REDMI BUDS 3 PRO: ANC, WIRELESS charging and BREATHTAKING design for less than 40 €
Almost daily we see new true wireless headphones appearing, not least the Nothing Ear (1) born from the idea of the former founder of OnePlus, which as much as they try to be original, revolutionary and innovative bring nothing at all. So how to hit the interest of users? We try the very recent Redmi Buds 3 Pro, smart earphones of the Chinese brand that stand out for their active noise cancellation system (ANC) at a price that will make you scream with joy. So here they are the protagonists of this complete review.
Amazon.it 
As usual we start from the contents of the package, which in the case of the Redmi Buds 3 Pro is configured in a white hardcover with some key specifications on the profiles of the box while in plain sight we have the image and name of the product. Inside we find the following equipment:
- Redmi Buds 3 Pro;
- Flat USB charging cable - Type C;
- Multilingual instruction manual (Italian is also present);
- Trio of silicone plugs of different sizes to adapt the earphones to our ear (a fourth pair of rubber pads are already mounted on the drivers).
The Buds 3 Pro are available in two colors, the classic black and a very elegant gray, the latter subject of our test. The charging socket in terms of design is very inspired by the Google Pixel Buds but also by the OnePlus Buds, but what matters is the good value of the plastics used, slightly rubberized and opaque, increasing the grip while the construction is really excellent. In fact, the closing lid is very stable and with a magnetic attack as well as integrating the hall sensor, which allows a quick connection of the headphones to the smartphone, without these being removed from their seat. The magnets for attaching the headphones are also excellent, keeping them firmly in their position even giving strong jolts.
On the front of the case we have a small monochromatic white light LED, which notifies us about the remaining battery charge. The same can be interrogated by opening the lid or by pressing the button located under it, which will also serve for the association of the Redmi Buds 3 Pro to smartphones not equipped with MIUI ROM, as an animated pop-up is dedicated to the latter. Apple style, from which to view the charge status of the single earphone and the charging box.
On the underside we find the Type-C charging input. In this regard, the Redmi Buds 3 Pro integrate a 35 mAh battery for a single headphone while the charging box uses a 470 mAh unit capable of getting the earphones to an autonomy of 28 hours, a value more than good but that is obtained using the SBC codec and without active ANC, with a listening volume of around 70%.
I emphasize this aspect, because to appreciate even more the sound quality of the Redmi headphones, we can also use the AAC codec, ideal on iOS devices, as the earphones are compatible with both Android and Apple devices. I add as regards the recharge, that the Redmi Buds 3 Pro can also be recharged wirelessly, a not bad feature for a pious of cheap earphones, but in general the battery life will not be a problem considering also the fast charging enjoyed by this product: think that with only 10 minutes you will get an additional 3 hours of use.
The comfort of these Redmi Buds 3 Pro is noteworthy, which as regards the headphones are identified with a design likely identical to the Redmi Airdots, or a capsule on whose outermost part a touch surface stands out, made shiny and embellished by a reflective insert. In reality, the Redmi Buds 3 Pro are a cross between a capsule and a stick design and to be precise they are compact headphones, since we find a protrusion that improves wearability, adapting to the inner ear without compressing, even when we are to issue touch commands, which cause greater generate a minimum of pressure.
The same almost rubberized material of the charging box can be found on the earphones. On these we find the letter L or R to identify the headset, but also the magnetic pogo pins for charging inside the case. Despite the compact measures, we have 3 microphones, a large touch surface and hidden by the plastics, even a proximity sensor that will allow you to play / pause the music track simply by removing or putting the earphones inside our ear.
Unfortunately, the touch controls are not the strong point of these headphones: with a double tap we can recall the Play / Pause function while with a triple touch we skip to the next track. Same commands to manage calls and therefore no possibility to call virtual assistants or control the volume. The only other function, with a long tap, activates the ANC mode or switches to transparency mode.
A real shame, also because we have no way to diversify the commands, which at least in the case of Play / Pause is a duplicate. In fact, compared to the Chinese twins, the globalized Redmi Buds 3 Pro do not enjoy a support application and therefore we also take any possibility of firmware update by exclusion.
