Lately, the wireless earbuds category is seeing a lot of new entries from different brands. By launching a bunch of TWS earphones that wouldn’t break the bank, the companies are pushing users to go wireless. Moreover, having freedom from wires and also getting good quality, and design under Rs 4,000 is just great. But what is more interesting is when brands try to add some uniqueness to the product to make it stand out in the market. Also Read – Creative Outlier Air Review: Well priced truly wireless earbuds
Say hello to Wings PowerPods. It is not just another pair of True Wireless Earbuds in the crowded market, and we will explain why. People today are just obsessed with smartphones as they are more than just portable computers. But heavy usage tends to deteriorate battery by a big percentage and this is why power banks are becoming a necessity. Instead of just having a pair of wireless earbuds as well as a separate power bank, Wings thought of combining the two and making the deal merrier. This sounds crazy, right? Apart from this, the case also has a digital display, adding more flair. At Rs 4,499, is the latest pair of wireless earphones worth your money? Read our Wings PowerPods review to find out. Also Read – Realme Buds Q Review: Setting the bar high for budget true wireless earbuds
Design, Touch controls, comfort
The first thing we noticed about it is the case has a display, which gives it a unique look. It is quite useful for people like me who won’t charge a device until it is almost on the verge of dying. As the display shows the battery percentage of the case, you don’t have to worry about when the battery will die. It is worth noting that one will not find a small display on almost all the earphone cases in India. But, the case is a bit bulky in comparison to others in the market, mainly because of a whopping 2,500mAh battery. That said, the Wings Powerpods earphones are quite lightweight and are comfortable enough to wear for long hours at a stretch. However, the addition of wings would have ensured the earbuds stay firmly when you move your head vigorously. Also Read – Oppo Enco W31 Review: Probably the best true wireless earbuds below Rs 4,000
Both the case and earphones are made of good quality. They come with a matte plastic finish, which attracts fingerprints and smudges. Each earbud has a ring of light, making it look cool and captivating. But there is no app to change some settings. You don’t have any option to turn off the LED light. There is no option to reset gestures as per my preference, which an app could have fulfilled. It could also have helped alter the frequency response of any music, though you will find an equalizer in most music apps. The ring of light is just for show and can only be turned off when switched off.
The good thing is earbuds come with a touch-sensitive surface. The touch sensors work fine when changing/pausing music or summoning Google Assistant. But, the volume controls barely worked. The user manual says long touch lets you adjust volume, but half of the times we ended up switching off the earbuds. We also noticed that it takes a few seconds to play or pause music, but this was occasional. The Wings Powerpods are IP55-rated for dust and water resistance. They can survive water splashes and sweat.
The interesting part is you can also charge your phone with the case. You might ask how much fuel this case would be able to fill. Well, it gave us a 25 percent charge in about an hour. Most of you might be having a power bank, but this could also come in handy if your phone’s battery is completely down and you don’t have any plug point or power bank to charge it.
Performance, Connectivity, Battery
Wings has used graphene-coated 8mm drivers in these wireless earbuds, which means it should offer a better frequency response. These wireless earphones offer punchy bass, making tracks sound exciting. Bassheads will like these earphones, but don’t expect very deep thumps at its price point. Mids sounded a bit repressed in the sound mix, and highs were clear and thankfully not screechy. When the volume was a bit high, the bass or treble didn’t sound distorted. Instrument separation is fine. It mostly offered lag-free experience and we didn’t witness any delay while binge-watching.
The wireless earbuds lack support for active noise cancellation. But, the earbuds offer a secure seal helping in canceling out most ambient noises. It does a moderate job of isolating unwanted noise outdoors. As for calls, the wireless earphones delivered above-average audio quality. The person on the other end of the call was able to hear me properly when indoors. Our experience wasn’t that great in noisy environments as the microphone is not very close to the mouth.
The wireless earphones come with support for Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and AAC codec, but lacks aptX support. The moment you take the earbuds out of the case, they automatically connect to the phone if Bluetooth is on. They have a 10-meter range and the connection was good enough when I moved a little far from a room.
With Wings PowerPods, the company claims that users will get up to 5 hours of music playtime on a single charge. The brand also asserts that the case can further add up to 50 hours of playtime. In our usage, we got nearly 5 hours of battery life while binge-watching. If you just listen to music for a total of 3 hours in a day, then you will get much better battery life. The earbuds lasted for around six days as the case successfully provided 8 full charges. The case doesn’t take long to fully charge the wireless earphones. But, there is no way to check the battery percentage. Here again, an app would have helped provide this data. As there is a display, you at least get to know how much juice is left. The 2,500mAh battery of the case can be fully charged in 1 hour and 10 minutes. Also, the charging case has a micro-USB port, instead of a modern Type-C port.
Wings Powerpods wireless earbuds: Should you buy it?
All-in-all, the Wings Powerpods wireless earbuds will offer a decent audio experience and great battery life. The fact that it is capable of charging a phone as well makes the deal look good, though you don’t get a fast charge option here. Also, you won’t probably charge your device with the case, but it could come in handy to top up your phone on the go. The additional touch of LED light and digital display are just plus points. But, if you already have a power bank, then you can check out other better sounding wireless earphones as there are a bunch of options available under Rs 5,000.