The market for true wireless earphones is on the rise in India as more and more companies are entering this segment. However, budget-friendly offerings from Realme and Xiaomi are highly popular among Indian consumers, even more so than premium brands like Apple, Samsung, etc. The popularity of budget TWS earbuds is prompting premium brands to diversify their lineups. And the latest Spoke TWS earbuds by Skullcandy is no exception. So, how does a pair of affordable TWS earphones from a premium brand actually fare in real-world usage? Well, let’s find out.
Design and Build
First off, design and build quality here is quite good for a pair of budget earbuds. Skullcandy has opted for a minimalist design with both the earbuds and the case. The company’s logo is embossed on the top of the case, while the all-black matte finish looks sharp. The case and the buds themselves are made of plastic, although the overall build quality is pretty solid, making them better than most affordable TWS earbuds.
The shape of the Spoke TWS earbuds are pretty unique, to say the least. They weren’t too small or too big, making them comfortable to wear over prolonged periods. At 57g each, the Spoke earbuds were relatively light. Additionally, the IPX4 rating means that they are can easily be used during jogs or intense workouts. I think the unique design of the buds is what distinguishes it from other affordable earbuds and that’s definitely deserving of praise.
The earbuds don’t have touch controls; the entire back part functions as a physical button with an LED indicator. The buttons can be used to perform several functions, like play and pause tracks, adjust volume, activate AI assistant, etc. The Skullcandy Spoke TWS earbuds feature various preset equaliser modes that can be changed depending on what you are listening too. You can change the mode by pressing the earbuds four times. I found accessing the functions using the buttons a little uncomfortable and would have preferred touch controls instead.
Battery Life
The Spoke TWS buds delivered around four hours of battery life on a single full charge. I found it to be average at around four hours, but while listening on full volumes, I got under three and a half hours. Additionally, the case can deliver little over two charge cycles, which attributes to little over 10 hours of battery life.
The buds magnetically attach to the inside of the case, which keeps the buds snugly in place. Speaking of the case, there are three status LEDs on the front of the case that shows how much it has been charged. On the back of the case, there’s a micro-USB port for charging. Overall, the battery life on the Spoke TWS buds was excellent and certainly lived up to the ‘all-day’ claims.
Performance
The earbuds are equipped with 6mm drivers with a frequency range of 20Hz to 20KHz and an impedance of 32ohms. When it comes to audio quality, the buds get sufficiently loud with no distortion on maximum volume. The silicon earplugs tend to isolate the noise, which is good considering there is no active noise cancellation on the Spoke TWS earphones. The Spoke earbuds tend to favour bass, which was quite pleasing while listening to trance music. But other genres also sound great. And although these aren’t the loudest earbuds, they strike a nice balance between deep bass and crisp treble, delivering excellent sound quality.
The Skullcandy Spoke earbuds feature a built-in microphone on each bud, which means you can use a single bud to answer calls or listen to music for that matter. Call quality was quite decent and worked well. I tested it during a couple of conference calls and had no issues with listening or talking to people on the other end.
Verdict
At Rs 2,999, the Skullcandy Spoke TWS are an excellent pair of affordable true wireless earbuds. What you get with the Spoke is good battery life, great sound quality, and top-notch build quality for a pretty reasonable price. If you want to buy a pair of budget TWS earbuds, then I would definitely recommend the Spoke TWS earbuds. It is safe to say that the Skullcandy Spoke might just be the best affordable TWS earbuds in India.
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