Review of the new version of Xiaomi AirDots 2 headphones. A miracle for 1200 rubles?

Unchanged appearance of TWS rank and file

The second revision of AirDots received almost no external differences: the same lightweight body a la Mi Band made of solid plastic, LEDs for display, plastic case.

In fact, there are many differences. The main thing that catches your eye is that the case of the new AirDots 2 is angular, with sharp edges.

It is worth keeping in mind that the original headphones do not have a full logo engraving - the inscription is barely noticeable with the correct backlight. Otherwise, we have a fake.

The inscription on the reverse side can be dim or bright - it depends on the market for which the “ears” are intended, the month of issue and much more.

The only thing that definitely gives away a fake is if the letters protrude, as if they were welded on.

The solution with the display is no less surprising: the case itself did not receive any elements, so the headphones use bright dots.

When charging they glow red, and when connected for the first time they blink in the same color. System reminders notify the owner with a white light.

For charging, AirDots 2 received USB-C instead of microUSB of earlier modifications of the headphones. The corresponding cable is included.

This solution is perhaps the most important: now the smartphone and accessories can finally be charged with one wire.

Design

Headphones

AirDots Pro 2 headphones are very similar to AirPods from Apple. But this is a deteriorated design, because Apple keeps everything laconic. But Xiaomi's are more bulky and resemble a cigarette butt.

Xiaomi AirDots Pro 2

Case

The case began to look very nice and, unlike the AirPods case, it is matte and when it is destroyed, it is not so noticeable.

It's very sleek, it has USB type-c, it has an LED indicator that either flashes white when you're connected to the device or flashes red when your battery is low.

Good ergonomics without any drawbacks

Despite the rather cheap appearance, plastic and not the most pleasant tactile sensations, Redmi AirDots 2 fit surprisingly well in the ears.

Why not? These are one of the lightest headphones on the market.

It is enough to choose the right ear pads (which have little effect on sound quality, to the credit of the developers), and they will turn out to be one of the most successful in terms of fit.

AirDots 2 are almost not felt, even if you wear them for many hours in a row: the shape is comfortable, you don’t feel the bulk, and the ear pads fit everyone.

Constantly wearing the only earphone from the set as a headset does not cause discomfort.

Even if you change places during the day, leaving one or the other “ear” on charge.

However, as before, AirDots cannot be used in training - if you don’t choose the ear pads and the load is variable, they will simply fly out of your ears.

It’s a pity that the controls remained in the form of mechanical buttons - of course, this is more reliable and cheaper, and often saves you from accidental presses.

But it’s inconvenient, and the button doesn’t allow for serious protection from the outside. The maximum that is stated is against dust and splashes .

And you shouldn’t even count on this: all versions of AirDots are afraid of sweat, rain and are not protected from high humidity.

Redmi AirDots 3: Specifications

Bluetooth 5.0: individual connection and stable connection

Another fundamental difference of the new revision is the use of a modern Bluetooth 5.0 communication module, separate for each earphone.

Thanks to this, everyone connects directly to the sound source, and anyone can be used as a mono headset. Either right or left.

An additional advantage is a noticeable reduction in latency and an increase in range: where conventional AirDots lost connection after just a couple of meters, the updated headphones consistently hold up to 10 meters .

Does not affect the connection and the presence of active Wi-Fi connections.

Well, the best part: if previously, prolonged viewing of films quickly revealed that audio and video were out of sync, then the second “dots” cope with this task one hundred percent.

Not yet for games, but it works stably and does not raise any questions.

Sound

These headphones have a built-in high-quality LHDC codec - one of the highest quality codecs available at the moment, and there is support for AAC .

But the LHDC codec is currently supported only by the Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro 5G smartphone and some other Huawei smartphones. The headphones will connect to other devices using the AAC codec .

Sound problems

If the sound in the HWA codec is buggy, you need to enable ACC:

1. Go to the phone settings: System => About phone => Build number, press many times until the message that you are a developer appears.
2. Then we exit back to “SYSTEM” again and at the very bottom there will be a new tab “For Developer”.
3. You need to go there and scroll to the “networks” section and there in “Blutooth Audio Codec” select “ACC”.

