full image - Repost: REVIEW: iKKO ActiveBuds – How innovative are “smart AI” True Wireless Earbuds? (from Reddit.com, REVIEW: iKKO ActiveBuds – How innovative are “smart AI” True Wireless Earbuds?)
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Introduction:As a tech- and audio aficionado, I’m kind of a sucker for new audio gear, especially when it comes to In-Ear headphones, Over-Ear headphones and in recent years many different true wireless headphones from all different kinds of brands (like Apple, Sennheiser, Sony, Denon, B&O, Master&Dynamic etc.).They’re all great and they have different strengths and weaknesses – some sound better than others, some have better ANC or call quality than others, some have longer battery life or fit better than others…but ultimately, everything kind of felt “same-y” to me. It feels like we are in a bit of a stagnation period when it comes to innovation in true wireless earbuds, even though it is still fairly recent tech.So, I was browsing around the web for something new to play with, just like I always do, and I suddenly stumbled across these “iKKO ActiveBuds” which looked interesting even though I had not really heard about the brand before. Also, they seemed pretty expensive at first but curiosity got the better of me and well, here they are – the iKKO “ActiveBuds”.So, what are they and what is so special about them? Well, at the first glance they are just another set of true wireless Bluetooth earbuds with a stem design and with Bluetooth 5.3, multipoint, a charging case, ANC and transparency modes, built in microphones, wireless charging capability, USB-C charging, yada yada yada. What directly intrigued me, however, was the bold claim from iKKO that these were the “World's First AI-Smart TWS Earphones with a vivid touchscreen and high-resolution sound.” As if that was not enough, they use marketing phrases like “10mm Silicon Crystal Ceramic Diaphragm” drivers or “AI-Smart Audio Genius”. Talking about high expectations!The term “AI” is everywhere these days and now seemingly even in true wireless earbuds. Well, okay then, I thought, and when they arrived at my doorstep, I was frankly kind of excited to check these out and decided to put my thoughts in this review.Unboxing and first look:https://ift.tt/bfrl1OR Quality/Fit/Case:The buds have a sleek matte black finish and a stem design. They only weigh 3.7g each, and are therefore very comfortable to wear. There are 7 tips provided in the foldable and printed cardboard package (3 silicone tips and 4 foam tips) so finding a good seal was easy for me. The buds remain in my ears securely and I wouldn’t mind using them in the gym at all! That said, they come in a bit of a bulky black case that has, however, a still relatively small footprint and just weighs in at approximately 75g or so. Due to that, it remains quite pocketable and is easy to carry around. It also has a pretty cool slider mechanism to open and reveal (and secure) the buds. It’s a very smooth yet firm slider and kind of addicting, really. It reminds me a bit of the first gen case of the Devialet “Gemini”, if you happen to know these. Pretty good stuff! The case charges via either USB-C or wireless charging which is to be expected in 2024. Build quality, while all plastic, is good on both the case and the buds themselves.Display:Probably the best thing about the case and kind of the first special feature of the ActiveBuds would be the 1.8” sharp and vivid AMOLED touch display on the top of the case as well as a kind of accompanying touch bar located right next to the display which is handy for scrolling lists or popping down controls and settings e.g. You might say, well, the still fairly recent “JBL Tour Pro 2” also came with a touch display on their case, which is true, but not only is iKKo’s display bigger, much sharper and brighter (even outdoor visibility is quite good due to 500nits brightness) but it also offers much more functionality. Colors pop on the screen and pixel density is excellent (326ppi) It feels fluid and responsive. Oh, they also include three thin screen protectors in the box which is a nice touch.https://ift.tt/ziG2FS0 second great thing about the case is that one the left side there is a sim card slot built in which allows it to work as a standalone device on the go that supports not only Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint, but also 4G networking for streaming as well as sending messages or even taking phone calls. Essentially, the ActiveBuds are a pair of true wireless earbuds in a case and in a form factor that is a compact and lightweight combination of a budget Android phone and a little wireless DAP, really. The Bluetooth connection while in range has been stable for me. I felt like the range itself, however, was a bit shorter than what I have been used to from other TWS. Switching between devices (here: an iPhone, a MacBook and iKKO’s case) worked pretty seamless, though.The spec sheet kind of implies that as well:Quad-core 1.4GHz processor, AMOLED touchscreen (326ppi, 500nits), 32GB internal storage, Wi-Fi and a sim card slot with 4G support, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS + BDS functionality, six microphones in the buds as well as one microphone in the case and a 6-axis motion sensor. Battery life is stated to be up to 7.5 hours with ANC + an additional 30 hours with the case. It even runs its own proprietary operating system which they call “Earsync OS” (which is based on Android, though).https://preview.redd.it/401ybujxgkbd1.jpg?width=1704&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f541a2cae13a1987d8a36a7b562ea6a96e1adc9fhttps://preview.redd.it/hqirgvjxgkbd1.jpg?width=1164&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a7541b855629f0e80d38f696e45373b246efd8e5Let’s say you want to be, well, active, on the go or in the gym but don’t want to take your big smartphone with you or you don’t want or don’t have a smartwatch that supports mobile data usage, you can take the ActiveBuds with you and it theoretically could be the only gadget you need for your enjoying your music while out and about which can be pretty neat!Storage/Data Transfer:https://ift.tt/Zj71L4T internal 32GB storage for local files is sadly not expandable but should still be enough given the fact that streaming is available on its own. You can transfer files by connecting the case with the included USB-C cable to your laptop or computer. It should be mentioned, though, that windows machines directly recognize the case as an external storage device while it is a bit more difficult on a Mac computer. Since I use an Apple MacBook Pro, I had to install a third-party software on my Mac in order to access the storage and in order to be able to transfer music files (I used a free software called “OpenMTP” but there are others as well). Generally speaking, iKKO (so far) seems to support Android and windows devices more than iOS or MacOS devices.Apps/Games:Anyway, there are several apps and even a couple of games available for the ActiveBuds which can be installed from so-called internal “iKKO Store” but the selection is indeed very limited as of today. At least, everything is free there! However, the company promises a “growing app library with regular updates” as well as “frequent OTA updates for system and earphones” but ultimately, it remains to be seen whether this will actually the case of course.On a more positive note, there are quite a couple of popular and well-known apps available like “Spotify”; “Apple Music”, “Tidal”, “Audible”, “Zoom”, “Pomodoro” amongst a few others. The games include titles like “Ski Safari 2”, “Subway Surfer” or “Gold Miner”. iKKO also provides an in-house “iKKO Music” app to play your local files with as well as basic standard “phone-like” apps like a messaging app (for SMS), a phone app to take and receive calls, a calculator, a clock app for alarms, a settings app etc. The total number of software installed on my system right now is a “whopping” 25, some of which are more useful than others, naturally.https://ift.tt/FQV07lR, I have mainly used Spotify, the iKKO Music app, various settings as well as the occasional game for testing and curiosity purposes. I have also made phone calls and written a couple of messages which has all worked reasonably well. I mean, honestly, a 1.8” touchscreen is usually not very inviting to type, play or do a lot of other things on – and this one is no exception here. It is nice to have and it looks really good but it often feels just like kind of a cool extra feature to have more than a necessity. It can literally be quite challenging to navigate around a full-fledged Spotify app, select your music and whatnot on a screen this size, trust me!Here, the iKKO display is compared to the display of an Apple Watch series 8:https://ift.tt/gFeqSpb, yeah. If all of this section may sound a bit underwhelming, it is because it kind of is, frankly. Few apps are actually useful and most people would probably simply take their phones or watches with them anyways. It is still quite cool tech of course but it is not entirely convincing for me. It also feels a bit unpolished at times with a couple of small bugs here and there that still needs to be addressed in the future, hopefully.AI Features:However, there is still this “AI” elephant in this room. So, what about that? iKKO seems to advertise the ActiveBuds quite aggressively with regard to their “smart” and “AI” capabilities, as has been mentioned in the beginning here. At the core of it all, there is a ChatGPT-4o and ChatGPT-Dan voice assistant built in and prominently placed at the home screen all the time. It is powered by OpenAI and the ZenoV Model. It can be summoned by either a long press on the home screen or via a triple tap on the left earbud.https://ift.tt/vuzlwU5, you have ChatGPT everywhere you go and almost just one touch away. We all know ChatGPT by now and it can indeed be incredibly useful depending on what you intend to do with it or use it for. It works well but sometimes takes the odd second or two before it processes and answers your questions but once it is there, it really works and it is quite amazing how almost “lifelike” conversations can be had with it. Given the fact that a triple tap on the other bud, the right one, triggers your regular