Since it was founded in 2010, SoundPeats has marketed itself as a brand committed to the pursuit of the ultimate original sound reproduction through intelligent technology and sophisticated manufacturing processes. During the past decade, SoundPeats has launched a series of quality wireless Bluetooth headphones. So how does their latest offering, the SoundPeats Air 4 Pro stand up against the competition?
In a previous review, I wrote that I have severe issues with in-ear headphones. Aside from a notable handful, I find that irrespective of what size rubber cushions I use, or how hard I cram them into my ear, I continue to see every little bump or movement of my head plummeting to the ground like proverbial lemmings leaping from my ears.
So, my first test upon getting a new set to try out is to shake my head while doing a couple of star jumps. It makes me look insane (which is why I do it in the comfort of my home office) but it very quickly lets me know whether they’re a) comfortable to wear, and b) going to result in me continually having to reseat them – and I was pleased to find that the SoundPeats Air4 Pro passed both tests with flying colours. So – off to a good start.
But, like my previous reviews, I’ll dive a little deeper into the good, the great, and the not-so-good:
First Impressions of the SoundPeats Air 4 Pro
I’ve said it repeatedly, but I’m a fan of clean, aesthetic boxes for technology products. And SoundPeats haven’t disappointed. The box is a crisp, stylish white with a photo of the Air4 Pro earbuds superimposed over the SoundPeats logo. One side, and the rear of the box contains information regarding battery life and advertises the ‘Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation’ of the earbuds, and that’s basically it. Clean, straight to the point, and lets the product advertise itself. Just what I love.
Inside the box you get the earbuds themselves, safely stored within the plastic charging case which is oddly shaped like a little oval with hyper-accentuated curves. One side note: this means that it’s very difficult to place on a desk standing up, without the slightest bump or breeze causing it to fall over. It’s not a major issue, but I would like it if SoundPeats flattened the bottom a little so you could stand it up while open without it having to rest on the lid at an odd angle. The charging port is also situated on the bottom of the case, which I found odd (even though you’re unlikely to have the container open while charging.)
Unlike the previous Air4, the Air4 Pro earbuds use silicone tips for a better fit. You’ll also find two additional sets of these nestled at the bottom of the box (one set smaller than the default and one set that is slightly larger). The earbuds were slightly heavier than some of the competition, but not heavy enough that it was uncomfortable to wear for longer periods.
Included is also a USB A-to-C cable for charging. And lastly, a manual and other paperwork. To my shame, it took me a few days to realise that there was actually a manual, because it’s hidden under the top lid of the box (where you don’t usually look) and marked with a small black and white icon. Accordingly, without a manual or quick start guide it took me hours to realise that SoundPeats DOES actually have an app for the Air 4 Pro earbuds, which led to an annoyance when getting started and first using the earbuds.
At its price point, the Air4 Pro are effectively a solid budget alternative to the competition, offering a number of good features, but not without a few trade offs.
Touch Controls
The touch controls were an annoyance from the start of my experience, and remain THE biggest annoyance for me in relation to the Air4 Pro earbuds overall.
These controls come in the form of a touch-sensitive area located behind the logo on each earbud. Tapping the right or left earbud once will raise, or lower the volume, while double-tapping either pauses or resumes the playback. Holding your finger against the logo for a second changes the mode of the noise cancellation feature.
Unfortunately, and annoyingly, these controls are EXTREMELY easy to activate accidentally, with even the act of putting in the earbuds often setting the volume to 100% or 0%.
Further, the in-ear auto detection feature would pause the playback when removing an earbud upon someone asking a question etc, but NOT the touch controls, resulting in playbacks repausing (or stopping) or volume & noise cancellation options being changed without knowing.
Thankfully both the touch controls and the in-ear auto detect can be disabled in the app. However, until I realised that, getting the volume set and keeping it there was an episode of frustration and annoyance. SoundPeats – please turn these keys off by default.
