Finding it difficult to concentrate while working from home? The make-shift home office can often be improved with a decent pair of noise cancelling headphones to help you drown out any distracting noises.
One new contender in the world of noise-cancelling is HONOR with its debut set of headphones, the true wireless Magic Earbuds.
There are many options to choose from in the bluetooth earphone industry, including the incredibly popular Apple AirPods Pro, the Samsung Galaxy Buds, Enacfire E18 Plus and Bose SoundSport. They all promise high quality audio, strong connection, a comfortable fit and long battery life.
HONOR has launched its debut set of wireless ANC headphones, the Magic Earbuds
So we tested the the true wireless HONOR Magic Earbuds, which cost £89.99, to see if they stand out from the pack.
Built with Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Technology, triple-microphone noise reduction and a large dynamic driver, these wireless earphones are designed to remove noise from your surroundings so you can enjoy listening to your favourite music, streaming a film or taking a call without any noise distractions.
Whether you’re trying to work from home or you’re looking for the earbuds to keep you motivated during your daily jog or workout, the HONOR earbuds could be a great choice.
So how do Magic Earbuds perform, are they worth purchasing and do they stand out as a worthy Apple AirPods alternative? I’ve been wearing them this past week to find out.
Honor Magic Earbuds release date and price
The Magic Earbuds were unveiled on HONOR’s newly launched website hihonor.com on 19 May 2020 alongside a great selection of limited time deals on the brand’s wearables, laptops and smartphones.
The Magic Earbuds are also available to purchase on Amazon and John Lewis. They come in two different colours – Pearl White and Robin Egg Blue.
The HONOR Magic Earbuds’ ANC technology means you can enjoy listening to music, streaming a film or taking a call without significant noise distractions
Honor Magic Earbuds design
Like many headphone manufacturers, HONOR has drawn inspiration from Apple’s AirPods and Air Pods Pro. Each ear bud has a sizeable stem and the silicone tips offer in-ear comfort and noise isolation.
Weighing approximately 5.4g per earbud and each measuring 41.8 x 23.7 x 19.8mm, the HONOR Magic Earbuds are slightly heavier and larger than Apple AirPods, but I personally didn’t find this to be an issue.
The ergonomically designed earbuds come with three different sizes of ear tips to stay stable in your ears. I found the silicon tips already on the Magic Earbuds too big for my own ears, causing them to slip out when exercising. But a quick change for a smaller sized pair rectified the issue, offering a very secure and comfortable in-ear design.
HONOR say the in-ear design brings additional passive noise cancellation and quieter environment for music listening. Not everyone is a fan of in-ear designs but I find this style of earphone more comfortable and able to drown sound out more efficiently.
To play and resume songs, you simply need to double tap the left or right earbud. You can also set up a ‘skip song’ function, but I am still yet to figure out how to do this without an HONOR phone.
The HONOR Magic Earbuds Dual-Mic Active Noise Cancellation can achieve up to 32dB ANC
HONOR Magic Earbuds Sound Quality
HONOR earbuds are crafted with a customised driver, which promises to deliver a balanced audio with deep bass, clear alto, bright treble and rich details.
I like to listen to video game music while working and dance music during a workout. I found the sound quality for these types of music satisfying, but if you prefer bass with more punch, these might not be the earbuds for you.
Honor Magic Earbuds Compatibility
The earphones are compatible with HONOR smartphones and can also connect to iPhone, Samsung and other Smartphones and laptops via Bluetooth.
My earbuds did not come with an instruction manual inside the box, so I had to search online how to connect to my iPhone, which was easy enough once I figured out I had to press the button at the back to make the earbuds discoverable on my iPhone.
If you own an HONOR phone, connecting is much easier. Simply place it near your smartphone and open the charging case. The pairing window will pop-up on your smartphone screen. Simply tap to connect.
Honor Magic Earbuds Active Noise Cancelling technology
The HONOR Magic Earbuds Dual-Mic Active Noise Cancellation can achieve up to 32dB active noise cancellation. The ANC technology generates equal anti-noise to cancel the ambient noise detected by the outward-facing mic. The inward-facing mic works to adjust the equal anti-noise further by cancelling ambient noise left in your ears.
HONOR’s ANC tech worked effectively when I was listening to music indoors and I definitely could not hear noises such as people talking or outdoor noise. However, I could still hear some external noise when I was exercising outside.
The magic earbuds also feature Triple-Mic Call Noise Reduction, which means each earbud has two outward-facing mics to pick up your voice accurately and reduce ambient noise with beamforming technology. The third inward-facing microphone will pick up pure voice conducted via your inner ear canal to further enhance your call quality.
I tested the earbuds by making a quick call and found the call quality very clear, but I had to turn the volume up more than I normally would to reduce ambient noise such as other people talking around me.
To activate or turn off the ANC, you have to long-press the left or right ear bud.
The HONOR Magic Earbuds’ battery life is approximately 12 hours with ANC on and 14.5 hours with ANC turned off
HONOR Magic Earbuds battery life
HONOR products tend to have impressively long battery life. These earphones come equipped with low-consumption Bluetooth technology (5.0.). On a single charge, this gives you around three hours of continuous music with ANC on and 3.5 hours with ANC off, or two hours of voice calls with ANC on and two and a half hours of calls with ANC turned off.
While that doesn’t seem long, the slimline quick charging case increases the total battery life to approximately 12 hours of battery life with ANC on and 14.5 hours of battery life with ANC turned off. This unfortunately is not as impressive as competitors’ battery life, such as Sennheiser Momentum‘s 28 hours of playback, and instead is about the same battery life as Enacfire’s E18 Plus.
Exercising with the Honor Magic Earbuds
These headphones are IP54 rated daily water and sweat resistant which means you can enjoy music freely during workouts or on rainy days.
The Magic Earbuds only budged slightly while jogging but still felt secure. I probably wouldn’t wear them during a more intense workout.
Final verdict
HONOR Magic Earbuds certainly deliver a comfortable fit, decent sound quality and efficient active noise cancelling capabilities. For less than £100, they are probably worth picking up for an affordable pair of true wireless earbuds to easily pop in while working from home.
However, if you’re looking for longer battery life or more bass for your buck, you might want to check out our other recommendations in our best headphones list here.
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