Third party truly wireless earbuds are finally starting to get really good.
And IFA 2019 gave us a few new pairs of truly wireless earbuds to look forward to this fall
like the Jabra Elite 75T’s and Sony’s new H.ear In 3’s which are going to be a
more affordable and more stylish version of the Sony WF-1000XM3’s.
But if you’re on a tight budget but still want truly wireless earbuds then you’ll
might be considering the Skullycandy Indy.
Long story short, I don’t love them but they do get the job done.
The Skullcandy Indy retail for $80 which is considerably less than AirPods, Galaxy Buds,
Jabra Elite 65T, and Jaybird Vistas…
All truly wireless earbuds that I personally really like and recommend.
But if you want to pick the Skullcandy Indy’s up they’ll be linked down below.
So first off, the skull candy indy’s come included with a charging case that’s very
reminiscent to the AirPods case.
Their rounded corners make this charging case very easy to slip into your pocket but since
it is rather thick it is fairly noticeable.
You don’t forget that its there like the other smaller carrying cases here.
The Indy’s charging case also charges via a Micro USB port which does suck especially
if you’re an android user.
Now I do think that its safe to assume that the majority of people watching this video
have mid tier android devices like the Pixel 3A or the Galaxy S10e.
And not being able to charge your phone and earbuds with the same cable is pretty annoying.
But the way things are going, if you want USB C on your truly wireless earbuds you’re
going to have to spring for earbuds in the $160 to $180 price range.
But when it comes to battery life the skullcandy Indy have an advertised combined battery life
of 16 hours.
Now a combined advertised battery life of 16 hours is average for truly wireless earbuds
in general… its still not that impressive on the skull candy Indy given the size of
their carrying case.
If you were to trade up to something more premium like the Vista’s you’re still
going to get that same 16 hours battery life but in a much smaller case and with USB C
charging.
Now when it comes to the earbuds themselves, obviously the Indy’s look very similar to
AirPods.
But unlike AirPods the Indy’s are in ear ear buds.
They do a decent job of blocking out ambient noise but these ear buds are the type that
you constantly have to readjust ever so often cause they do like to wiggle out.
Now the indy’s do come included with a total of 3 pairs of silicon ear tips and they also
come included with a pair of ear fins.
Now these ear fins aren’t going to help everyone but they do help my earbuds stay
in a little better.
But still if I walk around with them on I’m stilling to have to push them back in.
Regarding bluetooth connectivity the skull candy indy is using a Hero and Sidekick set
up.
The right earbud is the hero and the left earbud is the side kick.
So if you just want to use one earbud at time then you have to use the right ear bud.
But when it comes to bluetooth performance, I’m actually a little impressed.
First off these earbuds have AAC support and they’re decent for watching videos on your
phone.
Which is rare for truly wireless earbuds that use a hero and sidekick set up.
Now technically these earbuds do have a very slight latency but I’m wiling to bet 99%
of people won’t see it.
You really gotta stop and actively look for that audio latency.
But when it comes to listening to music with these earbuds, that’s another story.
Now first off these earbuds sound very different when used with an iPhone versus an android
device.
When with used with my XS Max these earbuds sound decent for $80 earbuds.
They get more than loud enough and they sound decent.
Highs don’t crash and the bass doesn’t sputter unless you’re using at basically
100% volume and you’re listening to some very bass heavy music.
But when used with my Pixel 3A running android 10 these earbuds sound awful.
They don’t get nearly as loud, and their bass likes to sputter a lot even at lower
volumes.
When used with my android device these earbuds are borderline unusable.
Now I don’t know if this is an android 10 thing cause when I referenced my other earbuds
using my pixel 3a they sounded just fine.
But like I mentioned earlier I do think the majority of people who watch this video are
going to be mid tier android users so take this as a warning.
But still these earbuds do have very decent touch controls.
If you double tap on the right earbud you can play or pause your music.
If you press and hold on the left or right earbuds then you can skip or go back a track
and if you single tap either of these earbuds then you can adjust your volume without having
to use your phone.
And when it comes to phone calls, audio comes in through both earbuds which is a good thing
cause usually earbuds that have a hear and sidekick audio only comes in through the hero.
Now regarding the microphone on these guys, it sounds ok but I can’t help but notice
a hum in back ground.
So over all like I mentioned at the beginning of this I don’t love these earbuds, but
they do get the job done for $80.
They have an average combined battery life of 16 hours like most other truly wireless
earbuds out there, but their case is kind of large in comparison.
The lack of USB C charging is a sacrifice you’re going to have to decide to deal with
specifically if you’re an android user, and like I mentioned earlier when used with
my iPhone these earbuds sound ok but they sounded awful with my pixel 3a running android
10 specifically the bass.
I wouldn’t say you should run out and get these but they get
the job done.