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ASUS ROG Cetra TWS gaming earbuds review - Gamer-focused design with ANC and low-latency audio

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Infinix
The ASUS ROG Cetra TWS gaming earbuds recently became available in the Philippines for PHP 4,490. After using it for a while, how did it fare?
ASUS ROG Cetra TWS gaming earbuds review - Aesthetically pleasing with ANC and low latency gaming audio
ASUS ROG Cetra TWS gaming earbuds review

Unboxing/Accessories

The box
The box

The ASUS ROG Cetra TWS gaming earbuds came in a black box with holographic branding on the cover and photos of the earbuds. All around will be specs and features information about the ROG Cetra TWS earbuds.
What's in the box?
What's in the box?

Opening the box, you get the charging case with a pair of earbuds inside of it. Under it, you will see a package housing paperwork, a USB-C cord, and 2 more pairs of silicone tips. It was a simple and straightforward unboxing experience.

Build Quality/Design

The charging case and ROG has RGB lighting
The charging case and ROG has RGB lighting

Out of the box, the ROG Cetra TWS really took the gamer aesthetic and ran with it. The case is made out of typical plastic with a  rounded square shape with a muted ROG logo on the cover.

Attractive for gamers design with RGB!

The charging case itself has a There is an RGB led strip at the front as a charging indicator as well.
The USB-C charging port
The USB-C charging port

When you open the case, there is an RGB ROG logo that shifts colors while it is open. It seems to be purely aesthetic though. At the bottom, there is muted certifications info. At the back, there's a USB-C port for charging.
Great looking earbuds with stemmed design and silicone tips
Great looking earbuds with stemmed design and silicone tips

As for the earbuds themselves, it has a stemmed design made out of high-quality plastic. It has a matte black finish with ROG branding and a logo for both earbuds.

A highlight here is the RGB lighting each earbud has that glows red when charging in the case and blue when pairing and connecting. The earbuds are also IPX4 splash resistant which means that you can use them even while working out.

The earbuds also come with quick-touch controls.

Comfort/Isolation

It is comfortable to use!
It is comfortable to use!

ASUS ROG Cetra is very comfortable to use even for extended periods of time. The pre-installed silicone was perfect for me and haven't used the other ones yet. But if you need to adjust the fit, there are two more pairs included.

A gamer-focused earbuds with ANC!

I used it while watching YouTube/Netflix, listening to Spotify, gaming, and working out and I experienced no discomfort. Even during the times that I am moving around a lot, the ROG Cetra TWS gaming keyboard did not fall out easily.

The Adaptive Noise Cancellation technology, as well as the highly configurable silicone tips, make sound isolation great. Even at 50 percent volume, you'll be completely absorbed in what you're listening to.

However, checking the ROG Armoury Crate app, there is no control for levels of ANC. The ANC controls are accessible via the quick-touch controls on the Left Earbud with settings ranging from off, ambient sound, light noise canceling, and heavy noise canceling.

Battery

The ASUS ROG Cetra TWS boasts up to 5.5 hours of battery life on a single charge and up to 21.5 hours with the case included. ANC will lower than marketed battery life to 4.8 hours and 17 hours respectively.

Surprisingly, with my normal non-continuous usage, it was able to last 5 days before I needed to charge the case itself with ANC always on. I was able to drain both earbuds while playing COD: Mobile for around 4 hours though.

The charging case can charge the earbuds from 0 to 100 percent in around 2 hours which is typical for TWS charging cases. The charging case can provide up to 4 hours of full charges before needing to recharge which takes 2 hours as well. It also has wireless charging support.

Features

The Armoury Crate app
The Armoury Crate app

It does support Google Fast Pair and the pairing is pretty much instant. However, it is worth noting that when you take one of the buds first, it will connect to your immediately. Then when you take out the other, it will disconnect the device again, pair the two TWS earbuds, then connect to your phone again.

The ROG Armoury Crate app is needed to access features such as Sound Optimization modes, Virtual Surround Sound, a 10-channel Equalizer, Bass Boost, and Gaming Mode. You can also see the battery percentages of both earbuds here. The Sound Optimization presets consist of Flat, FPS, Movie, Racing, RPG, and Custom options.

Here are the touch controls for the ROG Cetra TWS gaming earbuds:

Left earbud

Double Press - Switch ANC modes
Hold for 1 second - Activate Voice Assistant

Right Earbud

Single Press - Play/Pause
Double Press - Next Track
Triple Press - Skip Backward
Hold for 1 second - Gaming Mode toggle

It also features auto-pause and auto-play when you remove the earbuds from your ears. It also responds to voice commands for both Google Assistant. It uses Bluetooth 5.2 with SBC and AAC codec support.

Audio

The ASUS ROG Cetra TWS features a 10mm ASUS Essence driver in each earbud. Out of the box, there is a pretty wide soundstage and balanced sound. It has good bass as well as clear mids and highs. Again, if you want to personalize the sound signature you can do it via the EQ in the Armoury Crate app.

Immersive listening experience with low latency audio!

In music and videos, the stereo experience is great. Especially when you watch movies. Sound effects such as explosions and ambient noise enhance the immersion without really drowning out the dialog. Again, as per all content, this will still vary according to the mastering of the movie or music you are listening to.

You can also utilize the 7.1 virtual surround feature. It is a good simulation of a surround sound system but it is not my cup of tea. It is a feature that is very nice to have though.

For gaming, the Gaming Mode activates low-latency mode so that even over Bluetooth there is no desynchronization between the video and audio of the games you are playing. In FPS games such as PUBG Mobile and COD: Mobile this is important since you tend to listen to footsteps.

For calls, each earbud features an omnidirectional microphone with -38dB sensitivity. It has no AI Noise Canceling for the mic though. We managed to have decent phone calls with no delays and good volume.

Pros - Great gaming design with premium build and RGB, good battery life, good Bluetooth connectivity, amazing audio quality with EQ, ANC, and Gaming Mode, dedicated app, IPX4 water splash resistance, touch controls
Cons - Kind of finicky connection process, no AI Noise Canceling for microphone

ASUS ROG Cetra TWS earbuds Specs

Driver: 10mm ASUS Essence neodymium magnets
Microphone: Dual microphones on each side
Battery: Up to 5.5 hours (per earbud), up to 27 hours (charging case),  w/ Quick Charge technology, Qi wireless charging
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2 A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP (SBC, AAC)
Others: ANC, Quick Touch control, Fast Pair, Microsoft Swift Pair, IPX4 water splash resistance, USB-C, Colors: Black
Weight: 42 g (charging case)
Price: PHP 4,490

Verdict

So how was it?
So how was it?

For the PHP 4,490 price tag, the ASUS ROG Cetra TWS gaming earbuds get a recommendation from us. It did not focus on the gaming side only as it was able to provide good audio even in movies, calls, and music.

The inclusion of ANC, dedicated app, Qi Wireless charging, and IPX4 water resistance just adds to the value too.

It is one of the must-check buds if you like gaming.

Build/Design - 4.5
Comfort/Isolation - 4.5
Battery Life - 4.35
Features - 4.5
Sound - 4.5
Average - 4.47/5

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