The Wyze Buds Pro are an affordable pair of wireless ANC headphones that deliver on both performance and value.
Price
Priced under $60, the Wyze Buds Pro offers two ANC earbuds and a wireless charging case in a sleek black finish.
Features
Stacked with advanced features like active 40dB noise cancellation, transparency mode, wireless charging and solid battery life.
Function
Excellent performance for the price with good noise cancellation, solid audio quality, a decent microphone and impressive battery life.
Pros
- Tremendous value on the dollar for $60
- Solid build quality
- Excellent 40dB active noise cancellation & transparency mode
- 3 Voice-Isolating Microphones (6 in total)
- Excellent battery life & quick charge potential
- Wireless charging case with USB-C port
Cons
- Doesn't offer spatial audio support
- Slightly lower build and performance than higher-priced competitors
- Defaults to ANC on every time you start to use them
- Alexa support isn't available for use at launch
Review Summary
The Wyze Buds Pro headphones are a perfect choice for the average user looking for affordably priced and high-quality wireless earbuds.
Even though they can't directly compete with Apple's AirPods Pro headphones in terms of audio quality, they still sound great enough to enjoy your music on the go and enjoy active noise cancellation.
With a price point of $89 USD for the two earbuds and wireless charging case, they are an absolute steal offering tremendous value on the dollar.
A Recommended Purchase
The Ideal Buyer
Anyone who is looking for high-quality, wireless earbuds that are much cheaper than Apple's AirPods Pro. This is because the audio quality and microphone are both good enough to perform at 80% of the AirPods Pro for nearly a quarter of the cost.
Anyone who has owned Apple's AirPods or any other pair of Bluetooth earbuds in the past that are looking for a cheaper alternative that offers similar level performance with some small tradeoffs.
Alternate Recommendations
Apple’s flagship earbuds offering ANC technology as well as transparency mode. The signature gloss white finish and compact size make them attractive and comfortable to wear. Coupled with a wireless charging case, you’ll get up to 24 hours worth of listening before you need to find a wall outlet.
Amazon’s closest competition to the both Apple and Wyze’s ANC earbuds. Comparatively the Echo Buds are much more compact and small in size and offer a less sleek look in some opinions. The Echo Buds 2 do support their native voice assistant Alexa as well as Apple's Siri and Android's Google Assistant.
Introduction
The Wyze Buds Pro are affordable wireless Bluetooth earbuds that have active noise cancellation, voice isolation technology, and a convenient charging case. Unlike their higher-priced Apple Airpods Pro competition which come in white, the Wyze Buds Pro are a sleek black finish. The charging case matches the black color variant and offers wireless Qi charging along with a USB-C port.
In the following Wyze Buds Pro review, I'll touch on many aspects of this product including the pricing, features, performance, design, and build quality. Keep in mind, this is not a sponsored review. I pre-ordered and paid for the Wyze Buds Pro just like everyone else so all of my thoughts and opinions are based on my own hands-on use with the product.
Company Background – Wyze Labs
Wyze Labs was founded in 2016 by former Amazon employees with the goal to make the smart home affordable to all. The company’s first products were home security cameras that use AI-based object recognition to provide intelligent alerts and auto-tracking features.
Starting with consumer IoT devices, Wyze has planned for many multiple smart home device categories such as smart lighting, audio and video, security, home appliances, and sensors. After some large investments, the company has carried out the development and release of many of these affordable yet quality consumer products with more to come in the future.
The Wyze Buds Pro are their first earbud offering and the second audio product on the market from the company. The first was their Wyze Noise-Cancelling headphones which are an offer ear style to compete with the likes of Bose and Sony while remaining under a $70 price point.
Wyze Buds Pro Pricing
If you are not familiar with Wyze and its business model, they seek to offer high-quality products at a much lower price-point than the equivalent competition. This is definitely the case for their Wyze Buds Pro model since they will only run you $59.99 (when in stock) which makes them a great option if you are looking to score some wireless earbuds with ANC without breaking the bank.
Keep in mind, these are currently hard to get your hands on as they are technically out of stock. If you are interested in picking up a pair, I recommend signing up for their email notification system which will alert you when the Wyze Buds Pro are available to purchase.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Pricing is now raised to $89.98 which is still a respectable price, but does take away from a bit of the value incentive.
Design & Build Quality
The Wyze Buds Pro offers a plastic build with silicone earbuds, which are comfortable and lightweight to wear. I am impressed by how well built these headphones are considering the low cost. They feel sturdy enough but still lightweight making them comfortable to wear even during long periods of time.
The Wyze Buds Pro wireless charging case feels and looks really nice with a beautiful matte black finish and a subtle ‘WYZE' logo etching on the front of the case. Don't get me wrong, the buds themselves do feel a bit cheaper than my Apple Airpods Pro although the difference isn't notably huge.
I wish Wyze made the buds themselves the same matte black finish as the wireless charging case as I think it would improve the look better than the gloss black that they ended up with for the wireless earbuds.
