The true wireless earbuds market is huge by now, and everyone wants a slice! While Apple Airpods really rule that market, you have a lot of options out there - not just for iOS devices but basically for most of your bluetooth devices.
I was really looking for one which ticked all of my boxes: Sound quality, price, comfort, battery life and USB-C (yes, it's that important!), and I stumbled upon the Creative Outlier Air.
Creative is a great company when it comes to professional sound where they have a great heritage - but I didn't know them as a consumer headphones brand at all.
Those are a 75£ pair of wireless earbuds which for me are almost perfect - and I will tell you why.
PROs
Comfortable, with 2 different eartips I found the large size best fit.
Good sound quality, with good volume, good highs and mids and tight bass.
Great battery life - 10 hours of listening with moderate volume, and up to 30 hours with the case (2 more full charges).
USB-C charging input - no adapters needed, in case your smartphone has that input - just one wire to carry with you!
Magnets makes the world better! The earbuds fall into place in the case using magnets.
Support for aptxHD bluetooth codec (and Bluetooth 5.0) for better music quality.
That price! 75£ is cheap for what you get.
They don't stick out, look relatively discrete in the ear.
The remote is built in to the earbuds in the form of a single button on each, with all the functionality you want: volume +/- and play/pause/skip (forward or back).
Turns off when the earbuds are just lying on the table for a few minutes in order to conserve battery.
IPX5 sweat proof, good for walking in the rain and for workouts - doesn't fall off.
Red and blue light rings on the outside are great indication for: Charging or connection status.
CONs
If you don't get the perfect fit for your ear - it might get uncomfortable after a while.
You get bluetooth stuttering at least once a day, still not that bad.
Sound isolation isn't good, you can slightly hear your surrounding - and if you're on a train, high volume might drown most of the noise.
Pressing the buttons with your ear behind it isn't the most comfortable, especially if you want to skip several songs in succession.
The charging case is relatively big and not easily pocketable, so these are more "throw in your bag", than "throw in your pocket".
No mulitple device connection - to switch connected device you need to disconnect from one and connect to the other.
Comfort
Although there isn't much of a variety of different eartips I managed to find the fit Ok.
I can say that after 2 hours of constant listening, at least for me, you feel just a little discomfort but nothing major, but I can easily survive the train ride.
Also, they are extremely light weight - it is honestly hard to believe the amount of tech inside that light body.
Performance - Music
These headphones aren't the best out there, but they do the job nicely. High, mids and lows are good and clear, while just a bit of punch in the bass.
All an all, fun sound for their price.
Performance - Microphone
The microphone on these headphones does the job well, people hear me clearly on the other side - even when there is wind present.
That's it, it does what it should, and it does it well!
Battery Life
Battery life is one of the best in the industry - just shy of 10 hours of continues listening at 70% volume. While you have 20 more hours in the case, I've never found myself in need of a charge. For regular weekdays of about 4-5 hours of use a day, I get to charge only on the weekend which is great!
FAQs
How long does the battery last on bluetooth connection? It is rated at 10hrs of usage, although it may vary with bluetooth signal strength and volume level.
What kind of bluetooth version does it support? Bluetooth 5.0 with aptxHD support.
Does the sound lag in videos? In my tests I've used devices with bluetooth 5.0, no foreseen lag other than inside Whatsapp.
What is the charging input type? Standard USB-C.
Are they water / weather proof? IPX5, It should be weather resistant but I wouldn't put it to a submerged water test.
Bottom Line
So who is this for? Well, if you want to cut the cord from your smartphone without breaking the bank - this is a very good option to consider - with good sound quality, good comfort, great battery life and IPX5 sweat-proof.
Who is it not for? If you're an audiophile or bass-head - look elsewhere, and if earbuds aren't your thing (in the comfort department).
All in all - as the title suggest - the Creative Outlier Air ticks all the right boxes for being an easy recommendation for a cheap true wireless earbuds.
Some advice: Creative has just released an updated version - Creative Outlier Gold - with more battery life and a firmware equalizer through an app, only 20£ more, but still a sub 100£ true wireless earbuds, I would recommend to consider them as well, if sound and battery are important to you.