-tone design on case and buds
• Case feels flimsy, buds extra premium
• Very snug

The Buds 4 Professional definitely look the half, though their design gained’t be to everybody’s tastes.  

It begins with the case, which incorporates a two-tone mix of matte and reflective plastic. The latter means you’ll see your self each time you go to open it, which is a little bit unsettling at first. Simply don’t attempt to use it as a mirror – the picture you see may be very distorted. 

Personally, I’d choose it if the matte end prolonged throughout the complete case. It doesn’t assist that the reflective floor shortly accumulates fingerprint smudges and different dust. That smooth look you see within the photographs doesn’t final for lengthy!

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

A easy flick upwards reveals the buds inside, however I’m not satisfied concerning the energy of the hinge that this depends on. Solely a small part of the lid stays related to the bottom, and there have been already some noticeable creaks and wobbles throughout testing. If the case feels flimsy already, I’d be nervous about its long-term sturdiness.

Xiaomi has saved issues easy elsewhere on the case, with minimalist branding and a single indicator gentle for battery stage of the case. As anticipated, there’s a USB-C port for charging, with the bodily button alongside it solely used whereas pairing. 

However simply 49.5g even with the buds inside, the case may be very light-weight. One thing barely heavier would assist it really feel extra premium, however being so transportable is far appreciated. 

You additionally do have a alternative of colors. If the understated ‘Area Black’ proven right here isn’t for you, the far more eye-catching ‘Star Gold’ end could be a greater match. 

These colors lengthen to the within of the case and buds themselves, with the latter choice for a similar two-tone exterior. A brief stem design has clearly been impressed by the AirPods Professional, though Xiaomi is much from the one firm to comply with Apple’s lead. 

It additionally seems to be a good selection, because the Buds 4 Professional are among the many most snug wi-fi earbuds I’ve ever examined. I shortly forgot they have been in my ears throughout a full 2.5-hour podcast, and will simply have worn them for for much longer. Should you want a companion for a flight or lengthy practice journey, these are an awesome choice. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Nonetheless, you’ll need to take a while to make sure a cosy match. Medium-sized silicone eartips are pre-applied, however small and huge alternate options are included within the field. By way of the Xiaomi Earbuds companion app, you will get an ear tip match take a look at to see if any changes must be made. 

My solely actual frustration right here is that the left and proper textual content on the buds is tough to learn. It’s apparent as soon as you set them in your ears, however exhausting to see at a look. 

Each the buds and case have an IP54 score, which means they’re protected towards mud, however solely splashes of water.

Sound high quality

• Detailed, high-quality music
• Clear and crisp vocals
• First rate microphone high quality

Generally, audio from the Buds 4 Professional may be very spectacular. The twin 11mm drivers ship sound that feels genuinely immersive, with out sacrificing key particulars. Thumping bass is an actual spotlight, though treble will be missing at instances. Disappointingly, there’s no approach to alter both of those, by way of the app or elsewhere.

Even so, trendy pop songs are a key energy of the buds. They’ll deal with complicated vocals and a variety of background devices with relative ease. Even at excessive volumes, any noticeable distortion is often averted, which means the Buds 4 Professional are among the many greatest sub-£250/€250 earbuds for music copy. 

Up tempo songs are a key energy, with the likes of Unhealthy Habits by Ed Sheeran excelling with each the heavy beat and crystal-clear vocals. It’s an identical story on Lizzo’s About Rattling Time, regardless of its frequent variation in pitch and tone. 

However even on a a lot slower and stripped-back observe like Unusual by Celeste, the Buds 4 Professional sound nice. Not one of the track’s environment is misplaced right here, whereas most different pop, rap and dance tracks I examined have been simply pretty much as good.

It’s definitely higher with trendy music, although. Basic rock songs aren’t fairly as spectacular, with Africa by Toto and Weapons N’ Roses’ Candy Baby O’ Mine sounding a bit washed out. I additionally wouldn’t suggest the Buds 4 Professional for classical music, with the intricacies of Vivaldi and Prokofiev orchestras misplaced at instances. The Nothing Ear (2) and Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Professional are each superior on this space.

However even on these weaker tracks, the audio isn’t dangerous by any means. It’s simply that you simply’ll discover higher choices elsewhere.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

It’s additionally price noting that every one these tracks have been examined utilizing Amazon Music in Extremely HD, which is supposedly higher than CD high quality and 10 instances greater than the common model. The buds assist the SBC, AAC and LDAC codecs, with the latter which means you get the total good thing about Extremely HD high quality with high-res audio.

You’ll be restricted to common high quality on the likes of Spotify, however Amazon’s equal ‘customary’ mannequin nonetheless sounds actually good. 

You’re most likely not shopping for earbuds only for podcasts and audiobooks, however the Buds 4 Professional is nice for voice-based content material. Voices are clear and crisp, with an actual heat and depth to the sound that you simply don’t all the time get. 

Every bud consists of three several types of microphones, for a complete of six. They mix with Xiaomi’s AI-based noise discount to ship clear calls with minimal background noise, however sound nonetheless sounds a bit muddy and washed out at instances.

Noise cancelling & good options

• Underwhelming energetic noise cancellation
• Transparency mode is superb
• Intuitive bud controls

As you would possibly count on from earbuds at this worth, the Buds 4 Professional function energetic noise cancelling (ANC). The companion app enables you to customise this, with six totally different ranges and an adaptive choice for automated adjustment. 

