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Cheap Tat Review – TWS i12 (blue stripe)

• • Gadgets

I was happy enough with my red label i12‘s, but when I saw you could get them in matte black (not an option for Apple ones), I decided to give it a pop.

Design

Pods & their case

AirPods case resting flat with the lid shut

Exactly the same as shape as the Apple ones, but a tiny bit smaller. Obviously a completely different colour. The exterior of the case is entirely matte black, except for the charger connector and hinge. While not metal, the hinge is coated in a reflective material to make it look metallic.

AirPods held slightly tilted with the case lid opened to expose the head of the pods

Case uses a genuine Apple lightning style connector. The case LED flashes red during the charging process, and goes solid red when fully charged.

Aside the alternative colour, there is not a huge visual difference between these and the genuine pods, aside the charging connector. The pods are also matte black in appearance.

There is no writing on the case, inside or out.

Functionality

Audio Quality

The quality is mediocre, but not unexpected for a knock-off.

Pod controls

I found these significantly easier to control than my red label editions. They came already paired to each other so I did not have to mess around with their synchronisation. They also appear to work well individually, with a preference to the right-hand side pod.

On my iPhone there was no AirPod pop-up, and was detected as regular bluetooth earphones. Single-pod mode also operates as the same bluetooth device, so you don’t need to repair to only use one.

On Android, I found I had to turn Bluetooth audio adjustment off in the developer settings. Without this, the pods would automatically default to maximum volume!

The touch controls on the pods operated perfectly fine for me. I didn’t experience any glitched presses, and would work every time they were pressed (albeit, very slowly).

Conclusion

For £15, these little pods are absolutely perfect. These are nightmarish for anyone who loves maximum quality music, but if you just want to listen to some tunes on the move they are perfect. At the end of the day, if you lose them it’s only £15, not £210.