Amazon just released its new second-generation Echo Buds and Amazon has done all the things right with Echo Buds 1 successor. Amazon first released the Echo Buds in the year 2019 and it was a little late to the true-wireless earbuds game if we compare it to some other big brands. For example, when Amazon released its first truly wireless earbuds i.e. Echo Buds, Apple Inc. had already moved on to its 2nd generation AirPods, a few months later Apple also released its AirPods Pro. Google’s wired Pixel Buds on the other hand were already two years old and in 2020 Google went on to release its improved version of Pixel Buds.
Although Amazon was late, it set new standards at such a low price of $130. No company can make a perfect new product when they make it for the first time and it was no different with Amazon too, first Echo Buds had some flaws like it had no wireless charging and the battery life was not that great but some of its features overpowered the flaws such the active noise cancellation (ANC), hands-free access to Alexa and most of all they sounded great at such an affordable price.
Now Amazon is all set to make noise with its second-generation Echo Buds, these new true-wireless earbuds come with active noise cancellation (ANC), a new design, and better audio quality. The prices are $100 ad $120 depending on whether you want the wireless charging or not.
Box And The Accessories
The Amazon Echo Buds 2 come in a compact cardboard box with a tiny piece of plastic wrapped around the charging case to protect it. The box contains the earbuds in their case, a USB Type-C charging cable, four pairs of silicone ear tips of different sizes including the ones that are already on the buds, two different sizes of the wingtips, and a quick start-up guide.
Design
The size of the Echo Buds 2 is the first thing you’ll note, particularly if you’re familiar with the first generation. The earbuds are not only smaller, but so is the charging case. They aren’t as small as Apple’s AirPods Pro, but they outperform many other versions, including the Jabra Elite 75t and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro.
Amazon Echo Buds 2 is available in two colors, a matte-black finish or glacier white. Both the color variants look good and are smooth as well as seamless. Echo Buds 2 doesn’t have a specified area for touch-sensitive controls and has the Amazon Smile as its logo.
The charging case is similarly unadorned. Its rounded corners make it easy to carry and pocket, but the bottom is flat enough to allow it to stand upright on a desk.
Amazon decreased the number of charging points from five to three and has added a microphone on the top and bottom of each bud. It has the same IPX4 water-resistant rating as the previous one which will easily withstand rain splashes and plenty of sweat while you work out. Just don’t go on to immerse them in water.
Amazon no longer provides the old Micro USB connector like it did in 2019. Now it comes with a Type-C USB. There are two LED indicators, the one on the outside lets you know the charging status and percent while the other one inside of the case tells the status of each bud.
The earbuds pop in and out of the charging socket very easily, the magnet keeps them at their place when not in use.
There seems to be only one complaint or a drawback which is the lid of the charging case. It does open and close easily but it has a risk of closing accidentally since the hinge does not have a notch.
Setup Guide
Usually, it is not very difficult to set up a pair of truly wireless earbuds with your smartphone, laptop, or tablet. All that is needed to be done is to take the buds out of the case which puts them in pairing mode which simply connects the buds via Bluetooth.
It is a little different in the case of Amazon’s Echo Buds 2, to pair these you have to first install the Amazon Alexa app if you don’t have it already, and then open the charging case after which the Alexa App automatically detects the Earbuds and proceeds to walk you through the whole pairing process.
Controls and Connections
The Amazon Echo Buds 2 are comfortable and people with smaller ear sizes will find them much easier to wear for a longer duration. Echo Buds 2 comes with a vented design that lets a little air pass through it eliminating the sensation of sucking or pushing feeling inside of the ear due to the discomfort when the ear is fully blocked.
The Amazon Alexa app offers a fit test for you to choose the right eartip for the buds since the correct size of the tip is very important for the full efficiency of ANC.
Touch control of the Echo Buds is smooth and easy to use. It allows four touch gesture which is single, double, triple tap, and touch-and-hold. These are the same for both the buds and controls the play/pause, call answering, skip forward/backward, and ANC modes. You can only customize the tap and hold gesture, it can be changed to access voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, or Google.
Sound Quality
The EQ settings in the Alexa app lets you change the frequency response of the buds.
The second-generation Echo Buds sounds better than the previous one, there are audio improvements in all stages of volume be it low, medium, or high and it sounds the best around 60% volume giving a rich sound experience.
Battery Life
The Amazon Echo Buds 2 offers a playtime of 5 hours with both ANC and Alexa active. The charging case will give an additional two full charges, you can add an extra One and a half hours by disabling ANC and hands-free Alexa features. It claims to give a 2 hour of listening time after charging it for a mere 15 minutes.
Amazon’s new Echo Buds have improved in almost every aspect, it is more light and compact, it is more comfortable to wear for long hours, and comes with an option of wireless charging. Although it could’ve also improved its battery life and the issue of running EQ settings according to different genres. But Amazon has successfully made a good and improved product given the aggressive and affordable price tag that these buds hold.
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