On this World Music Day, we bring you a list of TWS earphones priced up to Rs 12,000 in India that offer not just excellent sound quality but a great feature set too. All these earbuds from notable brands offer features like ANC (active noise cancellation), multi-point connectivity, wear detection and useful companion apps to explore their full potential. And the price cuts on some of these generally more expensive models will be music to your ears. So let’s begin.
Best TWS earbuds under Rs 12,000 in India
Price: Rs 10,999
What’s good about it:
Excellent sound quality with good balance and detail
Customisable sound and controls through the app
Combination of pinch and slide controls works well
Wear detection sensors, volume control on the buds
Comfortable fit, elegant design
Support for LHDC 5.0 codec and Google Spacial Audio
Very good battery backup, supports wireless and fast charging
Good call quality, multipoint support
What’s not:
No ingress protection for the charging case this time
No support for more popular LDAC or aptX codecs
After two mixed attempts, OnePlus got their act in order with its current flagship Buds Pro 3. Despite its 10K+ price tag, we believe it is the best value-for-money product in the semi-premium category of TWS earbuds that can take on anything priced under 15K at the moment. There is a marked improvement in performance as compared to its predecessor. Be it sound quality, call quality, ANC, battery life or user experience, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 is better on all counts. It supports wireless charging too.
The dual-driver setup and Dynaudio’s tuning is a great combination that handles the three major frequency ranges quite well and produces tight and punchy bass, detailed midrange and sharp highs. There are ample sound tweaks available though the companion app to fine-tune it further. The slide gestures in addition to pinch controls on the earbuds give great control over its various functions. Add to that a robust battery backup of up to 30 hours, very good call quality and we have an excellent all-round product that’s hard to beat in this budget.
Price: Rs 11,999
What’s good about it:
Balanced and detailed sound output
Good codec support
Attractive design, comfortable in the ears
Buds and case are both splash resistant
Lots of sound tweaks in the companion app
Good call quality, dual pairing support
Good battery backup with support for fast charging and wireless charging
What’s not:
Average active noise cancellation and transparency
Battery backup with ANC on could have been better
The Nothing Ear which is the successor to Nothing Ear (2) – don’t bother with the numbering system – is another great option in this segment for its trademark transparent design, sound quality and feature set. Though it looks exactly like its predecessor, there are a bunch of minor enhancements and a major one – support for the more popular LDAC codec in addition to LHDC for higher throughput.
The sound quality is quite impressive with tight and punchy bass, good midrange response, crisp vocals and perfectly tempered highs that retain ample sparkle without sounding sibilant. There is a good amount of detail in the audio, and the fairly broad soundstage enhances the overall experience. And you also get a ton of sound tweaks in the companion app – in fact, the most we have seen across brands – that let you adjust minute details in the audio.
There are improvements across the board, be it sound quality, codec support, battery backup or ANC. The Nothing Ear supports wireless charging as well as fast wired charging. There’s ChatGPT integration too, and one can use their voice to access it after setting it up through the Nothing X app. With such a stacked feature set and impressive sound quality, one may not mind paying a bit of a premium for the Nothing Ear.
Best TWS earbuds under Rs 10,000 in India
Price: Rs 9,990
What’s good about it:
Good sound quality
Compact design, comfortable in-ear fit
Impressive ANC and ambient mode
Wear detection, multipoint support
Support for LDAC codecs even when paired with two devices
Useful companion app
Good battery backup with ANC on
What’s not:
Touch controls configuration could have been smarter
Average call quality
The Sony Linkbuds S WF-LS900N was priced at Rs 16,990 at launch where some of its shortcomings were amplified. But under 10K, it is an excellent option. Not only do these earbuds sound good but also offer the best ANC in this segment and an equally impressive transparency mode. You can use the LDAC codec even if you pair these buds with two devices simultaneously. The fit and comfort at top class and you also get wear detection sensors.
The Sony Linkbuds S does sound very good out of the box but you can fine tune the output further to your liking using the Sony Headphones app that offers a handful of more tweaks. The battery backup may not be as high as some of the other buds in this list but you get 20 hours with ANC switched on all the time, which is commendable. With all the key boxes ticked, excellent sound and ANC and a price drop, the Sony Linkbuds S WF-LS900N is a straightforward recommendation.
Price: Rs 7,299
What’s good about it:
Enjoyable sound output across various genres of music
Support for LDAC, aptX Adaptive/ Lossless codecs and more
Hi-Res Audio and Snapdragon Sound certified
Loads of sound and ANC customisations
Improved active noise cancellation and transparency
Comfortable in-ear fit, good passive noise isolation
Wear detection sensors, Auracast, dual pairing support
Impressive battery backup, supports wireless charging
18 months warranty
What’s not:
Touch sensitivity can be dodgy at times
Noise suppression in calls needs improvement
When it comes to feature-rich products, the lesser known EarFun Air Pro 4 is right up there with the very best at a much more competitive price. It also packs a punch when it comes to performance. These earbuds are Hi-Res Audio and Snapdragon Sound certified and support LDAC as well as aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive codecs. The sound quality is very good for the segment, and if you do not like the default sound, the companion app lets you tweak it further using a multi-band equaliser or a bunch of presets.
Even better, the company shares the EQ config of its audio presets, and you can make minor adjustments to a preset that you like using the equaliser, rather than starting from scratch and indulging in guesswork to recreate a similar sound profile, as is the case with most audio products. The company has also added wear detection sensors that were missing on its previous products. ANC and call quality see a significant improvement too.
The overall battery backup is commendable, ranging between 30 to 45 hours with and without ANC respectively. This product also supports wireless charging, dual pairing and Auracast. All of the above make the Earfun Air Pro 4 the most feature-rich product even in a segment or two higher, and with a solid all-round performance and sound quality, an easy recommendation if you have a budget of Rs 7,500.
Price: Rs 5,999
What’s good about it:
Impressive sound quality courtesy of Bose
Configurable sound and controls through companion app
Comfortable in-ear fit, wear detection sensors
IP54 ingress protection for the buds, IPX4 for the case
Good call quality, dual pairing support
Good battery backup with ANC off
Supports wireless charging and fast charging
What’s not:
Minor bugs that also include a moody Transparency mode
No LHDC codec support on most phones
Just like the Sony Linkbuds S, the Moto Buds+ has also seen a big price drop. At its current selling price of Rs 5,999, these tuned-by-Bose earbuds are a great buy even with its minor quirks for those looking for excellent sound quality under 6K. While these earbuds support LHDC codec, you may have to make do with AAC on most phones. But that doesn’t stop them from sounding good, and the companion app offers you more tweaks.
You get an overall battery backup of 22 hours with ANC on and 34 hours without it. To sum it up, the Moto Buds+ is a highly enjoyable pair of TWS earbuds with an elegant design, impressive feature list and sound quality, very good call quality, competent battery backup and support for dual pairing and wear detection. And let’s not forget the ‘Sound by Bose’ branding that one can flaunt at a fraction of the cost of most Bose TWS earbuds.
If you do not wish to spend as much and are yet looking for high quality wireless earphones around Rs 5,000, you should
check this out
.
