Poco Pods TWS Review: Has Poco Announced its Arrival in TWS Market?

Poco Pods TWS Review Summary:

Editor’s Rating- 3.9/5

Back in 2019, Poco made a commitment to introduce their truly wireless earphones, and though it took some time, they have now fulfilled that promise. The brand has officially released its initial TWS product named “Poco Pods” in the country. These Pods boast several features on paper, including Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, a dedicated gaming mode, extended battery life, and more.

The target audience for Poco Pods comprises teenagers, and college students seeking a practical TWS solution for their daily needs. Now, the question arises: how well does Poco perform in the competitive TWS market with its debut device? To discover the answer, let’s delve into the details.

Poco Pods Unboxing

Poco Pods come inside a yellow and black cardboard box. It consists of-

• Poco Pods & Case
• Ear tips in small & large sizes
• User guide

Poco Pods: Design & Fit

Poco has launched its first TWS Buds device and true to its motto, the brand has given a youthful and funky look to the product. The Poco Pods come inside a compact oval case that has POCO branding in yellow on the front. The case is black in color on the outside but on opening, it is yellow inside. Buds as well as the case are made of polycarbonate material and have a matte finish which makes them look attractive. The matte finish also ensures that the case doesn’t catch any smudges or fingerprints, which is a relief.

The case has a USB Type-C charging port on the bottom along with an LED indicator. There is no function key as the buds automatically pair on opening the case with Bluetooth devices. There is a bar running along the side that has a glossy finish.

The case is compact and lightweight, easy to carry inside your pocket. It measures 63.2×53.4x24mm and weighs 41.2 grams with the buds.

Talking about the buds, even these are lightweight (3.6 grams each) and fit well inside the ears without any discomfort. I wore the buds for hours at a stretch and felt no problems at all. The buds have a very tiny white LED that is hardly visible when it’s off. The buds have an in-ear design and come with medium-sized ear tips pre-installed. However, if these don’t fit well, then you can opt for large or small-sized ear tips that are bundled inside the box.

For a price of under 1500, Poco has given a fairly decent design and build to its first TWS. The buds have a matte finish which makes sure that these don’t slip off easily when running, working out, or cycling. There is an IPX4 rating as well so I could wear the buds in rains as well. However, don’t try to use them while swimming as the buds are only splash resistant and can’t be submerged in water.

Poco Pods: Connectivity, Controls & Features

The Poco Pods support Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity with an SBC audio codec. Connecting Pods with any Bluetooth device is very easy. All you have to do is enable the Bluetooth of your device and open the Poco pods case. The LED indicator on the case will blink and you will get a prompt to connect the pods to your device the first time. Next time, the Poco Pods will automatically connect to the device as soon as Bluetooth is turned on and the case is opened. There is one more way to connect Poco Pods to a Bluetooth device. Take out the earbuds from the charging case, put them on, and then triple-tap on the left and right ear touch areas. Then open the Bluetooth settings on the phone and connect to the Poco Pods. The range is 10 meters which means one can easily roam around the house with no connectivity problems.

The touch controls are easy to access-

• Double tap to play/pause. Answer call/hang calls
• Triple tap to reject an incoming call or move to the Next track
• Press and hold both buds for 1.5 seconds to enter or exit the gaming mode.

Though the connection process is simple, the buds don’t come with Smart Wear detection so the audio doesn’t pause itself when the bud is taken out of the ear. I wish Poco would have offered this smart feature as it would have made the experience better.

The buds come with Xiaomi Earbuds app support on Android and iPhone. However, there are no smart settings as the app only allows you to view the battery level, and enable low latency gaming mode. Actions for touch controls can be changed.

ALSO READ: Best 5G phones under Rs 30,000 in India

Poco Pods Review: Sound Quality & Call Quality

The Poco Pods come with a 12mm driver for Pro bass audio output. The driver offers paunchy bass in fast-beat party numbers like It’s the Time to Disco (Kal Ho Na Ho) and What Jhumka (RARKPP). These budget TWS tuned to appeal to bass heads. The mids and highs are just about ok while the volume level is decent till 50%. If the volume is turned above 50%, the audio starts losing depth and character and sounds distorted sometimes.

There is only SBC codec support which is not suitable when gaming. To cater to gamers, Poco has given a dedicated Gaming Mode which is useful as it reduces the latency to 60ms while gaming. There is a notification sound when one enters and exits the gaming mode.

Although you can’t expect much in this price range, an additional AAC codec support would have made the TWS better. Otherwise, the overall audio quality of the Poco Pods is decent in comparison to many other TWS products at this price point.

The Poco Pods come with Environmental Noise Cancellation (ENC) that reduces the background noises to a certain extent and allows you to attend calls in noisy or windy environments. However, if you are cycling or running, the wind noise does affect the calling experience. Active Noise Cancellation is missed for sure.

Poco Pods Review: Battery

Poco Pods pack a 440mAh battery inside the case and a 34mAh battery inside each bud. The brand claims that on a single charge, the pods will offer a battery life of up to 30 hours with case and 5-6 hours of standalone playback time. During my usage of 5-6 hours daily (that included watching content on Netflix, listening to music, attending calls, and watching Instagram reels) the Pods easily lasted for an entire day by themselves and with the case, the battery lasted for 3-4 days.

Since the case doesn’t pair with the smartphone, place the buds inside the case to view the battery left in the case on the app. While charging the case takes about 95 minutes, a 10-minute charge to the Pods gives about 80 minutes of playback time, which is good. There is no USB Type-C cable inside the box, so you will have to buy it separately or use the one you have. Once discharged, the pods take 45 minutes to charge when placed inside the case.

Review Verdict: Should you buy Poco Pods?

Given the fact that it is the first TWS offering by Poco in India, the brand has tried to play safe in almost all departments. The Poco Pods have a decent design, long battery life, adequate features, and ok audio quality. Although one feels the absence of AAC codec, ANC, and a USB Cable in the box, otherwise Poco these are good earbuds at an affordable price point.

However, if Poco wants to establish itself as a strong player in the TWS market, then the brand will have to bring smart features like ANC, more codecs and more importantly work on the sound quality of their future TWS devices.