They work longer. But not everyone will notice

Thanks to the new module, autonomy has significantly increased. Each earbud lasts from 3 to 5 hours, depending on the volume.

And finally, they are discharged evenly, because the 20-30% faster discharge of the leading earphone has bothered many owners of Xiaomi headphones.

The case is enough for 3 full charges, which allows us to talk about the honesty of the manufacturer - in the technical specifications Xiaomi indicates the same 20 hours.

Working together “burns” the charge evenly.

By the way, completely discharged “ears” charge without incident, immediately picking up the case even with dirty charging contacts.

No specialized charging is needed: any power supply with a USB-C cable is suitable, since they consume around 1A at 5V, and low-current device mode is not required.

Flashing

Out of the box the headphones sound mediocre. To make them sound normal, a flashing is required:

1. Go to Bluetooth settings and unpair with your phone
2. If you already have a program from Xiaomi called Mi, then you need to remove it
3. Download the application called Mi A2 Lite version 2.7.1
4. Install this program, open it, it is in Chinese. Usually we press all the blue buttons, give all permissions
5. Then we need to add our new device, close and open the case and hold down the button until we receive a red signal, it will initially blink, and then a red-white signal will appear - this is the flashing mode, the message upgrade will appear.
6. The case must be charged, click Upgrade and the update will begin.
7. DO NOT close the lid when flashing the firmware, they should connect on their own after the upgrade

They sound good. Now also for music

The first generation of fully wireless Xiaomi headphones did not differ in playback quality: overwhelmed lows, dull mids, dull lows.

AirDots 2 received new 8 mm drivers with neodymium magnets. Budget but high quality.

You shouldn’t expect anything serious from them, but now the quality of reproduction of average, and therefore human voices, is quite decent.

The interlocutors stopped complaining. Microphones cope with street noise, cutting out unnecessary noise.

There is no active noise reduction, but phone calls are now flawless when using one or two headphones.

Podcasts, videos, TV series - in these use cases, AirDots 2 work no worse than more expensive models. If you don’t compare with “ears” of 7-10 thousand, of course.

The situation with music is a little worse. The sound is optimized for youth, electronic music and hip-hop.

The bass is not rich, but quite clear and deep. Average ones are enough. It’s pointless to talk about their melodicism, but they are no worse than a successful average headset for a smartphone.

When using AAC instead of SBC, the headphones are completely at the level of mid-price models - there is a “top”, there is a good balance of frequencies.

Nothing surprising. But I don’t want to spit anymore.

Management (functionality)

Stopping when extracting

AirDots Pro 2 has infrared sensors, so when you take the earphone out of your ear, the music stops; when you put it back in, the music continues.

Taps (gestures) and their settings

The headphones have a touch panel with which you can:

1. stop the music
2. play next track
3. answer or reject a call
4. call voice assistant

Decoding taps

By buttons from top to bottom - pre track, next track, pause, assistant

Volume

The volume of the headphones can be changed by voice by calling the voice assistant.

Synchronization with phone

As soon as the box lid is opened and Bluetooth is turned on on the smartphone, the devices are immediately paired. Accordingly, synchronization takes literally 1-2 seconds, which significantly saves time.

It is possible to work in stereo format, i.e. Two headphones work, and they can also function separately. Bluetooth version 5 allows you to maintain a stable connection at a distance of up to 10-15 meters, even if there are obstacles in the form of walls. In open space this distance increases noticeably.

General impression

The main advantage of the model is its affordable price, which sets it apart from its competitors. At the same time, it supports SBC, AAC audio codecs, instantly synchronizes with your phone and can work autonomously for up to 20 hours. They will also automatically turn off when removed from the ear.

The only drawback is that the design is not the most stylish and the “leg” is quite long. A comfortable fit in the ear depends on how well its anatomical shape matches the plastic ear pad of the device. It happens that you have to buy additional silicone ear pads.