1. Introduction: 130% year-on-year increase Open earphones have become a new battlefield for TWS earphones
According to the latest data from IDC, the sales volume of China's Bluetooth headset market will reach 85.52 million units in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%. Among them, the true wireless earbuds market sales were 60.9 million units, with an annual growth rate of 5.1%.
However, the rapid growth of the open-back headphone market is the most eye-catching, with sales reaching 6.52 million units, a year-on-year increase of 130.2%.
This significant growth not only reflects the market's high acceptance of new earbud technology, but also shows that consumers' demand for TWS earbuds is gradually changing with the use scenarios and environments - not only to wear comfort, but also to ensure good sound quality.
Not long ago, Xiaomi finally launched its first open-back earphones, focusing on comfortable and stable wear, Hi-Fi high-fidelity sound quality and independent anti-leakage system, which solves the fatal pain points of easy sound leakage and poor sound quality performance of open-back earphones in the past.
In such a fast-growing market segment, Xiaomi's entry into the market at this time is undoubtedly a positive response to market dynamics. So can Xiaomi's first open-back headset replicate Xiaomi's success in other hardware markets and become Xiaomi's new business growth point?
Before the review begins, let's take a look at the advantages and features of Xiaomi's first open-back headphones, and focus on them.
Compared to the occlusion of in-ear headphones, open-back headphones are inherently safer when exercising outdoors. Thanks to the open design, ambient ambient sounds can be better transmitted to the ears, which means that when running or cycling outdoors, the wearer can hear the sounds of traffic, human voices, or other important warnings more clearly, thus improving safety.
The second is the unique comfort, which does not hurt the ears when worn for a long time. Due to the open design, the open-back earphones will not affect the air circulation in the ear canal, and the ears feel cooler and more comfortable when wearing them for a long time, which can effectively avoid problems such as ear inflammation caused by long-term wearing of earphones.
Of course, there are pros and cons to being open, and sound leakage is one of its major disadvantages. To this end, Xiaomi open-back earphones have specially added directional anti-leakage technology, adding φ10mm anti-leakage unit, which effectively reduces the probability of audio leakage, and is not afraid of leaking privacy when used in elevators and public transportation.
The last thing I have to mention is the sound quality. The 17*12mm ultra-linear sound driver is specially customized for Xiaomi open-back earphones, and has passed the Hi-Res certification, which ensures a clear, richly layered and moving high-fidelity sound quality experience, and clears the last barrier to the use of open-back earphones.
Having said that, how did Xiaomi's first open-back headphones perform?
2. Appearance: ergonomic + skin-friendly silicone is not easy to drop off the ear
Xiaomi's first open-back earphones have two colors: Nebula Gold and Moon Black, we have a version of Moon Black, and the color of the earphone compartment is similar to quartz gray, and the surface is a fabric-like material, which not only brings a retro feeling, but also makes it more dirt-resistant.
The breathing lamp adopts a non-punch design, which is cleverly hidden in the middle, and only the earphone compartment will be displayed when the earphone compartment is opened and charged, which enhances the overall appearance of the earphone compartment The integration and refinement of the earphone compartment are enhanced.
The back of the Xiaomi open earphone compartment has a Type-C charging port, which is very convenient for blind plugging in front and back.
Open the earphone compartment, and there is a Bluetooth pairing button inside, which is convenient for pairing and resetting the device.
The body of Xiaomi open-ear earphones adopts the traditional open-ear structure, compared with the current market hot"earclip-shaped" open-ear headphones, the earhook type is indeed more acceptable to the general public.
The tail hanging ear of Xiaomi open earphones is made of skin-friendly liquid silicone material, which will not cause discomfort or pain to the ears even if worn for a long time, and the ear hooks are slender, which is more friendly to the myopia group.
The earhook connection is made of highly elastic soft metal titanium wire, and the official claim is that it is still intact after 5,000 folds in half, and the durability can also be guaranteed.
The front of the earbuds adopts a clever combination of NCVM high-gloss trim and radium carved matte logo, giving the earbuds a modern and elegant look. And gestures are also incorporated here, adding a touch of technology to this look.
On the back of the part that comes into contact with the ears, all the hand paint is sprayed to further increase the comfort of wearing.
Under the back of the Xiaomi open earbuds are two metal magnetic charging contacts, which can be automatically magnetically adsorbed for charging when placed in the charging case.
On the side of the Xiaomi open-back earphones is a 10mm anti-leakage unit, which simultaneously emits a reverse sound wave externally when playing sound internally, effectively counteracting the possible sound leakage of the open-back earphones.
Xiaomi open-back earphones are equipped with Xiaomi's customized 17*12mm runway-type unit design, which has a higher space utilization rate in the cavity compared with the traditional unit design, and the runway-type unit can also achieve a larger amplitude and better linear response, which is very obvious for the improvement of sound quality.
Three, deep bass and clear midrange The sound quality is comparable to that of in-ear headphones
Xiaomi has never disappointed in hardware, and the first open-back headphones not only customize the runway-type sound generating unit, but also the hardware is full. The PU flexible overhang and DLC-like diaphragm deliver powerful bass and detailed treble with clear, transparent sound.