The earbuds offer silicone tips just like the AirPods Pro and they come with three different size options to fit all different ear sizes. From a quality perspective, the Wyze Buds Pro do not feel as premium as some competing higher-priced models, but I wouldn't say they feel necessarily cheap. The wireless charging case does feel better quality overall than the buds themselves.
Features
There are a lot of competitive features packed into these affordable Wyze Buds Pro so I'll do my best to cover them all and give you insight on the most important ones below:
Easy Bluetooth connectivity
The Wyze Buds Pro are simple to pair with your phone or other Bluetooth-enabled devices. For those with Android devices, this model supports Google Fast Pair.
40dB Active Noise Cancellation
Active noise cancellation is an advanced feature that is typically found in much more expensive wireless earbuds, so it's impressive to see that the Wyze Buds Pro offers this technology despite selling for a much lower price than most competing models.
Active noise cancellation aka ANC will be especially helpful if you are looking for earbuds to use places like work, on an airplane, or while at the gym. Since these earbuds shut out ambient noise, you can use them around other people and still have your music playing at a comfortable volume.
Transparency Mode
This feature was originally found in the AirPods Pro, but has since moved to other models. Transparency mode refers to the ability to offer ANC headphones that can be reversed in functionality to essentially “turn off” the active noise cancellation.
Instead, this feature amplifies the sound around you meaning you can still hold a conversation with someone while wearing these earbuds or perform tasks like driving, riding a bike, or being in a public setting without the earbuds providing isolation from the sounds of the world around you which can be dangerous in some situations.
10 mm High-Amplitude Audio Drivers
The Wyze Buds Pro offer impressive 10 mm high-amplitude audio drivers which are larger in size compared to those found on most wireless earbuds. These larger drivers allow the Wyze Buds Pro to produce a much fuller sound with rich bass than most other wireless earbuds at this price point.
Adaptive EQ
Adaptive EQ is a feature found in high-end wireless headphones that allows the earbuds to automatically adjust themselves based on your surroundings or what type of content you are listening to.
Up to 18 Hours Battery Life
- Buds Pro: Up to 4.5 hours on a single charge with ANC on, 6 hours with ANC off.
- Buds Pro + Case: Up to 18 hours of total charge with ANC on, 24 hours with ANC off.
- Quick Charge: 15 minutes in the case provides up to 1 hour of playback.
Plenty of battery life for such a small form factor allowing for continuous playback with just the Wyze Buds Pro alone and nearly a day of listening possible without needing an outlet when coupled with its wireless charging case.
Wireless Charging Ready
If you are looking to cut down on tangled wires, the Wyze Buds Pro are ready for wireless charging right out of the box. Just pop the wireless charging case on any Qi-compatible wireless charger and you will be able to charge your case quickly. Should you not have a compatible wireless charger, the case offers a physical USB-C port and includes a USB-C cable though no power brick.
Built-in Support for Virtual Assistants Like Alexa & Siri
The Wyze Buds Pro are compatible with virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa out of the box. If you're an Apple fan, this means you can use the “Hey Siri” voice command to access all of your favorite Apple-exclusive virtual assistant features right from a pair of headphones.
With Alexa's help, you can get weather forecasts, set alarms, and timers, control smart home devices like lights or even order food from your favorite delivery service. On the other hand, if you prefer to use Google Assistant or another virtual assistant, those features will also be available courtesy of these earbuds.
3 Voice-Isolating Microphones
Voice isolating technology utilizes three separate microphones on each bud which makes them capable of picking up your voice even in the loudest settings and letting you communicate with others or interact with a digital assistant like Alexa or Siri with ease.
These voice-isolating microphones also work together to help avoid wind noise and
Physical Touch Controls
When it comes to controlling your headphones, the Wyze Buds Pro harnesses physical on-device touch controls which are easy to reach and provide a simple way to manage your listening experience. You can configure exactly what actions these touch controls are capable of carrying out within the Wyze app.
Auto Pause Technology
Similar to the AirPods Pro, the Wyze Buds Pro will automatically pause the music you are listening to when you take one earbud out of your ear then automatically continue playing your music as soon as you put it back in.
This is convenient for when you are talking to someone and need to focus on a conversation and don't want your music playing the whole time. It is also handy should one of the earbuds fall out suddenly and you don't want to miss a beat or some important dialogue in a podcast.
Wyze App Interactivity
In order to get the full functionality of the Wyze Buds Pro, you'll need the Wyze app installed on your mobile device. This is a singular application that Wyze utilizes to act as the software and connectivity hub for all of their related devices that you may own.
The app is very well designed and easy to maneuver as one of Wyze's biggest strengths is software and application design. Once the Buds Pro are paired with the application, you can open up the individual software interface for them which will show you the device's name, a heads-up view of the battery status for each bud as well as the case and which mode your Buds Pro are set to between ANC, off and transparency.
Clicking the gear at the top right of the interface allows you to see all of your Wyze Buds Pro settings and configurations including the customization of the touch controls or device name, turn bass booster or auto-pause on/off, access the product guide, view device info (firmware version, MAC address, etc.) or contact Wyze support.