In reality, there is a real mystery about this matter, because in the official pages of the product, a hypothetical list of Xiaomi / Redmi / smartphones is indicatedPOCO that they would have the possibility to change some settings directly from the MIUI management menu, but at the moment not only do they not know which smartphones are, but there is no trace of any functionality within the MIUI ROM, but I will go back to this aspect again when I tell you about ANC.
Overall, however, the controls were always responsive. For the rest, the Redmi Buds 3 Pro rely on a Bluetooth 5.2 chip with support for SBC / AAC codecs, whose innovative function resides in the multi point, that is, we could connect our headphones to two devices at the same time, being able to switch immediately between one. or the other. For example, we could listen to music while we are at the computer and in the meantime answer an incoming call on the smartphone, without having to do anything, if not the gesture of answering. In this regard we could also exploit them for gaming, as according to the company the Redmi Buds 3 Pro offer a latency of only 69 ms, a real record, such as to beat even the most famous Airpods Pro.
Personally, I could not appreciate the actual almost zero delay in gaming, but I can say that as far as the sync between video and audio is concerned, I have nothing to complain about. You can therefore listen to your favorite podcasts or TV series even while you are running on the treadmill, without worrying about sweat or anything else, because at the proposal of the Chinese brand it has IPX4 certification, therefore resistant to splashes of water, light rain and sweat, making them also suitable for use during sports activities.
So let's go back to the ANC mode and transparency, the latter able to amplify environmental noises, without compromising the listening quality, thus allowing us to remain vigilant about what is happening around us. This function is useful, for example, if we love to run in country lanes where we may not notice the arrival of a car in time. The ANC mode, that is the active noise reduction, allows to suppress background noise up to values of -35 dB, which has returned mixed results. Let me explain better, but I must introduce the fact that "theoretically" the Redmi Buds 3 Pro enjoy the dynamic ANC, which adapts according to the type of scene in which we are immersed, using AI technology.
Well, even this function should be programmable from the hypothetical MIUI menu, but in my specific case, with a Xiaomi Mi Note 10 I could always benefit from the Apple-style pop-up but none of the promised functions have ever been available. I therefore found myself in certain conditions, such as in a car with the windows open and therefore with a background noise that changed constantly, to hear an alternation of ANC and transparency mode inside my ears, causing a sensation that is not always pleasant .
However, once you activate ANC via prolonged touch, there is no way to return to standard mode, as the touch switch only lets you switch from ANC to transparency mode and vice versa. To console me there is the fact that the Redmi Buds 3 Pro are perfectly independent of each other (so much so that the touch controls are mirrored on one or the other headset) but above all that despite the tiny shape of the headphones, the 3 microphones have always done their excellent job even in rather noisy and difficult to manage conditions, although the management algorithm works best with background noise rather than voices.
Of course, with the ANC function or transparency mode, autonomy suffers, dropping to about 3 / 3,5 hours of use, which still remains an excellent value. It should also be specified that if you opt for the use of a single headset, in this context you will not be able to access ANC and / or transparency mode.
Ok but how do they sound? The Redmi Buds 3 Pro rely on 9 mm drivers which overall offer a rather balanced audio, with a good presence of low tones, without overcoming one or the other frequency of the sound spectrum. To be clear, it is possible to appreciate the most particular musical genres such as jazz and blues. But to excel is the quality in the telephone conversation. Symptom that the microphones of these headphones are of excellent quality, so much so that my interlocutors did not believe that I was talking with earphones.
PROJECTED IMPACT
We just have to reveal the price, which leads to a value of poco less than 40 euros, on the AliExpress store shipping from Europe and payment with PayPal. A rather focused price, considering that generally at the same figure there are only clones of other products and, moreover, of poor quality, but also with little autonomy. Instead, the Redmi Buds 3 Pro I recommend them precisely for the battery life and for the excellent if not excellent quality in conversation, without detracting from the sound quality for multimedia content, being able to count on a delay between video and audio almost zero and in any case in line. with what is offered by products even with a much higher cost. You may not make a bargain but you will certainly not have spent your money in vain.