However usually, the ANC is comparatively disappointing. The primary few ranges barely make a distinction, until you’re in an setting that’s already comparatively quiet. 

Stepping as much as the utmost setting is far more efficient. It considerably reduces the ambient noise with none noticeable impact on sound high quality, however I’d nonetheless dispute Xiaomi’s declare that the Buds 4 Professional “isolate each listener from unwelcome interference”.  

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

If it could possibly’t drown out the sound of slow-moving automobiles exterior my (closed) window, I’ve no confidence in it successfully dealing with a busy road. 

Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless significantly better than not having the function at in any respect. Nonetheless, many rivals do a significantly better job with ANC than the Buds 4 Professional, together with the AirPods Professional 2 and Bose QC Earbuds II.

Bluetooth 5.3 means the Buds 4 Professional can technically join to 2 or extra units on the identical time, however I couldn’t get this to work regardless of enabling the function within the app. Each time I linked it to my Home windows 11 laptop computer, the connection would drop on the telephone. 

By way of which telephone to make use of, any Android handset may have entry to the total vary of options. None are reserved for Xiaomi customers, though the Xiaomi Earbuds app isn’t accessible on iOS. It’s easier than many companion apps, however affords all the same old core options. 

The obvious ones are for the transparency and ANC modes, however gestures will be customised too. Double, triple and lengthy presses of the left and proper earbud will be set to regulate quantity, noise cancellation and track skipping. 

Nonetheless, gestures most likely aren’t the easiest way to explain them. As a substitute, it’s essential squeeze about midway down the stem, with a small indentation displaying you the place to press. This takes some getting used to, however quickly feels intuitive. A discreet click on affirmation sound avoids by chance urgent too many instances. 

I a lot choose this resolution to most touch-based controls, which are inclined to push the bud additional into your ear canal and shortly grow to be uncomfortable. 

Xiaomi’s tackle spatial audio is named “immersive sound”, and it does job of creating it appear to be sound is coming from all instructions. As anticipated, the function performs significantly better on songs with a number of voices or devices, however there’s a slight drop in audio high quality. 

Voice detection (activating transparency mode when voices are detected) and in-ear detection (auto-pausing music when a bud is taken out) each work very effectively. However the lack of any digital assistant assist is a big omission. Not having the ability to ask Google Assistant or Alexa is one thing we’ve come to count on from wi-fi earbuds. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Battery life & charging

• Round 5 hours with ANC on
• Case provides round three full fees
• Helps wired or Qi wi-fi charging

Xiaomi claims the Buds 4 Professional can last as long as 9 hours on a single cost, however my expertise suggests you’re round half of that. 

With ANC turned on, the buds went from round 80% battery to 10% by the tip of that 2.5-hour podcast I discussed above. Getting the low battery warning was an actual shock, and it was pure luck that my listening session was coming to an finish. You won’t be so lucky. 

After all, you may eke out a bit longer with ANC switched off, however why wouldn’t you need to use one of many buds’ major options? Battery life definitely isn’t horrible, but it surely’s not class-leading, both. 

The excellent news is that the case provides one other 29 hours of battery life (with ANC off), taking the marketed complete to 38 hours. You nearly definitely gained’t get so long as that, however a full week on a single cost can be effectively inside attain for most individuals. 

Charging is by way of USB-C, with Xiaomi saying 5 minutes plugged in is sufficient for 3 hours of utilization. Going from 5% to 22% in that point is spectacular, however your mileage will range right here. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Whereas slower, it’s additionally nice to see wi-fi charging assist. The Buds 4 Professional case works with any Qi charger. 

Value & availability

When paying full worth, the Xiaomi Buds 4 Professional price £239.99/€249.99. For now, they’re solely on sale by way of the Xiaomi web site within the UK and Europe, with no US availability.

It makes them some of the costly pairs of true wi-fi earbuds from a phone-first firm, with the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Professional, Google Pixel Buds Professional and Nothing Ear (2) all extra inexpensive.  

Apple’s second-gen AirPods Professional are solely barely dearer, and Xiaomi doesn’t fairly present the identical premium expertise right here. When contemplating the alternate options, the Buds 4 Professional really feel overpriced. 

Verdict

With the Buds 4 Professional, Xiaomi has confirmed that it could possibly make a stable pair of premium earbuds. However that doesn’t imply you can purchase them. 

That’s regardless of the basics of nice wi-fi earbuds being achieved right here, with nice sound high quality, glorious consolation and respectable battery life. A cultured bud design and several other high-end options – together with energetic noise cancellation – make issues even higher. 

However sadly, the implementation of ANC right here nonetheless wants work. Alongside a flimsy case and no digital assistant assist, that premium price ticket turns into more durable to disregard. 

Should you purchase the Xiaomi Buds 4 Professional, you’ll most likely nonetheless be happy. However the identical may very well be mentioned for a lot of alternate options, together with these that are considerably cheaper. 

Specs

• Energetic Noise Cancelling
• Wi-fi: Bluetooth 5.3, LDAC
• Voice management: Sure
• Contact controls: Sure
• Battery life: 9 hours from buds, 38 hours complete (with out ANC, claimed)
• Ear ideas and wing ideas: Three sizes
• Colors: Area Black, Star Gold
• Weight: 49.5g (together with charging case)