Review: TWS i7S AirPod Clone

TWS i7S

$9.99
7.8

Sound Quality

7.0/10

Reliability

7.5/10

Design & Features

6.5/10

Battery Life

8.0/10

Price

10.0/10

Pros

  • Apple AirPod Look
  • Charging Case
  • Battery Life
  • Value

Cons

  • Complicated Pairing Process
  • Occasional disconnects
  • No Volume Control
  • Poor Mic Performance

The TWS i7 series is one of the most popular headphones on the market and for a good reason. This AirPod lookalike can be purchased at a fraction of the cost of apple’s flagship earbuds. We’ve been talking about these headphones for a while so Zapals sent us a pair to review.

The sleek look is without a doubt styled directly like the AirPod with a few noticeable differences. The i7S is noticeably larger and bulkier than the  AirPod. They also have flashing indicator lights which can be distracting from the discreet look the AirPod is famous for. This also means the charging case is slightly bigger taking up a little more pocket space than Apple’s offering. At a glance however, they are almost indistinguishable. While using them I had several people ask if I liked my AirPods. I guess these pass as the genuine article to the untrained eye.

Inside the box you’ll find a pair of earbuds, an instruction manual, charging case and a micro USB cable. There is no cable for charging the earbuds directly so do not lose the case. It’s your only way to recharge these puppies.

Features and Ease Of Use

The pairing process is definitely more difficult than AirPods. The 3 step process doesn’t always go as planned and may take a few attempts to get properly paired up with your bluetooth device. Once paired however the bluetooth 4.2 headphones provide fairly reliable performance. The normal 30ft (12m) range of bluetooth headphones apply but I found them to get increasingly buggy after 6 or 7 feet. Of course my home is filled with bluetooth devices which probably interfere with performance, but even compared to my other headphones I felt relatively tethered to my phone.

You’ll get a couple hours out of a charge and the case gives you a little more than a full recharge making these great for commuters and students. While earlier versions struggled to give a consistent run-time the i7S seems to have ironed this out. Likely due to the upgraded, low-power bluetooth 4.2 integration. I do have to say, I wish there were volume controls so that I could use the AirPods with my Amazon Fire TV. Using these with a phone or computer, there’s no issue as you control the volume from the device. If you’re using Kodi on a fire stick, you can control the volume with the remote. If you’re using these with anything else, you’re going to have your eardrums blasted out making them unusable.

OK for music, ideal for streaming video

The sound quality was surprisingly good for an off-brand earbud. While nowhere near the quality of Apple or Beats earbuds, they hold their own. Especially factoring in their price. I couldn’t buy wired earphones for under $10 that didn’t sound like a tin-can on a string. The bass is weak, which should be expected given the limited space for the drivers. Mids were warm and even and I noticed no serious distortion on higher frequencies. Overall a clean sound that’s suitable for music but really stands out for streaming video. Voices come across clear as a bell. Noise isolation is almost non existent so I wouldn’t recommend these for drowning out your annoying roommate or mowing the lawn. On a busy street or subway tho, they hold up just fine.

The volume doesn’t get terribly loud, again likely due to the smaller than average drivers. The mic makes phone calls practically useless. While the “noise cancelling” works, unfortunately it produces a terrible echo effect for the person on the other end.

Pickup one for yourself, pickup a dozen as gifts

Bottom line, these are decent, truly wireless earbuds and the price is fantastic. At only ten bucks, these little guys are borderline disposable and losing them doesn’t break the bank. They make great gifts for kids who, haven’t quite earned the responsibility of caring for $160 earphones. While you can find them for under $20 on Amazon, a pair from Zapals will only run you $9.99 with free shipping. Just keep in mind it’ll take a few weeks for them to arrive, so there is a trade-off.

 

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