Are you always looking for the best value for money, even when it comes to TWS headphones? Well, the Redmi Buds 6 Active arrive on the now saturated market, appealing to anyone who isn't strictly a nerd, offering a decidedly "easy" product in terms of features and specifications, without sacrificing the sound fidelity typical of more premium headphones. At least that's what the over 10000 monthly sales on Amazon and the many positive reviews from pseudo-YouTubers suggest. Let's discover them together in this review.
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DESIGN, COMFORT AND BATTERY LIFE
While there was once a rush to find earphones similar to Apple's, ultra-compact earphones have been setting the trend for some time now, and the new Redmi Buds 6 Active fit precisely into this category. They have a semi-in-ear design, meaning there's no earbud to dig into your ear, allowing for better ventilation. This doesn't mean they offer high-level passive isolation, but I can say they stay put when worn, and even during vigorous exercise, with strong jolts, the earphones remain securely in place.
The feeling of comfort is commendable, although some users have complained that the headphones are sharp. Indeed, the part of the shell that encloses the grille protecting the driver has slightly sharp edges, but to scratch your ear you have to push them right in, but these are not in-ear headphones. The Redmi Buds 6 Active have a touch screen for controlling commands—but I'll talk about that later—located at the top of a transparent strip that allows you to glimpse the headphones' hardware, also giving them a very futuristic look. Magnetic pogo pins are located on the stem to charge the earphones, which include a 37 mAh battery and a dual microphone for calls. Speaking of which, at moderate volumes, the Redmi earphones last about 6 hours, but the company is lying about this; in fact, in my tests, battery life always averaged about 3,5 hours. The case provides an additional 4 charges, thus bringing the overall battery life to 30 hours in total (according to the company), in reality we will cover about half of what was declared, based on a 475 mAh battery that in turn is recharged via a USB Type-C cable, but no wireless charging, and above all no charging cable supplied in the package.
The Redmi Buds 6 Active are not water and dust resistant, although you can wear them for indoor and outdoor sports. I didn't like the materials used in the charging case; it's too cheap, so much so that after a few hours of use, you might find yourself with a case full of scratches, dirt, and fingerprints. The transparent lid, however, is nice, leaving the headphones in plain sight and, despite not having a magnetic closure, it feels very secure. The case features a reset/pairing button, a front LED for the case's charging status, and an internal LED for the headphones' charging status, as well as a Type-C charging port on the front. There's a hall sensor, so the headphones will pair with your smartphone simply by opening the lid.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIVITY
The Redmi Buds 6 Active features touch controls: you can control the volume, skip tracks, invoke the phone's assistant, and manage play/pause, as well as reject, hang up, and answer calls. The touch recognition response seemed efficient to me, although some users complain about poor recognition and a delay in the command given.
We can customize the controls according to our preferences, via the accompanying app, thus managing the single/double/triple tap and long press, but in reality we cannot choose all the available functions for each command.
There's no sensor for automatic play/pause when you remove the earbuds from your ear. Bluetooth 5.4 is used to connect to your smartphone, which should provide stability, reliability, and low latency, but you only need to move a few meters away from the audio source you've paired the headphones with to notice a loss of audio signal. And that's if you're lucky enough to have paired them with a device: with iPhones, iPads, and some older smartphones, the Buds 6 Active aren't detected at all, but even with the Samsung Z Flip 7. In short, this alone makes me advise against this product; after all, you can't buy them hoping your phone will be able to detect them.
CALLS AND MULTIMEDIA
There's no game mode, and when streaming video, you may notice a slight delay between audio and video sync. Furthermore, the sound is decidedly biased toward the lows, making it difficult to listen to certain types of music. The app allows you to set some audio presets, but it doesn't significantly improve the overall experience. As for calls in general, I was pleasantly surprised by the clarity of my voice, which is always crystal clear and easily audible even in noisy environments and when it's windy. The noise suppression during calls is nothing short of miraculous, thanks to the dual microphones and ENC technology.
Redmi Buds 6 Active – Price and Conclusions
Redmi's TWS offering is undoubtedly a no-go, as it simply can't compete with the many other good, low-cost alternatives. Sure, the price tag of around €14 is tempting, but there are too many compromises—or rather, flaws—that you have to accept. It's a real shame, because the brand is known for its low-cost products, but not in this case. I should also add that many users are complaining after months that one of the two headphones has stopped working, and I believe them, because the Buds 3 Lite, another Redmi product, had the same problem. In short, I hope this review helps you save money and time on returns, which you'll undoubtedly want to make if you buy one.