It's hard to imagine one day talking about sound quality on open-back headphones, and I believe that most people's demand for the sound quality of open-back headphones is to listen to it. But the auditory experience brought by Xiaomi's headphones can really break the wrist with in-ear headphones at the same price.
In our personal experience, when listening to music with a strong rhythm and percussion such as "Hall of Fame" with Xiaomi open-back headphones, the bass can be noticeably lowered, but not mushy, and there is a very obvious impact, giving people a strong sense of envelopment.
In the special song for the sound quality evaluation of "Ferry", the midrange can show distinct and layered sound details, especially the first three drum sounds, and the high frequency is slightly blunt compared with the Xiaomi Buds 4 Pro that the author uses daily, and the high-frequency vocals are not so sharp, but considering that they are open-earphones, the sound quality can be achieved without isolating the external sound, which is far beyond the passing line. Especially compared to traditional bone conduction open headphones, you will feel that these two sound qualities are one day and the other.
Fourth, strenuous exercise can also be firmly hung on the ears, and the unique unit solves the pain point of sound leakage
One of the main selling points of open-back headphones is that they can hear their surroundings while exercising. But exercise is often accompanied by strenuous activity, and the headphones are very easy to loosen. The Xiaomi open-back earbuds have a unique ergonomic design that locks firmly on the ears whether you are running or jumping.
In addition, the headphones' IP54 waterproof rating also makes them resistant to sweat, allowing the wearer to focus on the joy of exercise.
At the same time, sound leakage due to the openness of the design is a common problem for open-back headphones, but Xiaomi has cleverly solved this problem by employing a custom 10mm anti-leakage unit.
When the unit plays audio in the ear, it automatically emits a reverse sound wave to cancel for sound leakage. The author's actual measurements show that at normal interpersonal distances, when the volume is set to 30%, the people around can hardly hear any sound leakage.
5. The freedom of charging once a week, up to 30 hours of battery life!
- Charging test
Use the Mi Open earbuds until the battery is exhausted and disconnect, when the earbuds are put back into the charging case, the remaining power of the left earbud is 5%, and the remaining power of the right earbud is 10%.
Charging starts from this low battery state, and after 10 minutes the battery rises back to 20%, reaching 45% in the left ear and 40% in the right ear at 20 minutes.
The earbuds are fully charged in 47 minutes, and the total power consumption of the earbuds is 21% during the entire charging cycle.
- Endurance test
After testing, from 10 o'clock in the morning, the volume was adjusted to 30% to enjoy music, 30 minutes consumed 5% of the battery, 3 hours consumed 50%, and the earphones did not completely strike until 3 o'clock in the afternoon, with a total battery life of 6 hours.
According to this calculation, the comprehensive use time of Xiaomi open-back earphones with the charging compartment can reach about 30 hours continuously, and according to the normal commuting needs, it is not a problem to use it for a week when fully charged.
HyperOS blessing Audio flows freely between devices
The headphones launched by mobile phone manufacturers will always have unique ecological advantages in terms of ecology, and Xiaomi open-back headphones are no exception.
Mi Open-Back Headphones support audio streaming between multiple HyperOS-equipped devices and cross-ecosystem streaming between dual devices, and you can drag the earbuds to stream in any Mi tablet or Mi mobile phone equipped with HyperOS, or switch between two devices in different ecosystems.
The gesture operation area supports custom operations such as clicking, double-clicking, triple-clicking, and long-pressing, and long-press gestures also support custom shortcuts to take photos.
In addition, as an open-back earphone, this earphone can actually turn on comfortable noise cancellation in the laboratory function in the Xiaomi earphone APP, although the noise reduction is certainly not comparable to the in-ear type, but the noise of the daily office computer radiator, mouse, keyboard and so on can still be easily handled.
Sixth, 649 yuan is very versatile, the king of cost performance in open-back headphones
As Xiaomi's first open-back headphones, Xiaomi open-back headphones are a good answer, maintaining the form of traditional open-back headphones, with its customized hardware, providing a high-quality audio experience comparable to in-ear headphones, which is not common in open-back headphones.
Secondly, from the perspective of wearing comfort, the ergonomic design and the use of skin-friendly materials of Xiaomi open-back earphones ensure the comfort of wearing for a long time, and get rid of the pressure or discomfort that traditional in-ear headphones may bring. Coupled with its stylish exterior design and two color options, it not only meets the comfort needs of daily use, but also caters to the pursuit of fashion personality by modern consumers.
In the past, open-back headphones often provided ambient sound at the expense of sound quality and privacy. But now, the Xiaomi open-back headphones allow users to enjoy the comfort and naturalness of the headphones without losing the sound quality and privacy of the closed-back headphones through a customized 10mm anti-leakage sound unit.
For those consumers who not only value sound quality and comfort when buying headphones, but also pay attention to cost performance and ecological experience, the price of Xiaomi open-back earphones is 649 yuan, which is a very ideal choice. It has high cost performance, good sound quality, good wearing experience, and perfect ecological experience, and is one of the few open-back headphones on the market that can perform so all-round at this price.
For users who pursue a high-quality audio experience and comfortable wearing for a long time, especially those who wear headphones every day for a day, or those who like to wear headphones when working out and exercising, Xiaomi open-back headphones are undoubtedly a good choice.