Belkin announced the Soundform Freedom True Wireless Earbuds at CES’s Pepcom today. They combine premium design with solid features. Apple users will appreciate that the latest product in Belkin’s Soundform lineup doesn’t just mimic the AirPods design, but also supports Apple’s Find My network.
TWS Earbuds You Won’t Want to Lose
The Soundform Freedom True Wireless Earbuds will last you for up to eight hours per charge. The charging case will add 20 more hours of battery life.
The stylish case with magnetic closure supports Qi wireless charging, but also has a USB-C charging port. Both the case and the earbuds take 90 minutes to fully charge. If you need to top up your Freedom TWS Earbuds in a pinch, you can get two hours of playback with only 15 minutes of charging.
The earphones are sweat and splash resistant, which earned them an IPX5 rating.
Should you misplace your earphones, you can use Apple’s Find My network to locate them. Unfortunately, nothing similar is available for Android users.
We can’t say we’re impressed with the specs. However, they look incredibly compact, which would explain the average battery life. To the Belkin earbuds’ credit, the Apple AirPods only last for five hours or 24 hours total. If you’re looking for ultra light and compact earphones that don’t break the bank, these new Belkins might be it.
How Do Soundform Freedom TWS Earbuds Sound?
Belkin announced that the Soundform Freedom TWS Earbuds feature custom-built drivers. They didn’t say anything about audio codecs, though we expect support for AAC.
While they took inspiration from Apple’s stem-like earbud design, the Soundform Freedom True Wireless Earbuds come with flexible ear tips. Creating a tight seal between the earphones and your ears improves noise isolation and thus decreases distracting noise. Contrary to other reports, the Soundform Freedom TWS Earbuds don’t feature active noise-cancelling.
A highlight of the Soundform Freedom TWS Earbuds should be the call quality, which is powered by Qualcomm’s cVc 8.0 environmental noise cancellation technology. When you’re on a Zoom or phone call, cVc reduces noise in your surrounding and the person you’re talking to will hear your voice clearly.
Belkin Soundform Freedom TWS Earbuds Availability
The Belkin Soundform Freedom TWS Earbuds will be available from Belkin.com and retailers worldwide in March or April 2021. According to Belkin, you can expect them to cost between $100 and $150.
Frankly, that’s a steep price considering the specs and lack of active noise cancellation. However, they’re a bargain compared to the AirPods. MOreover, the compact design and sound quality might make all the difference. That said, we recommend waiting for product reviews before you make a purchasing decision.
Meanwhile, if you’re looking for affordable TWS earphones in the sub-100 range, we recommend the Creative Outlier Air V2. If you need active noise-cancelling, check out the JLab Audio Epic Air ANC.