Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro review: Very cheap drawbacks almost don’t matter

Xiaomi’s Redmi sub-brand has always focused on the budget segment, and its latest true wireless earbuds double down on that approach. The Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro have a lot of tricks up their sleeve, earning them the Pro title and a higher price compared to last year’s model. But these sub-$50 TWEs still leave a lot of room for improvement in some key areas.

Specifications

Goodness

Not very good

Design, hardware and what’s in the box

Holding the pill-shaped case of the Earbuds 3 Pro in your hand won’t reveal just how cheap it is. Redmi has created a soft-touch finish that feels luxurious and extends even to interior surfaces. The magnets have just the right pull, and the hinge is sturdy enough too, but be prepared to have a hard time fitting this thick case into the pocket of your skinny jeans. Aside from the pink option here, you can also pick it up in white and blue.

The earbuds look like small pebbles, in a matching color to the case. Once I got the fit right using smaller tips, both headphones stayed in place even during some moderate-intensity exercise, but they likely wouldn’t stay in place for very long with significant head movement. The headphones are generally comfortable, but since they’re not designed to fit the contours of your ear, they caused me some discomfort after wearing them for a few hours at a time.

The contents of the Earbuds 3 Pro box are very minimal. All you get are the earbuds themselves, three pairs of ear tips (including the pre-installed medium size), and some quick start guides – there’s no USB-C cable provided in the box. This is good for me because not once did I need those short, barely usable cables that are usually provided with earbuds.

Sound quality, features and battery life

If you own a Xiaomi phone, the setup process is very easy. Opening the case will pull up a window with a nice little animation to quickly pair the Earbuds 3 Pro without messing with your Bluetooth settings. However, you will have to go the traditional route if your phone is not running the latest MIUI 12.5 update. This also applies to non-Xiaomi phones since there is no support for Google Fast Pair.

The touch-sensitive exterior supports a range of gestures to control music and even summon Google Assistant on your phone. These gestures can be elusive at times, as it is difficult to find the right place by touch. Most importantly, you can’t customize any of the controls if there’s no companion app. This also means that there is no way to know the remaining battery life in the case if you are using a non-Xiaomi phone. Switching between devices is also tedious manually, without any kind of multi-device support. Although in-ear detection and single mode (with either earphone) work perfectly.

Leave: Call screen on Redmi phone, center: SBC is only supported on MediaTek Redmi phone, right: aptX options on Qualcomm OnePlus.

The connection remained very strong on the Earbuds 3 Pro no matter what device I used them with, even when I moved to a different room. Gaming was also enjoyable with almost no lag when aptX was enabled, but there was a slight delay in audio feedback without it. One big limitation here is that aptX won’t work with Qualcomm’s proprietary technology most Phones powered by a MediaTek or Exynos chip (supported on the OnePlus Nord 2). The earbuds will revert to SBC on these phones, which may not affect sound quality in any fundamental way, but latency during gaming may become noticeable.

The sound quality is quite good considering the reasonable price point. You’ll enjoy listening to music on these earbuds once you get past some of their typical shortcomings in this segment. For example, instrument separation isn’t quite as clear, and the bass often bleeds out to create a slightly muddy profile. As a result, these are not the best pair if you want to hear clear dialogues while watching a movie. There is no ANC, and the volume is low. Consequently, I often found myself turning the volume up by more than 75%.

It turns out that Redmi didn’t overestimate the earbuds’ battery life too much, which is a welcome surprise. The earbuds lasted just over 6.5 hours when playing music at around 75% volume versus the suggested lifetime of 7 hours. However, the claimed total lifespan of 30 hours out of the case is a bit of a stretch, and you should expect around 25 hours of runtime. Charging speed may be an issue if you’re used to quick recharging, as both the earbuds and case can take hours to fill.

Should you buy it? Rating 7.5/10

Redmi 3 Pro headphones

maybe. If you’re using a fairly recent Xiaomi or Redmi phone, the Earbuds 3 Pro will fit well with it. You’ll benefit from a seamless pairing and connection process, saving you a lot of effort. Battery life is another strong point, and gamers will really appreciate the low latency with aptX, something you don’t easily find in this price range.

But if none of these things are your priority, it’s best to look elsewhere. The OnePlus Buds Z and Realme Buds Q2 are contenders that do a few things right, like audio output and ANC, in their cases. The Realme earbuds also have a nifty app and Google Fast Pair support at a lower price.

Xiaomi’s careful selection of features for the Redmi Earbuds 3 Pro creates a budget package that either works for you or doesn’t – there’s no way in between. They’re decent for the price, but cheap TWE headphones are flooding the market, and these Redmi buds feel a little behind the curve.

Buy them if…

• You are recently using a Xiaomi phone.
• You can live without the ANC.

Don’t buy them if…

• You can spend more than INR 3000.
• You carry your TWEs in your pants pocket.

Where to buy

• Amazon.in
• Mi.com