It would be hard to think of any sector in the consumer electronics market that’s more competitive and awash with products than the true wireless earphone market. There are hundreds of brands and models all vying for attention. Many of the brands on the market will be unfamiliar to consumers but that’s no reason to reject them as many offer great value for money and very good quality.
One of those brands that you’ve probably never heard of is Tronsmart and yet the company is celebrating its 8th anniversary this month which is a long time in this constantly evolving market. And, unlike some budget earphones hailing from China, Tronsmart uses the latest Qualcomm chipsets and offers a lot of bang for your buck. I’ve recently reviewed the Tronsmart Apollo Air+, a pair of ANC true wireless earbuds that have some very impressive specifications.
The Apollo Air+ earbuds use Qualcomm’s QCC3046 chipset which uses the latest Bluetooth 5.2 version and supports the aptX Adaptive and AAC codecs for higher audio quality. The aptX Adaptive codec includes a low-latency setting that makes the Apollo Air+ ideal for watching videos or movies as there’s none of the lag that can be experienced with earbuds without a low-latency codec. The drivers fitted in each earbud are 10mm diameter graphene-coated models that produce a bold sound with bags of bass, plenty of detail in the treble frequencies, plus a midrange that can inject energy into almost any genre of music.
The Apollo Air+ earbuds are fitted with six microphones that are used for picking up the user’s voice when making phone calls or issuing commands to a voice assistant. With cVc 8.0 technology, the user’s voice also benefits from noise-canceling circuitry that makes speech much clearer. The microphones are also used to sample ambient sounds which are then subtracted from the audio signal to cancel out the unwanted noise.
The ANC (active noise canceling) used in the Apollo Air+ is a hybrid type with feed forward and feed backwards noise canceling. This treats the noise in two different ways so it doesn’t affect or compress the music so much. I still maintain that ANC earbuds simply can’t be as effective at cutting noise in the way that over-the-ear headphones do, but the Apollo Air+ are fairly effective at the job of cutting continuous droning sounds like road noise or aircraft engines. There are three settings for the ANC function: Off, On and Ambient. The Ambient setting allows just enough outside sound to bleed through so the user can hear travel announcements or traffic when out running or cycling.
Unlike a lot of true wireless earbuds, Tronsmart has produced a smartphone app that can customize the earbuds in terms of EQ settings and even changing the way that the touch controls on each earbud work. For example, the controls can be used for pausing and playing music, skipping tracks and adjusting volume levels. Tapping either earbud three times cycles the ANC setting so that the user can easily move from ANC to Ambient mode and Off, all with a few taps.
The battery in each of the Apollo Air+ earbuds can play for five hours on a single charge and there are four charges in the storage case that the earbuds are housed in. The storage case is impressively small and feels very well built. Tronsmart provides five different sizes of silicone ear tips so there should be a pair of tips to fit all users. Getting the right size of tip is essential when using Hybrid ANC earbuds, so it’s important to take the time to try various sized tips to get the right fit. I can’t stress this strongly enough.
Finally, if ANC earbuds aren’t your thing, Tronsmart also produces the Apollo Air, a pair of true wireless earbuds with many of the attributes of the Apollo Air+ but at a lower price. So if you want a basic pair of true wireless earbuds that can give Apple’s basic AirPods a run for their money, take a look at those as well.
Verdict: The Tronsmart Apollo Air+ Hybrid ANC true wireless earbuds may not come from an instantly recognizable brand, but they sound good enough to give Apple’s AirPods Pro a run for their money at a lower price. The Apollo Air+ has a sound that’s big and bold with no trace of hiss. The ANC function is as effective as can be expected from a pair of earbuds. You may not have heard of Tronsmart before but don’t let that stop you from giving these brilliant earbuds a try before you buy those AirPods Pro you’ve been eyeing up. I think the Apollo Air+ is a serious competitor to the AirPods Pro and you’ll have enough money left over to subscribe to a music streaming service for a year.
Price and Availability: The Tronsmart Apollo Air+ true wireless earbuds are available now and are priced at $99.99 / €99.99 / £99.99. Tronsmart is currently running a competition to win some earbud goodness to celebrate the copmpany’s 8th birthday, so click here if you fancy your chances. The Tronsmart Apollo Air true wireless earbuds sell for $69.99 / £69.99 / €69.99.
More info: www.tronsmart.com
Features and Tech Specs:
- ANC type: 35dB full-frequency hybrid ANC
- Chipset: Qualcomm QCC3046
- Codecs: SBC, AAC, Qualcomm apt-X Adaptive
- Drivers: 10mm graphene-coated
- ANC modes: On, Off, Ambient
- Microphones: Six mics with cVc 8.0 technology
- Wireless transmission: TWS+ binaural synchronous technology.
- Bluetooth: Version 5.2
- Impedance: 32Ω
- Charging case battery: 20 hours of playtime
- Earbud battery: 5 hours playtime
- Charging: Wireless or USB-C
- Charging time: 2.5 hours
- Waterproof and dustproof rating: IP45
Updated 16 June 2021 to clarify hybrid ANC function.