smart assistant, like Siri e.g., it feels quite powerful to have both options everywhere you go and all the time.https://ift.tt/CeXDK48, there is more. There is another AI based app called “iKKO SpeakEasy” integrated that is basically a two-way and real time interpretation solution for up to 45 Languages. There are three different modes: “Quick-mode”, “Duo-mode” and “Live-mode”. It is quite advanced tech wizardry, really. You can share single buds with other people who don’t talk your own language and have a live interpreter with you, in the buds and on the screen. You can watch movies in a language you don’t speak and have it translated for you on screen. You can speak into the microphone and dictate whatever you want and have a highly proficient and 98% accurate translation within seconds in almost every language imaginable! I assume stuff like that can be quite the game changer for many people in real life situations. Moreover, you can record speech-to-text voice memos with also close to 100% accuracy. Whether or not all of this can be reasons for you to buy the ActiveBuds, I don’t know, but there is no denying that AI has already come quite a long way and can be extremely useful and impressive at the same time. It is now in our earbuds for crying out loud!Sound Quality:But these are still true wireless earbuds first and foremost, right? Well, yeah, thanks for reminding me. Soo, do they actually sound any good? Let’s start with they are not bad. I would describe them as decent. They are v-shaped, have a solid and thumping bass foundation, slightly hollow mids and they can sometimes be a bit harsh and sibilant in the treble depending on the source and the recording. Timbre can from time to time be described as slightly metallic and unnatural sounding as well. The ActiveBuds are definitely fairly clean sounding, though. That said, things got a bit better with tip rolling for me. While the provided stock tips are fine, I guess, I could slightly tame the harshness and made the mids a bit less hollow with third party tips (I ended up with the Divinius Velvet tips, btw.) It was sadly not a permanent solution, though, as the buds only fitted inside their charging case with the stock tips.https://ift.tt/kVaO5JD that as it may, I wouldn’t honestly recommend the ActiveBuds for their sound quality alone, especially not considering their quite high price point of roughly 300€ here in Germany. The ActiveBuds are no “Sennheiser MTW4”, no “Denon PerL Pro” and no “B&O Beoplay EX” either.https://ift.tt/MC9DgFV have played music from the case itself using local files, I have streamed music via Spotify from the case, I have paired the ActiveBuds with my iPhone and my MacBook Pro using Apple Music and no matter the source, they have just sounded pretty average to me. Maybe ever so slightly better than average but there is no “Hi-Fi Sound” or “AI-Smart Audio Genius” to be found here. At least not for me. Now, remember that I might be harder to please than the average music consumer, given that I have owned, used and auditioned more than 100 different headphones in my life, so your mileage may vary of course. If you are okay with the stock sound, which I guess enough people will be, then they sound absolutely fine for every day usage.When I tried to connect the ActiveBuds to my BTD600 dongle from Sennheiser to check whether iKKO gave them codecs like AptX HD or AptX Adaptive, I found out that this is likely not the case. The LED lights on the dongle remained white whereas they would have turned purple otherwise. So, my guess is that the ActiveBuds might be SBC and AAC only buds but it is just an educated guess so far. There is no official information with regard to the supported codecs that I have found yet but I have asked iKKO about it, so let’s see. For now, though, there is a question mark behind the “High-Resolution Audio Across Devices” claim from the manufacturer’s website!https://ift.tt/ayrC7E1 you play files locally on the device, there are a couple of baked-in EQ presets to be found like “iKKO”, “Electro”, “Folk”, “Jazz”, “Pop”, “Rock” etc. The usual suspects. With the exception of maybe the “Rock” preset which is at least somewhat decent and usable, all the others are horribly tuned and “amplified” sound presets that sound like you are listening through wet cloths attached to your ears while standing in a large empty hallway or in an underground tunnel system. Tough to describe but… truly bad, honestly. Not sure what the point of these is and who they were made for. There is also a 10-band (!) user customizable EQ in the app which looks nice but is…sadly equally as forgettable. I want to applaud iKKO for trying to implement something like that (many manufacturers still don’t!) but IF you decide do it, make it worth it for the customer! Otherwise, you can also leave it out entirely.What remains in the sound department are decently sounding TWS buds in their stock EQ and … that’s kind of it. Things could have been worse but also much better here! At least they support single bud usage and they also do get plenty loud which is always a plus on wireless Bluetooth sets. Besides, they do sound pretty