Battery Life and Charging
The SoundPeats Air4 Pro earbuds themselves are listed as having ‘about 6.5 hours playtime’ in the battery, and up to 26 hours with the charging case.
In my testing, I have found the earbud figure fairly accurate, but was surprised to get a lot more life out of the 330mAh charging case. Recharging the case takes about 1.5 hours, with charging the earbuds as simple as popping them back into the case (pretty standard for wireless earbuds.)
There is no wireless charging functionality for the case. But at this price point, that’s not going to come as a shock to many. Unfortunately, because the box doesn’t come with an adapter for a wall you’ll need to occasionally subvert one of your other wall plugs or plug it into a computer.
Software Support
The software support for the Air4 Pro is not as great as some of the competition (Jabra for example, have an amazing app which is easy and intuitive to use.)
After downloading the app and getting it set up, you’re met with a screen showing the earbuds and the current battery life remaining in each, a menu button in the top left corner, a help button and a reset button in the bottom corners.
And then with small black and white symbols (which I mistook for my Android phones icons at first glance) are the settings button for the earbuds, a home button, and a shop button. It’s my opinion that these buttons should be colourised or be made slightly more obvious – given your attention tends to be drawn intuitively to the blue coloured menu at the top left, and not to the very bottom of the screen.
In the settings itself are the equaliser options, including a custom option. Adjustments to the Noise reduction settings (ANC mode, Normal mode, and Transparent (Pass-Through) mode), options to disable the function of the earbud touch keys and in-ear detection (these two being a blessing), and an option to enable ‘game mode’ which shortens the latency. I’m not quite sure why this isn’t always on.
One interesting feature that is missing from even some more expensive competition is adaptive EQ, which uses a short series of tones to map your ears, ostensibly for a better audio experience. Though I’m not sure whether I actually noticed any difference.
Downloading the App is also required for firmware updates for the earbuds.
The Sound Quality
Full disclosure: I am by no means an audiophile, and lack the equipment and knowledge to enable me to reference frequency ranges or decibel limits, so don’t expect that in this review.
While many earbuds are trending towards smaller drivers, the ones SoundPeats have put into the Air4 Pro are fairly large – at 13mm. This makes for a better bass response, with the Air4 Pro able to handle the low end exceptionally well, and deliver some reasonably powerful bass.
In addition to the usual SBC Bluetooth codec, you also get the aptX Adaptive Lossless, which makes for better sound quality if you’re using a supported phone or other device. When connected to my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, I was impressed by the sound quality even without adjustments to the equalizer.
I’ve previously stated that Jabra’s Elite 4 Active had excellent ANC, where I used them to block out the noise of my lawnmower. While the SoundPeats Air4 Pro’s aren’t going to take the crown from Jabra, they were still surprisingly effective, doing a good job of blocking out background noise – with, or without music playing.
That said, the Transparent mode (pass-through) is something that SoundPeats may want to work on. It lets sound through okay, but there was a noticeable constant hiss, even in areas of complete silence. It was noticeable enough to be distracting, and rapidly annoying. I preferred removing one of the earbuds than activating pass-through.
Voice quality was passable for calls using the microphones, and was on-par with almost all other budget earbuds. It’ll suit you for calls, but don’t expect to be recording a podcast or YouTube video with the on-board microphones.
Final thoughts on the SoundPeats Air4 Pro Earbuds
The SoundPeats Air4 Pro have plenty to offer, and are especially good for the comparative low cost of the earbuds. At their price point, they offer good sound, functional noise cancellation, and an impressive battery life.
While they may not hold up against some of the most expensive earbuds available on the market, the SoundPeats Air4 Pro certainly aren’t lacking. And as long as you’re willing to put up with a few tradeoffs and issues, you’ll find yourself with a good set of budget, wireless earbuds.
I’d like to thank SoundPeats for providing me with the Air4 Pro Earbuds.
