SoundPEATS Air4 Lite Wireless Earbuds (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review
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Well friends, we’re back to earbuds temp. What was once a relatively common occurrence in the GBAtemp reviews space, now being something we haven’t touched since May; and honestly a product that I think needs less than zero introduction. Earbuds are an everyday carry essential for so many, whether it be for work or personal pleasure. The wireless variety, specifically, seems to have become the standard since years past, and specifically wanting wireless was the situation I found myself in when SoundPEATS reached out with today's topic of review, the Air4 Lite earphones. Having needed a low key, wireless pair of earbuds for my new full time job, how well does SoundPEATS latest hold up or personal and professional use? Let’s take a look.
Tech Specs
The Earbuds Themselves
Cracking open the package, I was able to first get a good look at the design and build of the earbuds. The glossy black finish of the earbud charging case matches the more matte finish of the earbuds themselves perfectly. The case is lightweight and slim, with the buds themselves seeming to weigh nearly nothing at all. The SoundPEATS logo is beautifully emblazoned on both the earbud pair and the case itself, in a metal finish rose gold that beautifully matches the otherwise all black color scheme. Charging via USB-C, coming accompanied by only the instruction booklet and USB-C cord for charging, the included accessories are about as plain as you can get - in a good way. An indicator light on the front of the case signifies the battery health of your setup, and offers a method to monitor battery life via the changing light system that I’ve seen offered on plenty of other earbuds; green for up to half of the life back, yellow for 49-10%, and red for less than 10%. Overall, a fine package, and definitely above average for your standard budget earbuds.
Like most wireless earbuds, the Air4 Lite comes with a few built in features to try and assist your listening experience. The most interesting one to me was that SoundPEATS included multipoint connection in the earbuds here, a feature that directly addressed my personal issue of not wanting to have to disconnect the buds from my primary device to use them with my work computer. The connection is seamless, and allowed me to easily switch from music on my phone to audio editing on my computer; a feature far from unique to SoundPEATS, but that I fully welcome seeing here. Aside from that though, all other built in features are pretty standard; various tap-based touch controls on the side, game mode included, and even a bare bones app for your phone to monitor your earbud battery life, and change a few specific settings on the go. All good features to include, and those that should be fairly standard on most pairs of wireless earbuds, in my own opinion.
The Earbuds in Use
So now we come to the inarguable most important part of any earbud or headphone review, the sound test. With a 13mm dynamic driver, I was able to get plenty of detail on all the deeps, mids, and highs of the different frequencies, with no echo or tinny-sound that one may get from lesser quality buds. The LDAC codec caps your bit rate at 990 kbps, with a sample rate of 96 kHz, which was immediately noticeable in the quality of the listening experience. Six built-in microphones assured crystal clear call audio not just for me on the listening end, but for anyone I talked to on the receiving end. There’s no active noise canceling here, nor a transparent mode which may be a bummer for some, but is made up for by the half in-ear design, allowing easier ability to take in your surroundings while using the earbuds. In all? Nothing on the sound quality end that struck me as impressive, but far from poor.
As I alluded to in the intro, I picked up this review as I had a genuine need for new headphones that I could use at my new job, wanting to save some of my limited desk real-estate with a wireless pair for my desktop computer, and have something I could easily bring with when traveling for work with a laptop. I do have my everyday pair that I use with my phone, but I’m selfish and want to not have to switch off my bluetooth at work every day. Because of that, comfort is paramount for me, and something I was definitely hoping for out of the Air4 Lites. Luckily, I’ve been able to wear these for a full shift without issue, the half-in ear design and lightweight build being incredibly helpful on this end. Even the battery life of was able to sustain a full workday with minimal points of having to pop the buds back in their case. That said, before bringing these to work I tested them at home with some everyday house chores, and this is where I noticed a few issues; while the earbuds were fine for casual listening or while playing a game/watching a movie, any activity had me realizing just how insecure they were in my ears. From emptying the dishwasher to mowing the lawn, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was gonna lose one or both buds as I was using them. Now, to their credit; I did not ever have the experience of an earbud falling out while using them. But they sure felt like they were gonna, and that’s a direct result of the half-in ear design. As much as I praise that for the comfort aspect, it’s an inarguably less secure design when staying active, and that’s fully on display here.
Having gone through a couple weeks with these earbuds as my primary listening solution, I think a mixed bag is really the best way to describe the Air4 Lites; while I welcome the multipoint connection, the high sound quality, and the lightweight build, there’s nothing else here that really stands out or screams “must have” from these earbuds. Still, they hardly disappoint in any aspect, and fit my incredibly specific earbud needs pretty effortlessly. If you’re after a new set of buds, or are trying to shake up your listening habits, it would be hard to go wrong with these earbuds.
Verdict
- Multipoint Connection Included
- Excellent sound quality
- Lightweight, semi in-ear design for maximum comfort during long sessions
- Lightweight, semi in-ear design doesn't inspire much confidence in earbuds ability to stay in while active
- Phone app is relatively bare-bones