decent for videos/podcasts or audiobooks, which is good. Latency was a non-issue for me and is officially claimed to be just 40ms. However, they don’t say whether that’s just in the “gaming mode” setting (which is highly likely, though).ANC/Transparency Mode:The ActiveBuds have a decent ANC and transparency mode performance. The ANC (which has only one mode) blocks out deeper frequencies quite effectively but is not as impressive when it comes to voices. Still quite respectable and very useable nonetheless. When no music is playing, there is an audible hiss to be heard when using the active noise cancellation, though. The same can be said about the slightly above average transparency mode, I might add. It amplifies your surroundings well, so that even conversations can easily be held while transparency mode is on. iKKO has done a solid job for both modes. Nothing class-leading by any stretch of the imagination but still pretty solid all around. Passive isolation is below average by design as the buds don’t go deep into your ear canal which is comfortable but obviously not very isolating due to a shallower insertion and fit (a bit like AirPods Pro without ANC activated).Call Quality:https://ift.tt/049uqCV to complain here. Quite an unexpectedly nice surprise. Due to the 6 integrated microphones in the buds, phone calls sound very good on both sides several people told me when I was as using the ActiveBuds and I was able to understand the people on the other side with zero issues as well. Loud and clear and supported by ENC (Environmental Noise Cancellation). So, yeah, these can be used for calls for sure!(Touch-) Controls:A bit hit and miss again when it comes to how to operate this product. As we have learned, a lot of things can be controlled directly on the touchscreen on the case. The display responds and reacts quite fast and, despite its small size, all of this mostly works fine. However, there are many little nuisances, most of which could possibly be fixed in future firmware updates but still.To only name two things here: You cannot wake up the screen by tapping on it. You have to press the power button on the side to do so. Also, there are no physical buttons for volume controls, or play/pause on the case. You have to swipe down on the display / the touch bar to have access to these settings.When it comes to controls on the buds directly, there are quite some finger tapping options like play/pause, switching between ANC on/off and transparency mode, summon ChatGPT, activating the smart assistant of your device, entering pairing mode and toggling “game mode/ low latency mode” on and off. Unfortunately, there are no taps or swipes to control the volume or to skip or reverse tracks which is very incomprehensible given that we all likely use that all the time. There are no swipes or squeezes (like on Apple AirPods Pro 2 e.g.) at all. You can only tap the buds and tapping also is very/overly sensitive. I hear that little beep sound that goes along each tap all the time when simply inserting or readjusting the buds in my ears. At least, there is no “one tap” feature/gesture here, which I would usually not describe as a positive to say but here, it would otherwise potentially be quite infuriating. Furthermore, there are no options for the user to change the standard tap controls that I know of and the ActiveBuds don’t support automatic play/pause via wear detection either. The music just keeps playing until you manually stop it when you take one or both earbuds out of your ear(s). If they fix a couple of these issues later down the road, things could still be quite good, actually. For now, though, too many “standard” features are missing for me, especially with regard to what the competition at this price level is able to offer.Price/Performance ratio and final verdict:So, here we are then. At the end of what was my quite lengthy take on the iKKO “ActiveBuds”. Ultimately, they are pretty solid true wireless earbuds with probably too many bells and whistles for their own good. The AI tech presented here is pretty impressive for such a small form factor, the display is excellent and build quality is good, too (I just love that slider mechanism!) The buds are very comfortable in the ears, are lightweight and have a good fit and are quite stylish, in my opinion. Battery life is above average and the ActiveBuds can do phone calls very well! There really is a lot to like here, isn’t it?Well, yes and no. Sound quality is just average to decent. The EQ modes are just bad. The display feels a bit too small at times. There are not many (useful) apps available. The OS still feels like it is beta software in development from time to time. ANC mode faintly hisses (but is still quite effective). Crucial features that are a given in 2024 are missing (wear detection, volume control, track skipping etc.).And finally, the ActiveBuds are not cheap by any means! 