Hey guys it’s Greg with Apple Explained and today we’re going to unbox and review
the TWS-i10s.
Which are the newest model of earbuds designed to look and work exactly like Apple’s AirPods.
But how close do they come to the real thing?
Well, surprisingly close, but we’ll talk about that in detail later on.
So if you’ve been following the channel for a while, you probably remember the other
two videos I made on the older models of these TWS earbuds, the i7s and i9s.
And because I’ve been following the development of this product closely, I have to admit they’re
making good strides in catching up to the performance of Apple’s AirPods.
And the new i10s feature several major improvements that really take things to the next level.
Now these earbuds were sent to me from our friends at knockies.com, and they’re also
offering three more pairs to give away to you guys.
So be sure to subscribe and leave a comment to be eligible, and even if you don’t win,
knockies is offering a 10% off coupon code just for you guys.
So let’s start by taking a look at the packaging.
It’s just a simple white box with a photo of the earbuds on the front and charging case
on the back.
After lifting the lid, you’re greeted by the user manual that has instructions on using
the earbuds and pairing them to your device.
Underneath that we find the charging case itself and we can already tell that this model
has an updated design.
But we’ll talk more about that in a minute.
First lets see what else is in the box.
Underneath the plastic tray, we find the usb c charging cable that powers the case.
So now let’s take a closer look at the charging case itself.
It features a shallow thumb scoop to help open the lid and four LED indicators that
displays its battery level.
On the back we find a beautiful chrome hinge and on the bottom matching chrome usb c port.
And when we open the lid to this charging case, you’ll find it springs open effortlessly
to reveal the earbuds inside.
And removing these earbuds is just as easy.
So now let’s go through the process of pairing them to our device.
I have an iPhone here but these earbuds are compatible with any bluetooth enabled device
including smartphones, tablets, and notebooks.
So all we have to do is take these earbuds out of their case and go to bluetooth settings
on your device.
That’s where you should find these earbuds appear under the name “airpods” and you
can connect them with just a tap.
And to give you a better idea of using these earbuds, I’m going to compare them to the
previous generation i9s and then compare them to Apple’s official airpods.
So right off the bat, we can see the charging case is the same size as it’s predecessor
but there are some noticeable differences like the four LED indicators on the outside
of the charging case and that’s because this new charging case is capable of wireless
charging.
And these LED’s make it easy to monitor the battery level without having to open the
lid.
Another difference is the thumb scoop design which may seem insignificant but actually
helped me flick open the lid more reliably.
And one of the most surprising improvements is the shift from a micro USB port to a USB
C port and this was actually a very forward thinking design decision since many of today’s
most popular tech products from the Nintendo Switch to the iPad Pro are beginning to adopt
USB C. And that means carrying around less cables since most of your devices share the
same port.
And when it comes to the earbuds themselves, this is where you see the most dramatic improvements.
Beginning with what they are capable of doing because these new i10 earbuds can not only
play and pause your music and skip between tracks but it can also summon Siri for the
first time.
And this is a feature I missed the most with the previous i9s.
And it isn’t just about what these earbuds can do but how they work because there’s
no longer a physical button on each earbud but rather touch sensitive sensors instead.
And this means you don’t have to be nearly as precise when trying to interact with your
earbuds.
Another huge improvement with the i10s is sound quality.
My music had a much fuller sound with deeper base and clearer treble than the i9s.
And when it came to call quality these new earbuds feature a crucial improvement since
call audio is now delivered through both earbuds.
Because with the i9s, audio from a phone call could only be heard from the left earbud due
to technical limitations.
But the differences between these two products can also be seen with the packaging.
Unboxing the i10s is a much faster and enjoyable process since it’s charging cable is packaged
much neater.
Although it doesn’t include couple of the extras the previous i9s had like the silicon
charging case and metal safety hook, but to be honest, I personally didn’t use those
items anyway.
The wireless capabilities of these earbuds have also been made more reliable since the
i10s feature a more advanced chip set, including bluetooth 5.0 than the i9s.
And that means watching videos with no audio lag and a much more consistent connection
between the earbuds reducing the risk of any kind of echo effect.
Now there is one more difference that I need to mention and that is the price.
The i9s sold for $40 whereas the new i10 earbuds cost $53.
But considering the number of improvements made to the i10s, I think the $13 premium
is well worth it.
Now let’s talk about how these earbuds measure up to Apple’s AirPods.
And I must say, this is the closest any pair of third party earbuds have come to matching
the features and performance of the AirPods.
And let’s start with the packaging.
Both the i10s and AirPods feature white square boxes with the lid you can easily lift off.
And both cradle the charging case in a white tray with their respective cables and literature
underneath.
Now when you hold these charging cases in your hands, you might think the i10s look
like the more expensive model since it has features the AirPods simply doesn’t.
The AirPods do not have LED indictors on the outside of its case because the AirPods do
not have wireless charging.
And the AirPods have a propiertary lightning connector that appears to be nearing the end
of its life span considering many of apple’s products are adopting USB ports instead.
And when it comes to the AirPods premium features like its chrome detailing, the i10s follow
up with the same design accents.
And when you open each charging case, both lids feature a satisfying magnetic design
that carries through to the earbuds themselves.
Which makes using the i10s just as effortless as the AirPods.
Now let’s compare the earbuds themselves.
The new i10s are designed so similarly to the AirPods, it actually becomes very hard
to tell them apart when they are laying outside their case.
And many of the advantages AirPods had over the i9s has been eliminated with the i10s.
Because the AirPods touch controls are available on the i10s.
The ability to activate Siri is also possible, call audio is now delivered through both earbuds,
and the reliable wireless connection you get with the AirPod’s W1 chip is now closely
rivaled by the i10’s bluetooth 5.0 wireless chip set.
So with all of these similarities, what is the difference between these two earbuds?
well, the AirPods still have a slight edge when it comes to sound quality although I
believe the difference is negligible.
And the AirPods still have a couple advantages over the i10s, first is the ability to pause
and play your music by removing and reinserting your earbud, and the ability to pair the earbuds
to an iPhone by just opening the lid.
Although the i10s pairing process is still very straightforward and painless.
But there is still one big difference we haven’t discussed, and again that’s the price.
As I mentioned before, the i10s sell for $53 whereas Apple’s AirPods are $160.
Now one of the most important things to me when it comes to earbuds is audio quality.
And in order to try to demonstrate how much better the audio is on the i10s, I’m gonna
hold up each earbud to my microphone and play a song on full volume.
While this may not be the most scientific way to measure audio quality, this will give
you a general idea of the differences between all three earbuds.
So let’s start with the i9s.
So I hope you could hear just how much better the TWS-i10s sound and that of course is only
one of the many improvements made to these earbuds.
And If you’re deciding between these or the AirPods, you have to consider what features
are important to you and how much you’re willing to pay.
The i9s are still available $39 but I think the $14 premium for the i10s is definitely
worth it.
And when it comes to the AirPods, it does have a couple features the i10s do not like
pausing music when it’s removed from your ear, and a slightly simpler setup process.
But keep in mind the i10s have a couple features that the AirPods do not like wireless charging,
an external battery indicator, and bluetooth 5.0.
so I think for most people the i10s would serve as a wonderful pair of earbuds that
also happen to be about a third of the AirPod’s price.
So that is an unboxing and review of the TWS i10s, and remember to subscribe and comment
to bet entered into the giveaway.
Or if you’d just like to purchase the i10s, don’t forget about the 10% off coupon code
in the description.
Thanks for watching and I’ll see you next time.