TWS like many other tech newbies, when first arrived were reserved for the premium segment. But as time passed they managed to wiggle their way into the budget segment. Now you can get a decent pair of TWS under Rs. 5,000 easily. However, it is still not easy to find a good pair of TWS under a thousand Rupees from a relatively well-known brand. But even that budget bastion seems to have fallen. Poco, Xiaomi’s sister brand, recently launched its first-ever TWS, the Poco Pods at a price of Rs. 1,199. This itself was not too far from Rs. 1,000 but after a couple of months of its launch, these buds are available for Rs 999. Which qualifies them for being in this column – they are now under a thousand.
The Poco Pods come with a very no-nonsense design. The pebble-shaped case is mostly matte with a touch of gloss rounding off the sides of the case. There is a prominent Poco branding in yellow on the front and a USB Type-C port sits on the base. The plastic-built case might give away their inexpensive price tag, but the quality does not seem cheap in any way. Flip the case open and you find two tiny TWS nestled in the bright yellow insides of the case. This is particularly eye-catchy, although it might polarise opinions.
The Pods themselves are mostly black and come with a very routine ‘stem and bulb head’ design but Poco has added a layer of pop by making the tips of the buds bright yellow. The buds are very light at 3.6 grams each while the case weighs 41 grams. The buds also come with an IPX4 rating, making them sweat and splash proof, and therefore, good workout buddies. The Poco Pods are lightweight, come with some IP rating, seem like they will age well, thanks to the matte case which has not picked up many smudges and scratches since we got them two months ago. And with the bright yellow playing peek-a-boo at every stage– you get the yellow branding on the case, the yellow inside when you flip it open and the yellow tips when you take the buds out, you get a perfect blend of classy design with a hint of crazy.
A solid soldier
The Poco Pods bring a fair bit to the table. The TWS come with 12 mm drivers, Bluetooth 5.3, support for Google’s fast pair, fast charging support, USB Type-C, ENC, IPX 4 rating, and up to 30 hours playback time with the buds offering 5 hours of audio time on a single charge. Impressive, considering their price.
Most importantly, the Poco Pods perform quite well in the audio department. They are targeted at TWS newcomers, and if you are someone who likes their music with a little bit of thump, you will surely like the way the Poco Pods sound. The bass is quite pronounced which sometimes suppresses the mids and the highs but adds quite a bit of body to the audio. There is no app support for the buds, and no equaliser settings either, which means you cannot alter the sound profile of the buds even a little bit. If you are someone who likes balanced audio output with crystal clear audio, we would advise you to try another pair of TWS but those who like a bit of bass spice to their music (which many do) would love the Poco Pods.
The call quality of the Poco Pods is quite decent as well. The ENC does not work quite as well in very noisy conditions but thanks to the in-ear design of the buds, you do get very good padding which in turn results in good noise isolation. The Poco Pods also come with a gaming mode, for those obsessed with precision.
The TWS come with a 440 mAh battery which Poco claims can last up to 30 hours, with the buds themselves lasting up to five hours on a single charge, We found this to be largely true. Charging the case all the way can take about an hour and a half but thanks to fast charging support you get about 90 minutes of play time with just ten minutes of charging. That said, there is no charging cable in the box, although any USB Type-C cable will work just fine with it.
Most Read
Connectivity and gesture control:
Connecting the buds to a device is pretty easy. All you have to do is flip open the case near your device, and as soon as the LED light starts blinking on the buds or the base of the case, you can pop them out, select the buds from your device’s Bluetooth list and pair them. Once paired, the buds will then automatically connect to the paired device next time onwards.
Using the buds with gestures is quite easy too. You can double-tap on the stem of the buds to play/pause music or take or disconnect a call. You can also long press either bud to reject an incoming call and triple press to change the track. This works decently. There were times when the commands did not go down accurately but that often happens in the case of many TWS. Sooner or later, you get the hang of matters.
Bass for buck
Overall, the Poco Pods were a very good proposition even for the price they were launched at. The buds offer a lot of functionality and features that many TWS at slightly higher price tags do. But with a slashed price, they get into a zone of their own, especially if it is a zone that you prefer being packed with bass. These buds give you plenty of bass for not too many bucks.
