CHERRY Capsule Earbuds (TWS) Review - The budget earbuds with smart app control
CHERRY, a brand known for its smartphones, this year launched a couple of wireless earbuds to its roster of IoT (Internet of Things) lineups. Specific to the Capsule TWS Earbuds, can it capture the mass market with its affordable yet innovative-looking design?
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| The CHERRY Capsule True Wireless Stereo Earbuds |
Build Quality/Design
The buds are made with plasticky materials, but it doesn't feel cheap.
One will immediately notice the pill-sized charging case upon unboxing. Unlike the common TWS earbuds, the user needs to lift its curvy lid on the right side of the case to get the earbuds. The lid also automatically reverts to its closed position after picking up the earbuds from the case, thanks to the silicone strap holding the base and lid of the charging case together.
Tiny buds!
The charging case has a matte texture, making it a dirt and stain magnet given its pure white color. It also does not have a pairing button, enabling users to pair the earbuds with other devices at their convenience.
At the back part of the charging case are the battery indicator and the Type-C charging port.
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| The device comes with earbuds, a charging case, three pairs of earcaps, and a Type-C to USB cable |
Zooming in on the earbuds, they have a sleek and clean aesthetic that fits the ear canals with just the right seal. Each earbud has its own multi-function button (MFB) that activates up to ten different commands. The buttons recognize light taps with one-second delays for every command prompted.
Comfort/Isolation
With each earbud weighing 4.1 grams, I was able to comfortably wear both for at least 4 hours while working in front of my laptop.
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| The Capsule Earbud when worn |
The earbuds also stayed in place after I tried jumping and shaking my head.
Despite this plausible performance, I still cannot vouch for this pair of earbuds for physical activities, since the device’s specifications did not mention anything about water or dust resistance.
The default earcaps installed in the earbuds are in size medium. I’m pleased to share that it fitted my ears perfectly.
Battery
The earbuds' working time is about 6.5 hours standalone, while the charging case can juice up the earbuds about 3 times, giving the user a total of 20 hours before needing to charge it.
Also, both the TWS earbuds and the charging case can be fully charged in one and a half hours each.
Features
Pairing the device is easy. It connects with Bluetooth 5.1 with support for both SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs. They are both basic codecs that produce average sound quality.
If you are using an Apple device, I've noticed that sound quality and latency aren't as pronounced as on Android devices. Likely, this is because Apple devices favor AAC codecs,
When it comes to pairing and switching between different devices, I had to disconnect the Capsule Earbuds on the current smartphone it's connected to before pairing it with another one. This can pose an issue to a user who uses earbuds on more than two devices.
The device is also compatible with the Cherry Home app.
From here, I had the option to use the other modes in the equalizer or customize one according to my listening needs. As a casual listener, I ended up switching between these two options depending on what I’m listening to.
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| Equalizer setting in the Cherry Home IoT app |
I had the option to use the other modes in the equalizer or customize one according to my listening needs. As a casual listener, I ended up switching between these two options depending on what I’m listening to.
As Cherry Home goes full throttle with building a hub for all its IoT products and modern household devices, this TWS device can also be added to the app to unlock more options specific to this device.
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| What's inside the Cherry Home IoT app |
Once connected to the app, the user will be greeted by the home page with the following displays—the photo of the earbuds, the earbuds' battery percentage, the Find It option, Equalizer, and the Settings (IoT Broadcast Mode option).
When the earbuds' photo is tapped, it will show basic functions like the play/pause button, next and previous buttons, and volume buttons. These functions work regardless of the phone used with the earbuds and the phone with the app are different from each other.
Specific to the Find It option, it works similarly to Apple's Find My feature where you can see on a map the current location of the device based on a live map and the actual address it was last seen. There’s also an option to play a high-decibel alarm sound remotely in case you lost the earbuds for better searchability.
This pair of earbuds also come with a microphone that has Environmental Noise Cancellation (ENC) functionality to help reduce background noise while listening to music or calling someone on the phone.
Audio
The TWS earbuds are in default sound mode once connected.
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| The TWS' ergonomic and lightweight earbuds |
I found the audio from the earbuds distorted off the bat, especially at higher listening levels.
Bass is heavily emphasized, and it drowned out the rest of the sound elements when I was listening to various types of songs. This is forgivable for the price, but it could have been better.
Normally, we at GIZGUIDE don't use equalizers. But you may have to with these buds.
CHERRY Capsule Earbuds Specs
Driver: Dynamic
Microphone: ENC
Battery: 300mAh (charging case), 40mAh Lithium Battery (per earpiece)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.1 (AAC, SBC)
Others: Button control, Colors: White
Dimensions: 28 x 15 x 23.7 mm (per earbud), 73 x 26 x 36 mm (charging case)
Weight: 4.9 g (per earbud), 33.9 g (charging case)
Price: PHP 1,499
Verdict
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| The CHERRY Capsule Earbuds (TWS) retail for PHP 1,499 |
The CHERRY Capsule Earbuds (TWS) appear on paper as your just-another-affordable-buddy because of their capabilities. But, what makes it stand out is its unique aesthetic design and smart app control for just PHP 1,499.
This is the type of device that would merit some manual reading to get to know how a user can fully maximize this pair of earbuds. Having an app to adjust the equalizer settings is a nice touch for someone who’s a casual listener but is particular with their audio preference.
However, it is no secret that I would have liked it better if they made its default audio performance better. For the price, it is a bit hard to complain though.
By the way, this is available at the CHERRY SHOP PH web store.
Note: Patty Villegas, the writer of this review also founded the Lifestyle blog "The Lifestyle Wanderer" established in 2013. Her blog currently ranks #44 on Feedspot's 100 Best Philippines Lifestyle Blogs and Websites.
Comfort/Isolation - 3.5
Battery Life - 3
Features - 4
Sound - 3.5
Average - 3.5/5
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