I fondly remember saving up my first paycheck as a full-fledged GadgetMatch team member in 2019 just to buy the first-gen AirPods.

It wasn’t about the hype — I just wanted earphones that wouldn’t tangle in my bag during my grueling commutes. Also, with smartphone brands steadily ditching the 3.5mm audio jack, it felt like the right time to go wireless.

Fast forward nearly six years, and the industry has evolved. What’s more surprising? Brands like Redmi (or Xiaomi) now offer ANC-equipped TWS earbuds for less than half the price of an AirPods Pro.

Enter the new Redmi Buds 6 Pro — and I’m here to put them to the test.

Non-existent heft

Upon unboxing the Redmi Buds 6 Pro, its heft (or lack thereof) totally surprised me.

It’s so light that I barely felt it right after holding the whole wearable (yes, even when the buds are already inside the case).

Putting it in all sorts of pockets gave me nothing but featherweight lightness.

To be specific, the whole combo only weighs at just 46.5 grams.

I am neither sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Obviously, the huge downside is when someone loses either the buds or the case (or both).

This also means one should stay vigilant at all times when using them out and about.

Double the purple

The Redmi Buds 6 Pro I have comes in this flashy Lavender Purple colorway.

Although purple isn’t in my list of color faves, it’s still a compelling change as most of the earbuds I receive are either in the AirPods-like white or a striking yet more scratch-attracting black coating.

And by that, the other colors of the Redmi Buds 6 Pro come in the usual bland offerings aforementioned: Glacier White and Space Black.

Aside for that shiny silver trimming on the buds’ sides, there are no other contrasting elements when you decide to get this device.

From the case all the way to the buds’ rubber tips, they are all in the same hue.

If there’s one thing I love about its overall aesthetics, it’s none other than the light strip on its case — and it isn’t there just for show.

It was a smart move of Redmi to include this as it serves as the primary battery level indicator of the case. And it’s not just a single light bar. It actually decreases based on the case’s battery percentage.

This is a very handy-dandy feature for someone like me. Now, I don’t always have to check the app just to see if the case has enough charge to juice up my depleted buds.

Fair with ‘Fast Pair’

Right upon powering on the Redmi Buds 6 Pro, most of my Android devices were able to detect it.

Funny enough, my colleague Luigi, complained how the device continuously pops-up on his Pixel phone when I tried pairing the buds to one of my devices. This just means how effective its Google Fast Pair feature is.

Upon detection, it has prompted me to install the Xiaomi Earbuds app — dedicated to all TWS earbuds under the Xiaomi and Redmi brand.

And just like the Xiaomi Buds 5 I’ve held and reviewed a while back, pairing the new Redmi Buds 6 Pro was a breeze.

Feelin’ the familiarity

As this wasn’t the first earbuds I got under Xiaomi’s ecosystem, breezing everything in the app wasn’t an issue.

I still get to see all the EQ presets, with the freedom to manually adjust each and every level and bandwidth.

More so, the ability to toggle between three different ANC modes — which I’ll talk about in a separate section shortly.

Gestures are also customizable for each bud without affecting one another.

Although unlike other “Pro” buds that rely on stem squeezes through its Force Touch sensors, the Redmi Buds 6 Pro has the generic touch-inclined stem taps.

Fortunately, the up and down gestures I found valuable on the Xiaomi Buds 5 (meant for volume adjustments) remain here.

Sufficing Sound

On paper, the Redmi Buds 6 Pro has a promising set of custom coaxial triple drivers: dual 6.7mm Piezoelectric ceramic drivers, single 11mm Dynamic driver with Titanium diaphragm.

It also promises Hi-Res Wireless Audio with LDAC. And upon inspecting the Redmi Buds 6 Pro via System Settings (not Xiaomi’s app), it was true to its words.

Even more, I double-checked my Xiaomi Buds 5 and the latter offers Qualcomm’s aptX out of the box.

Xiaomi Buds 5 | aptX Codec

As much as possible, we need to stay away from the very basic SBC. Redmi offering LDAC in such price range is already a blessing.

