As basic TWS earbuds, Redmi’s AirDots 2 captured a large part of the market with its cheap price and qualified experience. Now, Redmi has announced its successor, the AirDots 3. 

The new model comes with a higher price without any noticeable change in its appearance. This brings us to the big question, does it offer a better experience than the Airdots 2 to justify the increase in its price?

Let’s find that out in this quick AirDots 3 review. 

Redmi AirDots 3 Review: Design

Although the shape looks the same, a lot of the details have actually changed. The AirDots 3 feels more refined than the AirDots 2 when you hold the case in your hand. While the predecessor was so light that it felt like a toy, the AirDots 3, with its 51g case, has doubled the battery capacity, improving both the practicality and the feel of the case. The entire case is made of frosted skin-like material. It feels very comfortable to touch, which is a huge improvement over the AirDots 2’s plastic case. 

Redmi has also finally given us new color options. The AirDots 3 is available in white, blue, and pink colors. And it looks more vibrant than its predecessor. The pairing button is now integrated and the charging port is also Type-C. This also confirms that Redmi has indeed made a few key tweaks in its appearance.

The change in the design of the earbud is not easily noticeable unless you look closely. The physical press-to-touch controls have been replaced with touch controls. Two touches on the right earbud will pause or play music. Two touches on the left earbud wakes up the voice assistant.

The earbuds have an additional infrared sensor. Music is automatically paused when the earbuds are removed. Putting on the earbuds automatically plays music. This is a feature you would normally only see on higher-priced earbuds. But Redmi has put this feature into this price range, which is very practical.

Redmi AirDots 3 Review: Sound Quality

But the Airdots 3 upgrades are not just limited to its design. The biggest upgrade is the sound quality and latency. For the first time, Airdots 3 has dual drivers. It also uses the Qualcomm QCC3040 chip which supports aptX Adaptive.

The Dynamic driver and Armature driver can guarantee good high and low-frequency sound quality. aptX Adaptive automatically selects between high fidelity and low latency modes, depending on whether you’re listening to music or playing games. It’s a Bluetooth protocol that even many high-end headphones don’t have.

In our test, we found that the sound quality is indeed better than the SBC-only earbuds. But the latency for playing games depends on your phone. If you’re using the Redmi K40 series, the latency is so low that you can barely notice there is a delay. If you use any other phone, even the Mi 11, there is a decent amount of latency.

All in all, you can buy Airdots 3 for its sound quality. If you’re a K40 series user, this is the TWS earbuds you should buy.

Airdots 3 can still be adjusted to function via the XiaoAI App. The pop-up animation for opening the lid is also supported. Apart from noise cancellation, the features in the App are almost identical to those of the Xiaomi Air2 Pro.

Interested parties can check out our Xiaomi Air2 Pro review.

Redmi AirDots 3 Review: Battery

 The earbuds can be used for 7 hours. The charging case adds an additional 30 hours. Airdots 3 is definitely in the top tier when it comes to battery life.

So to conclude, the AirDots 3 is the entry-level earbuds that performs no less than mid-range earbuds. It’s only 199 RMB in China, which is about $31. If you want an aptX protocol at a budget price, there is almost no alternative to the new Redmi earbuds. And if you have a Redmi K40 series phone, it’s the perfect companion.

Let us know if you plan to get the new AirDots 3. 

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