An audio upgrade is just what your loved ones need
When you’re on a budget, one of the best gifts you can give loved ones is a set of earphones. Firstly, they’re very affordable and pack quite the punch in a diminutive package. Secondly, most phones don’t come with earphones these days, making earbuds an essential purchase for a complete smartphone experience.
Nothing CMF Buds
CMF by Nothing is a budget-friendly brand that offers products with great design and excellent features. Thus, the CMF Buds, as expected, feature chic design that won a reddot design award, and a well-rounded feature set. The latter includes 42dB of active noise cancellation (ANC), large 12.4mm drivers for superior bass response, eight hours of listening time per charge. It also supports fast-charge (6.5 hrs of listening time in10 min), IP54 water and dust resistance, dual-device support, and more. At Rs 2,299, these Buds make for a great gift this festive season.
OnePlus Buds 3
Stepping up the budget to Rs 4,699 gets you the OnePlus Buds 3. These buds step things up with a dual-driver design for better bass and treble response, up the ANC to 49dB, and even support LHDC 5.0 for superior, hi-res wireless audio.
The OnePlus Buds 3 are comfortable, have an IP55 rating, and can get you up to 44 hours of total listening time with ANC turned off.
Sony WF-C500
If you’re looking for a more established brand with a rich history of making excellent audio products, perhaps you’d like to gift that special someone a Sony WF-C500 instead. Many believe that these are the best TWS earphones in their class thanks to Sony’s DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) tech, a fully customisable EQ, and Sony’s meticulous engineering. Battery life is only 20 hrs total, but that’s because these earphones are more compact than most of the offerings you’ll find today. This also makes them more pocketable, and less of a strain on the ears for long-term listening.
The Sony WF-C500 is listed at Rs 8,990 on Sony’s website, but you can pick up a set for just Rs 4,494 on Croma.
boAt Airdopes 148
Costing just Rs 1,149, the Airdopes are a surprisingly capable TWS set with a feature-set that beats more expensive earphones costing 2-3 times as much. Battery life is an impressive 42 hours, fast charging is supported, there’s support for ANC, touch controls, and even IPX4 for sweat and splash resistance.
The 8mm drivers deliver impactful sound while the wireless features offer the convenience of instant wake and pairing with your phone. They’ll make a great gift for anyone.
Apple AirPods 4
Rs 12,900 doesn’t exactly fall into the budget category, but given that the AirPods 4 are the cheapest wireless earbuds you can get for someone invested in the Apple ecosystem, they are, technically and by Apple standards, budget earbuds.
The AirPods sound amazing, are sweat and water resistant, and offer 30 hours of battery life. What truly sets them apart, though, and makes them so essential to the Apple ecosystem, is the seamless pairing you get with all devices tied to your Apple account. Be it a Watch, iPad, iPhone, TV, or Mac, the AirPods 4 will instantly and seamlessly switch sources the moment your attention switches.
If the AirPods 4 fall outside your budget but you still want an appropriate set of earphones for an Apple enthusiast, do consider the Apple A3046 wired earphones. They’re available for Rs 1,649, and while they are wired, they’re very capable and sound fantastic. In fact, the mic, because it’s wired, sounds a lot better than the mic you’ll get in most TWS sets, budget or otherwise.
The festive season is the best time to get that special someone a gift, and earphones are a great choice. Also, the festive season is when you’ll find the best deals and sales, which is what Croma’s Festival of dreams sale is all about. Buy that gift on Croma and take advantage of numerous deals, discounts, cashback, and no-cost EMI offers.