310€ at the time of this review makes them more expensive than the AirPods Pro 2, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4, the Denon PerL Pro, the Sony WF-1000 XM5 as well as your Boses and many of the other top tier offerings. That’s a tough sell for a brand like iKKO if you ask me. And it’s not that I think these are too expensive per se, far from it actually! None of the mentioned have an AMOLED touch screen, offer Wi-Fi, 4G, AI features, streaming capabilities, an app store…you name it. They are all just plain true wireless earbuds. But they are kind of all excellent ones with top notch sound quality, great ANC, call quality and battery life. They are all very convenient to use with intuitive control schemes, they offer great companion apps for your smartphone with a lot of extra (and useful) functionality etc. And that’s why they are so popular and still sell like hot cakes. You simply know what you can expect and why you are paying premium prices.Also, many people likely just want excellent and pocketable sound and that’s it. For everything else, they use their smartphones or maybe even watches. I’m not sure the ActiveBuds are here to change that. Well, I’m not sure they even want to change that, honestly. But what exactly is it that they want to be? Buds? The name “ActiveBuds” definitely seems to imply that. A kind of limited budget phone? A small DAP? All of that in one device? Who exactly is the target customer meant to be?I feel like this is a product that can be a standalone device but most people, including me, will just end up using it as just another set of true wireless buds that happen to come with a great display and ChatGPT! Quite likely, the ActiveBuds will still be mostly connected to people’s phones, computers or tablets, really.Look, will you really use ChatGPT that frequently? Without your phone? How often do you intend to use the ActiveBuds as a standalone device and leave everything else at home? Are you willing to pay 300+ on just decent sound quality, decent ANC and the uncertainty of what the future will bring to the table for the ActiveBuds? You likely might, I mean why not? But questions like these, or better said the answers to these questions, will decide whether or not the ActiveBuds can be successful in the end. There is a lot of potential here due to all the AI stuff alone and they sometimes shine and do feel quite “revolutionary” immediately. And when they do, these moments are great! I hope that iKKO are going to actively (pun intended) support the ActiveBuds with more firmware and software updates and other improvements like new features so that they can ultimately live up to their lofty marketing promises. I hope they do; I really do!For everyone else: Either pay full price for (finally) something new and exciting in the true wireless world, or just wait for a good discount at some point down the road. For, say, 199€ I would still recommend the ActiveBuds despite all my criticism and my doubts. That’s if you are not an audiophile person. And if you love slider mechanisms and new tech gadgets 3.5 out of 5 stars.iKKO ActiveBuds – Review – Key Facts and Takeaways:Pros:Compact slider case with a good quality AMOLED touch display (326ppi, 500nits)Good build quality --> Slider mechanism works smoothly and firmComfortable and lightweight buds (just 3.7g each) + stable fit with 7 different ear tips (3 x silicone and 4 x foam)Sleek and stylish design (Jet black + soft pink as colour options)Support for Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and more apps + local on device filesCharges via USB-C and via wireless charging7.5 hours battery life (buds) + up to 30 hours (including the case)Wi-Fi, 4G + Bluetooth 5.3 with multipointSingle bud usageSim card support makes it work as a standalone device!Chat GPT 4o + Dan included and always ready to useGood ANC + transparency modesVery good call quality on both sides of the call (6 + 1 microphones + ENC for calls)On device firmware/software updatesQuite cool-ish AI features like on the fly translation and voice to text memosSupport for various languages (up to 45!)A couple of small games are also availableNeutral:Decent sound quality (good bass, average/hollow mids and a bit harsh in the treble), a slight metallic timbre to the soundUnclear codec situationTouch screen could even be a bit more responsive sometimes1.8” touchscreen is (too) small for some tasksTaking the buds out of the case needs a bit of practice at first (finger roll to the side)ANC mode, while good, has a hiss/white noise to itBluetooth connection is stable but range could be betterAndroid app support but lacking a good iOS appLocal file transfer on a Mac needs a third-party app (like “OpenMTP”)The buds are only IPX4 certified (the case has no IP-rating)Cons:The software / firmware experience doesn’t feel very polished yet needs more software/firmware updatesEQ presets are neither well-tuned nor useful10-band EQ is pretty useless and doesn’t sound goodNo automatic play/pause (wear detection) on the budsNo volume control or track skipping on the budsNot many apps available due to the proprietary “Earsync OS”Internal 32GB memory is not expandablePrice - The ActiveBuds are pretty expensiveYou can get more information about the ActiveBuds here:https://ift.tt/MmlBTY4: Thank you @ iKKO Audio for making this review happen!
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