FlipBuds Pro launched: Xiaomi's answer to the AirPods Pro?

Xiaomi has a wide variety of true wireless earbuds on offer, and it’s generally targeted Apple with its higher-end products. Now, the firm has launched its FlipBuds Pro TWS buds in China, and they definitely take more than a few cues from the AirPods Pro.

The earbud design itself looks similar to Apple’s premium earbuds, although it looks like Xiaomi is opting for a more rounded charging case. Otherwise, the FlipBuds Pro’s main selling point is that it offers active noise cancellation of up to 40 decibels, along with three modes. These modes are office, daily (for commutes etc), and air travel. This is also a key selling point for Apple’s Pro earbuds.

In terms of audio-related capabilities, the new earbuds offer 11mm speakers, three microphones, Bluetooth 5.2, and aptX adaptive support. Xiaomi is also claiming five hours of battery life with noise cancellation enabled, and seven hours of juice without the feature. Use the charging case and you can get up to 22 hours of juice with noise cancellation enabled, or up to 28 hours with the feature disabled.

Xiaomi is also offering some decent charging tech, delivering two hours of earbud usage with a five-minute charge and the ability to fully charge the earbuds in 35 minutes. Otherwise, the charging case also supports wireless charging and USB-C.

Other FlipBuds Pro features include gesture controls in line with Apple’s buds (squeezing the stem for various options), a “dual” transparency mode, low latency audio support, and dual device quick pairing.

The new buds go on sale in China from May 21 for 799 yuan (~$124), although pre-orders start today. We’ve asked Xiaomi about global availability and the company told us it had “no global plans to share as of now.” This doesn’t rule out a wider launch down the line, but you might want to look at other great true wireless earbuds if you need a pair right now.