review

Edifier TWS1 Pro Review Fast Charging Earbuds With aptX Adaptive Support

Friday, March 19, 2021

Wireless computing speed is being rolled out at such galloping pace that most people, probably, aren't aware that bluetooth 5.0 is already out of date! The latest Bluetooth version update bolstering the Bluetooth 5 specification, it's Bluetooth 5.2, which was rolled out a year ago (in 2020), yet it is not widely available.  

There is only a very limited number of consumer gadgets using Bluetooth 5.2. One of those, it's the Edifier TWS1 Pro earbuds, which have an interesting construction, using driver diaphragms made with PU (plastic) and titanium (metal). Design wise, the Edifier TWS1 Pro earbuds comes with a tall, flip open charging case similar to the original TWS1 true wireless. In fact, both the TWS1 and the TWS1 Pro look like fraternal twins with only minor cosmetic changes separate them. 
Under the hood, there are noticeable improvements too. The TWS1 Pro charging case re-charges the earbuds in just 40 minutes with quick charge support too (2 hours playtime from a quick 15 minute recharge). This is 50 minutes quicker than the TWS1 charging case, which takes 90 minutes to charge the earbuds. The TWS1 Pro charging case does not support fast charge and takes 90 minutes to recharge.
The TWS1 Pro earbuds are easy to remove from the case, thanks to the elevated charging dock design, which allows you to easily pinch the earbuds with the fingers. The TWS1 Pro earbud shell has a tall and wide design, which make the TWS1 Pro earbuds look somewhat bulkier, although the earbuds only weigh 10 grams (5 grams per earbud). The TWS1 Pro charging case weighs 35 grams.
Both the TWS1 Pro earbuds and charging case have a battery status indicator, which lets you easily tell when they are fully charged. The lid closes magnetically, making a satisfying and reassuring closing sound. The TWS1 Pro have a matte rubber-like finish that is present all around the charging case, as well as the earbuds. There is nice gold detailing around the touch sensitive panels, as well as on top of the charging case lid. The "rubbery" coating makes the TWS1 Pro look and feel more expensive than the shiny plastic finish on the TWS1. The styling is similar to the TWS1 Pro 2
Like most true wireless earbuds, the TWS1 Pro also uses touch sensitive buttons for controlling the audio playback, voice assistant and calls (accept/decline). The button function assignment is easy to remember (e.g. you can answer/end calls and play/pause audio with either earbud). Volume and skipping tracks is also intuitive (e.g. left earbud to increase volume and right earbud to decrease volume). The touch sensitivity is very responsive; hence no forceful tapping required. The volume is controlled via a long press, which is nice as it feels more natural than double tapping to increase volume like on some true wireless earbuds. There is no prompt or beep when reaching max volume.
Call quality is on par with the TWS1 and other CVC microphones so, calls are clear, especially without too much background noise. The TWS1 Pro microphones do have noise filtering, although it isn't suppressive enough for noisy work from home environments. The sound signature is noticeably different to the TWS1 too. The TWS1 Pro deliver a more dynamic bass sound, which is nicely balanced with vocals and instruments.
Speaking of volume, the TWS1 Pro have a master volume control; hence it also controls the volume of the device the earbuds are connected to. With some true wireless earbuds, you only control the volume of the earbuds. Battery life performance is good. The TWS1 Pro earbuds can deliver a total of 12 hours (6 hours per earbud) at 50% volume, while the charging case can provide an additional 30 hours of playtime. The earbuds status leds flash during audio playback.
Another useful improvement made to the TWS1 Pro is dust protection (IP65) and onboard volume support; hence you can volume up and down - something you can't do with the TWS1 or even the newer TWS5 earbuds. That said, the TWS5 earbuds do integrate multipoint pairing, which lets you connect the earbuds to two devices at the same time - something you cannot do with the TWS1 Pro.
The TWS1 Pro bluetooth 5.2 chip (QCC3040) delivers solid wireless connection without any noticeable latency when watching videos and gaming, thanks to using aptX Adaptive technology, which is a hybrid of aptX HD and aptX LL (low latency). That said, aptX Adaptive low latency (50ms-80ms) isn't quite as low as aptX LL (approx. 40ms). If you do a lot gaming, specially online chat gaming, and don't mind the wired in-ear ex-factor, you may want to check out the GM3SE earbuds which also have a removable boom microphone.
Other than a 3 second re-connection delay, there is seamless transition from stereo to mono listening without the audio pausing or disconnecting when putting either earbud into the charging case. This isn't the case with other Edifier models like the X3 earbuds, which use a master/slave system and they are similarly priced but no volume support though. Despite the Edifier TWS1 Pro earbuds using Bluetooth 5.2, it doesn't support independent use; hence the TWS1 Pro earbuds cannot be connected to separate devices. 
Overall, the TWS1 Pro champions over the TWS1, TWS5 and X3 because of volume support, USB-C connectivity and latest bluetooth 5.2 version. You can buy the TWS1 Pro from amazon. If you're after a pair of active noise cancellation earbuds, check out the TWS NB earbuds.  Check out the review of the Edifier TWS NB2 Pro.

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