But, I’m not here to make your world even more confusing. These audio terms are just too much to digest for an ordinary user.

Xiaomi Buds 5 | 2024

Despite the hardware the Redmi Buds 6 Pro offers, my ears could still pinpoint the audio weaknesses it has compared to its closest Xiaomi rival.

The Xiaomi Buds 5 still delivers the better audio experience with enriched highs and mids, alongside a fuller, deeper bass.

I tried each and every preset for the fairest comparison possible. Let alone, playing lossless audio tracks in Apple Music.

My custom EQ preset is even synced across the board so there’s no setting to miss.

Safe to say, the Redmi Buds 6 Pro produces adequate audio quality for its price — but not totally surpassing what the Xiaomi Buds 5 offers from the get-go.

Seeking for ANC

As an introvert who wants to block as much noise as he could from the world around him, having ANC in such device and price is a true gift from the gods.

And what makes the Redmi Buds 6 Pro different from the base Redmi Buds 6 (and also the Xiaomi Buds 5 I’ve repeatedly mentioned) are the inclusion of rubber tips.

Upon first fit, the attached rubber tips were not holding up quite well in both of my ear canal. Thankfully, there are two more supplied tips in the box ranging between small and large.

@gadgetmatch

This is your sign to go for a #Redmi haul! 🫶🏼 @mj #foryou

♬ origineel geluid – 💌💌💌

But then, I can’t help myself but to further compare the ANC feature of the two earbuds.

As surprising as it sounds, there’s barely any stark difference — even with the right type of rubber tips already in my ears.

There’s also nothing grand when switching between “Light” and “Deep” levels of ANC.

We were given the notion that ANC should perform “better” when you wear it with silicone ear tips. However, that’s not the case here.

Redmi’s inclusion of rubber ear tips in the Buds 6 Pro doesn’t make it the better ANC performer.

Even with an open-ear design, Xiaomi’s Buds 5 was able to shut off as much as background noise as it could.

I could go beyond the recommended volume level just to shush all those noise but I’d rather not have a hearing impairment.

Also, wearing buds with rubber tips get discomforting over longer periods of time. Thus, my personal preference of picking open-ear buds any time of the day.

Long-Lasting

If there’s one thing I can truly brag about the Redmi Buds 6 Pro, it’s none other than its overall endurance.

During my long 2 hours of travel going to the Metro, the Redmi Buds 6 Pro was still able to save around 60% of charge.

Even when doing this write-up, I was able to play 5-hours worth of my K-Pop album playlist nonstop. Mind you, with ANC turned on.

I started using it from around 1:30PM with a full-charge and ended around 6PM. Result? There’s still 20% battery charge left.

The Xiaomi Buds 5 I have only lasts between 2.5 to 3 hours max.

This is also one reason why it’s so hard to kill its case just to show the gradience of its light strip battery bar — mentioned a while back.

Is the Redmi Buds 6 Pro your GadgetMatch?

With an SRP of just EUR 74.99 / PhP 3599 / SG$ 95 (around US$ 78), the Redmi Buds 6 Pro is shockingly cheap for what it offers.

I would Swipe Right if the Redmi Buds 6 Pro offered the better ANC experience. Unfortunately, the ANC it delivers is as much as you can only get on the Xiaomi Buds 5.

Having to experience the better sound offered wholly by its Xiaomi counterpart, I would still pick that as the better value. Not to mention, their price differences aren’t that huge to begin with.

If we were to compare, the Xiaomi Buds 5 in Italy has a discounted price of EUR 79.99 — which is just 5 Euros more than Redmi Buds 6 Pro’s EUR 74.99 price tag. In Singapore, there’s a SG$ 17 gap with its SG$ 112 SRP.

Meanwhile in the Philippines, it’s sold for PhP 4599. That PhP 1000 gap might look little or too much depending on who’s going to buy it but personally, that extra price is justifiable with THE better audio quality and all in all aesthetics. Also, the bonus built-in recorder.

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi Buds 5 review: Way greater than the AirPods 4?