When we last heard about Chinese company Mobvoi, it was Kickstarting a budget smartwatch designed to take on the big boys. Now, Mobvoi is on Indiegogo with a pair of wireless earbuds that could give Apple's AirPods a run for their money.
Known as TicPods Free, the water- and dust-resistant new buds are similar to AirPods in form, but there's at least one big difference – they're touch-controlled. Users slide their finger along one side to adjust the volume, double-tap to take calls or advance to the next song, and do a long press to reject calls or activate their phone's voice assistant.
The earbuds communicate with the phone via Bluetooth 4.2, and can run for four hours per charge from their included charging case – it, in turn, is good for 14 hours per charge.
Unlike some other wireless earbuds, the TicPods play back phone call audio in both ears. Some of their other features – which aren't necessarily unique to them – include passive noise cancellation, noise isolation (for blocking out background sounds when the user is making a call) and in-ear detection, which automatically pauses music when one earbud is removed from the ear.
If you're interested in getting a pair, you can do so for a pledge of US$79. Assuming everything works out, they should ship in July. The planned retail price is $129 (Apple AirPods cost $159).
For other takes on the touch-controlled-wireless-earbuds thing, check out the offerings from Earin and Erato.
Source: Indiegogo