Function & Performance
I've had the Wyze Buds Pro for a little over a week now and I've been using them every day over my Apple Airpods Pro which I usually rely on daily. While I'll get more into how these directly stack up against their much more premium competitor, I can honestly say the day-to-day usage experience really isn't all too different despite a massive difference in price.
When the Wyze Buds Pro are placed in my ears or the wireless charging case is in my pocket they give off the same feeling of comfort and a minimal form factor that isn't cumbersome to lug around as an everyday carry item.
In terms of Bluetooth performance, the Wyze Buds Pro synced to my iPhone with ease and hold steady connectivity throughout the day and the silicone tips help avoid any ear fatigue from in-ear headphones such as these.
Sound quality is exceptionally good for its price point. I've listened to a wide variety of music, podcasts, YouTube videos, and Twitch streams while wearing the Wyze Buds Pro. Not once have I thought these headphones sounded cheap or have that “tinny” sound that many inexpensive earbuds are often plagued by.
The only real issue that I see with performance comes down little bugs that can be fixed with firmware updates in the future. For example, the AirBuds Pro ALWAYS default to ANC enabled when you take them out of the case.
While this isn't a huge deal, I am someone who prefers transparency mode for the majority of my usage (I only prefer ANC when working in a coffee shop or traveling). This makes it enough of a pain to have to manually swap to transparency mode every time via the app or the touch command. Apple's AirPods Pro, on the other hand, save whatever mode you were listening to last which I hope Wyze adopts in the future
Comparison: Wyze Buds Pro vs Apple AirPods Pro
Features
Comparing the two popular wireless ANC earbud models, you can see the Wyze Buds Pro and the Apple AirPods Pro don't have all too much difference despite the large difference in cost.
The AirPods Pro offers some advanced features like spatial audio support, more listening potential out of the battery case, and faster quick charging capabilities.
The Wyze Buds Pro on the other hand support an outside voice assistant like Amazon's Alexa and a slightly longer battery life when ANC is disabled.
Design & Build Quality
The AirPods Pro are of higher build quality, but not by that much. I'd say the buds themselves feel only 10% better in the hand and the charging case feels dramatically similar in quality besides the difference in a matte black (which I actually prefer) versus a gloss white.
From a design perspective, both sets of earbuds are very similar. Their dimensions are nearly identical and each individual earbuds weigh 0.19 ounces (5.4 grams). The Wyze Buds Pro case is slightly wider than the Apple variant, but it weighs less at 1.47 ounces versus Apple's coming in at 1.61 ounces.
Audio Performance Quality
To an untrained ear or non-audiophile, the headphones honestly sound very similar. For those who are a bit pickier with their audio, the AirPods Pro do outperform the Wyze Buds Pro in terms of audio quality especially with the support for spatial audio and improved bass response.
However, at nearly 25% of the cost, the Wyze Buds Pro can perform at maybe 80% of the audio capabilities of the AirPods Pro. That is a performance value to cost ratio that I am entirely confident in recommending to others especially if you aren't overly picky with your sound quality expectations.
Microphone Quality
When swapping to my Wyze Buds Pro for the first time, I had a family member who I speak with often via my AirPods Pro immediately recognize a difference in sound quality when holding a phone conversation. She described the difference in my voice as lower quality and not as crisp.
However, from my own audio testing in a controlled and quiet environment, I do not notice that much of a difference. Apple's do sound better, but not by as big of a margin as you'd expect when the pricing is so dramatically different.
Here are some basic mic samples for your own listening comparison:
Wyze Buds Pro Mic Test
Apple Airpods Pro Mic Test
Don't Need ANC Functionality? The Standard Wyze Buds Are Coming
If you are looking for a similar experience to Apple's standard Airpods earbuds without active noise canceling, Wyze has announced that they will be offering standard Wyze Buds which ditch the ANC functionality.
The benefit of this ANC removal is an extra 6 hours of battery life and likely a cheaper price-point although this is unconfirmed until the pricing is made public. I'd assume that they would be at least $10-$20 cheaper with the ANC technology removed, but don't rely on this estimation until official confirmation.
UPDATE (8/31/21): The standard Wyze Buds product page is now live and available for preorder priced at $53 with passive noise reduction only.
Review Summary
If you're looking for a pair of high-quality, comfortable wireless earbuds that have an exponentially cheaper price in comparison to Apple's AirPods Pro, then the Wyze Buds Pro is absolutely worth considering.
The sound quality isn't as pristine as with the AirPods Pro (no surprise there), but they still sound great enough to give your listening experience enjoyment on the go and the ANC can drown out any distractions.
The auto-pause functionality works great for conversations and one of my favorite features about it is that you can customize the touch controls on your phone within the Wyze app for whatever action you want them to take.
With some minor gripes that will likely be fixable in future firmware updates, I would recommend these to anyone who is in the market for a great pair of wireless earbuds that you won't feel bad about losing, breaking, or leaving behind.
With the wireless charging case and the two Buds Pro costing less than $90 USD, you really can't go wrong with these for the price point they're at.
