The world of premium wireless headphones is dominated by Apple and Samsung, but Xiaomi doesn't want to back down and their latest weapon is the Buds 3T Pro. Xiaomi's latest active noise canceling headphones are set to compete with the AirPods Pro and Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro and be a direct successor to last year's Xiaomi Flipbuds Pro.
You get premium features like ANC, wireless charging, head tracking, multi-point pairing, and a sleek matte design. How good are they and should they be considered as your next pair of headphones?
Design
Xiaomi Buds 3T Pro are wireless in-ear headphones, but they have their own special look. The earphones have a predominantly matte finish that is pleasant to the touch and well protected from fingerprints. You also get glossy pieces that cover the stems. The entire body has the same matte finish, which improves grip and is less prone to scratches.
Our test unit is in Carbon Black, which is a dark blue tint and changes color. The earbuds sit upright in the case and Xiaomi has made them particularly light: Each earbud weighs 4.9 grams, while the case and earbuds weigh 51 grams.
The lightweight profile and ergonomic design of the Buds 3T Pro is a key selling point as it is one of the most comfortable headphones I have tested in a while. I was able to listen to several hour long listening sessions without feeling any strain on my ears, which can't be said for any other pair of headphones I've tested.
Playback and ANC modes on the headphones are controlled by pressure-sensitive sensors located at the bottom of the stems. Here you need to squeeze the rods instead of the one-touch touch controls seen on other headphone models. I'm personally a fan of the latter type of controls, but squeezing works just fine too. However, there is no way to control the playback volume, which is not ideal.
The case offers a premium build with a solid click when the lid closes. The lid itself can hold the entire body open, which is a well-established hallmark of premium headphones. The case measures 65 x 48 x 24mm and fits comfortably into the small pockets of most jeans. It has a USB-C charging port and a pairing button on the bottom, and it also supports wireless recharge.
The entire package is IP55 dust and water resistant. You get three microphones on each earcup, with one reserved for voice pickup and the other two for noise cancellation. The retail package includes replacement small, medium, and large ear pads, as well as a USB Type-C charging cable.
Functions
Xiaomi's Buds 3T Pro are positioned in the premium segment, and their ANC claims to block out up to 40 dB of noise around you. The earbuds do manage to block out some of the lighter noises, but that's nowhere near the class-leading Sony WF-1000XM4 and Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro. Noise canceling is soft to say the least, and having strong wind around you will quickly render this feature useless, especially if you're on a phone call. Turning on the noise canceling mode results in the instantaneous “underwater” hiss that is typically seen in lower end headphones.
The headphones also support LHDC 4.0 (Low Latency High Definition Audio Codec), which can achieve data rates up to 900 kbps if your phone also supports this codec. Pairing the Buds 3T Pro is easy: You open your device's Bluetooth menu and look for headphones with the lid open by holding the pairing button for a few seconds.
Xiaomi's new phones take advantage of a built-in headphone app with controls to switch between transparency and noise canceling modes, as well as remapping gesture controls and battery status indicators for the headphones and their case. I've said it in the past and I'm saying it again - it's time for Xiaomi to release a companion app for non-Xiaomi phones.
The Buds 3T Pro come with Bluetooth 5.2 and Xiaomi claims that their connection can be maintained up to 10 meters away. They support SBC and AAC codecs, as well as multi-device connection with two Android, iOS or Windows devices at the same time. This feature worked reasonably well when connected to a phone and laptop, with audio switching between the two devices taking a few seconds.
Another standard feature supported by almost all recent headphones is in-ear detection, which pauses playback as soon as you take the headphones out of your ears, and it works flawlessly here. Xiaomi also boasts head tracking and spatial audio features, although these only work on a select few recent Xiaomi phones and are more about gimmicks than actual features.
Kutch