Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 review: AirPods on a budget

Ecosystem is a word that’s bandied about quite a bit, but Xiaomi has been committed to providing a holistic experience to its users for a while now. The Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 is the latest in a broad portfolio of audio products launched by the company. They flank the much more affordable Redmi Earbuds S and provide a more premium alternative.

Can these true wireless earphones deliver on the promise of high-fidelity audio, battery life, and high-end build quality? Let’s find out in the Android Authority Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 review.

Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 review: How’s the design?

One look at the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 and the design inspiration is obvious. In fact, the earphones themselves are simply a chunkier take on Apple’s classic Airpods design, while remaining distinguished from Apple’s true wireless take.

The stalk of the earphone is significantly thicker and I can’t say I found it particularly comfortable. It stands taller than the driver module, which further adds to the size. I didn’t find the weight of the earphones to be particularly problematic, though I never forgot I was wearing them. The design necessitates a one-fit-for-all approach, but to me it always felt like the earphones (particularly the right one) were about to fall out. As you can tell, I’m not a big fan of the semi-open earbuds style.

The earphones employ gesture-based controls that were particularly finicky. Despite repeated attempts, the best I could manage was to get play/pause working inconsistently at best. That said, the earphones include optical sensors that can change playback status as you pop them on or off.

Pairing the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 is simple enough. Flip open the case and press the dedicated pairing button on the side. The earphones should then show up in the Bluetooth menu of your phone. The earphones support fast pairing and on supported devices, such as the Xiaomi Mi 10. An image indicating the earphone will appear on the home screen. It even exposes the available battery in each earbud, as well as the case.

The case for the buds is certainly on the chunkier side. While I could slide it into a coin pocket, it left a noticeable bulge. Magnets in the case hold the earphones in place. Finally, a USB-C port for charging is on the bottom.

All said, you really can’t complain about the quality of the hardware here, particularly for the price. The matte white case feels well built and the same can be said for the earphones themselves. The build quality belies the price; Xiaomi did a great job here.

How do the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 sound?

Xiaomi is positioning the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 as a high-end headset, but audio quality doesn’t quite match up. The Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 supports a slew of Bluetooth codecs: SBC, AAC and LHDC. LHDC enables you to beam high-quality audio from your phone to the earphones. If you want to know more about Bluetooth codecs, SoundGuys has you covered.

I’ll start off with the good. Vocals shine through. If you like listening to acapella or acoustic-driven tracks, you’ll like the sound here. In fact, these earphones work very well for podcasts and audiobooks as well. The crisp and clear vocal reproduction ensures that you don’t miss out on anything while listening to your favorite book.

The treble frequencies are a bit more emphasized, but not at the cost of the vocal range. That said, I found the high frequencies to be a bit too exaggerated — shrill, if you will. For example, I felt fatigued listening to Khruangbin’s guitar-driven music.

Bass is de-emphasized compared to the rest of the mix, which means hip-hop fans likely won’t enjoy what these earphones have to offer. That’s not to say bass is bad, but it isn’t particularly deep or clear; the mids and highs overshadow it.

Overall, the earphones place emphasis on clarity and detailed vocals. Listening to Maribou State’s Feel Good, I was easily able to discern the bells playing in the background, something affordable wireless headphones often mask with other elements.

It is worth noting that this style of headphones is downright terrible at noise isolation. You’ll be able to hear everything that goes on around you. Additionally, the earphones leak a lot of sound. Crank up the volume more than 50% and anyone sitting next to you will know exactly what you’re listening to.

Is the battery life any good?

The earphones are rated for four hours of use on a single charge. With the volume set to about 60%, I was able to push that to about four and a half hours. The case provides an additional ten hours of charge for a total of fourteen hours. This isn’t exemplary by any means, but falls in line with what you can expect at this price range.

The earphones take just under 40 minutes to charge in the case. The case itself takes just under an hour and a half to fully charge.

Are the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 good for calls?

While not quite best in class, they are functional for voice calls. Be it over cellular or using Zoom and Google Meets on the Xiaomi Mi 10, my voice came through slightly muddy, but there were no dropouts even during a long session.

Two microphones on each earphone coupled with electronic noise cancellation ensure that background noise is eliminated to a reasonable degree.

Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 microphone demo:

Are the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 worth buying?

Your decision to buy the earphones  largely rests upon the space in which you listen to music. If you are out and about in noisy environments, the utter lack of sound isolation makes these a no-go. In an office environment, too, the earphones leak a bit too much noise to be an obvious recommendation. Moreover, the form factor doesn’t really work all that well for workouts or running.

The Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 do a good job reproducing vocals and should be a good fit for anyone who enjoys acoustic music. They also work rather well for listening to podcasts or music while doing chores around the house, or in instances where you might still want to be able to hear what’s going on around you. Microphone quality is very good and should come in handy if you expect to make a lot of voice calls.

Priced at Rs. 4,499, you could do worse than the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2, but I would urge you to look at other true wireless alternatives for something that is a bit more versatile.