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Smartphone brands entering the accessory market is not new and many brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, OnePlus, Samsung and Apple have launched product lines in the true wireless audio segment. The latest to give it a shot is Poco, which operates in India as a sub-brand of Xiaomi and is a notable player in the mid-range smartphone segment. The company’s first audio product is clearly an entry-level one.
Price at Rs. 1,199 Launched in India, the Poco Pods true wireless earbuds aren’t overly complex or feature-rich, but they don’t break the bank either. This headset is about as basic as they come, but maybe that’s just what some people need. Find out if the Poco Pods is worth the price, and if it’s the best affordable true wireless headset you can buy right now.
The Poco Pods have a good fit in the ear, good sound isolation and a decent sized charging case
Poco Pods Design, Features and Specifications
The Poco Pods headset has what I’d consider a very generic look and feel (it looks a lot like the Redmi Buds 4 Active ), but that’s not a bad thing. The earbuds are lightweight and reasonably durable, with a snug in-ear fit and a stem design. The headset comes in a single black and yellow color option — Poco’s signature color scheme. If that wasn’t enough, the large Poco logo on the front of the all-black charging case makes the point clear enough.
The earbuds have touch-sensitive areas for controls, but the Poco Pods’ lack of app support means controls are fixed and uncustomizable. A double-tap gesture lets you answer calls or play and pause music, while a triple-tap on either side cancels the call or skips to the next track. You can’t skip to the previous track from the earbuds; you’ll need your paired smartphone for that.
A long press on both earbuds at the same time will enable or disable low-latency mode. There are a few other gestures intended to put the headset into forced pairing mode or factory reset the Poco Pods, but you can simply put the earbuds into pairing mode by disconnecting all other connected and paired devices. Overall, system functions are pretty simple and straightforward, as you’d expect from a true wireless headset that doesn’t have app support.
The charging case has a small indicator light at the bottom, next to the USB Type-C charging port. The fit of the earbuds is decent and the Poco Pods come with ambient noise cancellation, which promises better call performance. The sales package includes a total of three pairs of silicone eartips of different sizes, but there is no charging cable included in the box.
As mentioned, there is no app support on the Poco Pods, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call that a drawback on a headset at this price point. Thankfully, you do get the basics like USB Type-C charging, as well as the benefit of features like ambient noise cancellation and 60ms low latency for use while gaming.
The Poco Pods are available in just one color for now; black and yellow
The Poco Pods headset features 12mm dynamic drivers and uses Bluetooth 5.3 for connectivity, with only the SBC Bluetooth codec supported – a disappointing spec even at this price. Handily, both earbuds can be used independently if you prefer, with the other kept safely in the charging case and unaffected by the earbud’s stable connectivity during use.
Poco Pods Performance and Battery Life
I tend to keep my expectations moderate when it comes to affordable true wireless earbuds; you’re paying almost entirely for the form factor here, saving yourself the hassle of paying a premium for the “fluff,” so to speak. The Poco Pods largely deliver that straightforward true wireless experience, but the sound quality perhaps isn’t as good as it could have been, even given the affordable price point.
Detailed tuning might be too much to expect here, but the core of the Poco Pods’ shortcomings can be attributed to the limitations of the codec. The SBC codec doesn’t offer enough bandwidth for the earbuds to work with, and this shows in the sound quality. It can sound unrefined at times, though it doesn’t become unpleasant, even at high volumes. It’s listenable considering the price, and useful if you need earbuds to help you tune out your surroundings.
The Poco Pods earbuds are light and comfortable, with non-customizable touch controls
Starting with David Guetta’s Stay (Don’t Go Away), the audio initially sounded fine when the track itself wasn’t pushing too hard, but as the attack kicked in, the Poco Pods started to sound a little muffled. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it muddy or too harsh, and the sound could actually appeal to those who like to hear a bit more of the bass frequencies.
Certain genres and types of tracks are admittedly better suited to this kind of tuning and sound, with many of Croatia Squad’s clearly beat-driven tracks sounding quite pleasing on the Poco Pods. The progressive and fairly straightforward attack of Croatia Squad’s Make Your Move was perhaps the best example of how a niche (or genre, in this case) can be found to get the best out of even affordable wireless earbuds. The lack of detail in the track was apparent, but it matters less with certain tracks and genres such as this.
Call quality is acceptable and workable enough for both indoor and outdoor use; microphone performance is decent in quiet rooms, but suffers a little outdoors despite the presence of ENC. Low-latency mode didn’t seem to make much difference to audio latency when gaming on basic mobile games.
Battery life on the Poco Pods is decent, with the earbuds lasting around five hours on a single charge of the earbuds, and the charging case offering more than three full additional charges, for a total of around 22-23 hours of use per charge cycle, which is slightly lower than the claimed time of 30 hours. This is somewhat to be expected given the lack of features and codec support, but users will clearly find this good enough for practical all-day listening.
Pronunciation
The Poco Pods true wireless headset largely delivers what you’d expect from a headset in this price range — nothing more, nothing less. The earbuds are basic, but reasonably well set up for the kind of music most budget buyers will want to listen to. Don’t expect too much detail and use them for casual listening, especially when you’re on the go thanks to the decent passive noise cancellation. Battery life is decent, too.
There’s a lot of competition in this price point, but Poco’s first attempt in the true wireless audio space is a commendable effort. The only real downside may be the lack of AAC Bluetooth codec support, but all things considered, these are a worthwhile pair of earbuds if you’re on a really tight budget.
