New AirPods Pro rivals steal Apple's features for almost half the price

New AirPods Pro rivals steal Apple's features for almost half the price

It's a common problem: You want Apple's AirPods Pro, but don't want to drop $250. Fortunately, Huawei's Honor brand has created a set of truly wireless buds that look similar and boast active noise cancellation, while costing almost half of Apple's premium AirPods.

While there are plenty of fake AirPods out there (some good, some terrible), the Honor Magic Earbuds seem to be different: for one, Honor has implemented a triple-microphone system for active noise cancellation, specifically for voice calls designed to assist with voice calls.

Apple's standard AirPods, which cost $139, do not offer active noise cancellation; the AirPods Pro do, but add another $110 to the price. The Honor Magic Earbuds, however, will be available later this year and cost just €129. This equates to about $150. However, given Huawei's recent avoidance of the U.S. market, there is no guarantee that they will be available in North America.

That's a shame, because the Magic Earbuds appear to be attractive wireless earbuds in other ways as well: they tout Bluetooth 5.0, and Honor estimates that a charge lasts about 3.5 hours, and with the case in place, they can last a combined It is capable of 13 hours of playback.

Additionally, if you are using a smartphone with Huawei or Honor's EMUI interface, it will be even easier to use. In that case, Magic Earbuds can stop and resume playback based on whether or not they are worn in the ear. They are also made to pair easily with Huawei devices, hopefully eliminating the need to jump through all the hoops you normally do with Bluetooth-equipped headphones.

One feature the Magic Earbuds lack is true water resistance, though they should be able to handle sweat. They will be available in two colors, pearl white and robin egg blue, in April. At least if you live in Europe.

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