REDMI Buds 8 Pro – Affordable Earbuds with Premium Audio and Noise Cancellation
Xiaomi has released a new flagship TWS (True Wireless Stereo) earbuds, the REDMI Buds 8 Pro, targeted at audiophiles, budget-conscious students, fitness enthusiasts, daily commuters, and hybrid workers like me.
The features of the REDMI Buds 8 Pro are ideal for the users mentioned above as it delivers better audio quality for entertainment, clear voice calls, and active noise cancellation that helps minimize distractions at work. On top of that, the device offers long battery life for extended use, all packed in a compact size that’s easy to bring along wherever you go.
Now, let’s begin with the review.
Unboxing
The packaging design of the REDMI Buds 8 Pro is simple, with the box made of thick cardboard material. On the front, you’ll find an image of the product, Xiaomi logo, and model name that’s printed clearly. It gets a matte finish, and Xiaomi has included a 20-digit security code that allows users to verify whether your product is genuine or not.
Everything is neatly placed inside the box and we got the following items:
REDMI Buds 8 Pro Unit
USB-A to USB-C Cable
Extra Earbud Tips
Quick Start Guide
Design and Build Quality
First thing you’ll notice is the pebble-like design of the charging case. It’s really compact and ergonomic measuring at 61.01 x 25.17 x 48.28 mm. Portability and weight is another factor at 36.3 grams with the case only and at 46.9 grams if you include the earbuds inside.
It can easily slip into any pocket or small bag without adding bulk. The hinge of its top cover lid feels firm when opening and closing it.
Just like a polished stone, the charging case has a smooth finish with rounded corners. The overall material is made of a durable polycarbonate plastic material.
Up front, there’s a slim horizontal LED light strip positioned along the edge of the opening. It acts as an all in one indicator for power, charging, pairing, and battery level. When the device is fully charged, the light bar appears complete. While you continue to charge the earbuds with the case, the illuminated portion gradually shortens to reflect the remaining power.
At the bottom, you’ll find the USB-C port used for charging the case. Beside it is a subtle, almost hidden button that enables pairing mode or quickly check the LED indicator to see the remaining battery level of the case.
At the back, the design stays a clean layout. You’ll simply see the REDMI logo along with the Triple Driver Sound branding.
As for the earbuds, it has dimensions of 30.6 × 21.4 × 24.52mm and weigh around 5.3 grams each. Even when we use it for hours, they stay comfortable without causing pressure or fatigue. The silicone ear tips help them sit securely in your ears without feeling too tight and they’re also washable.
Each earbud features a slim, stem-style design with smooth rounded corners and a clean two-tone finish for a modern look. The outer surface, where the touch-sensitive panel is located, has a glossy finish with a REDMI logo.. The rest of the exterior matches the finish of the charging case for a cohesive general design. Surrounding the body of the earbud are three strategically placed microphones for clear calls and improved noise control.
You don’t have to stress about dust or a little water on the earbuds since it comes with an IP54 rating. Whether you’re sweating it out at the gym, hanging out outdoors, or caught in a light drizzle, it’s built to handle these situations.
Overall, we like the build, feel, and design of the REDMI Buds 8 Pro. It offers a good balance of lightweight comfort and premium appeal.
Controls and Smart Connectivity
The REDMI Buds 8 Pro comes with responsive touch controls to easily manage your music and take calls without reaching for your phone.
The touch sensitive area can be tapped, swiped, or hold on the outer surface of the stem of each earbud where the logo is located. Again, it’s really responsive, no need to press hard just a light tap on that area to activate the command.
A double tap lets you play or pause your music and answer or end calls, while a triple tap skips to the next track. You can also slide up or down on the earbuds to easily adjust the volume.
You can hold for just a second on any earbud to switch between Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode or reject incoming calls. Even better, some of these gestures can be customized through the Xiaomi Earbuds app, so you can set the controls based on what feels most comfortable and convenient for your daily use.
The REDMI Buds 8 Pro can pair quickly and seamlessly thanks to the Google Fast Pair support. Once you’re connected, you can manage settings through the Xiaomi Earbuds App, which gives you access to ANC levels (Transparency, Noise Cancellation and Off), audio effects, and other controls.
During our time using the REDMI Buds 8 Pro, we didn’t experience any connection dropouts as everything stayed smooth and stable, thanks to its Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity. Even within a 10-meter range, whether we moved to another room or stepped away from the connected device, the connection remained reliable and uninterrupted.
The dual-device connection feature is extremely useful in daily life. I was able to connect the earbuds to both my phone and MacBook at the same time, seamlessly switching between watching videos and answering calls without needing to reconnect manually.
Sound Peformance
Even at a budget price point, you’re getting a premium sound quality and that’s exactly how we felt with the REDMI Buds 8 Pro. It delivers a lively and enjoyable listening experience whether you’re watching videos, playing games, or taking calls. This would be the general reason you’re buying this device as the audio performance easily exceeds expectation
And at the heart of that experience, it is equipped with a coaxial triple driver design combining an 11mm bass driver with a titanium diaphragm and two 6.7mm piezoelectric ceramic tweeters. This is why it produces deep and punchy bass. It does not overpower the mids, while vocals remain clear and detailed, and the highs sound crisp but not harsh. With the dual tweeters, it also helps deliver more delicate high frequencies, so details like cymbal hits, violins, and the like are easier to pick up and hear.
Active Noise Cancellation
You’ll be impressed by how the noise reduction feature of the REDMI Buds 8 Pro performs. But first, let’s get to know more about it.
It uses Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation that combines feedforward and feedback microphones to cancel out noise more effectively. It offers up to 55dB noise cancellation along with 5kHz ultra-wide frequency noise cancellation and 20 adjustable levels, allowing you to fine-tune how much noise you want to block out.
In the Xiaomi Earbuds app, there’s a smart noise cancellation option (from light to deep) that adapts to the environment for a natural silence. In addition, you can turn off the noise cancellation, enable full noise blocking around you, or switch to Transparency mode, which lets you hear your surroundings while still using the earbuds.
Battery Life and Charging
Another edge of the REDMI Buds 8 Pro is the battery life, it sports a 54mAh battery in each earbud and 480mAh for its charging case. The brand claims that on a single charge, the earbuds can last up to 8 hours of use, and paired with the charging case the battery life extends up to 33 hours. If you’re in a rush, a quick 5-minute charge gives you up to 2 hours of playback.
The charging case uses a USB Type-C port, and while the included cable is a bit short, its length is convenient enough to connect to a power bank. The device has no support for wireless charging.
Our battery test started at a full 100% charge with the earbuds, the volume set to 80% and ANC turned on. After the first hour (10:30 to 11:30), the battery dropped to 90% and the next hour (11:30 to 12:30), it went down to 60%. After another 30 minutes of use (12:30 to 1:00), the earbud’s battery left us with a remaining 55%.
Based on the figures above, the battery drained by 45% in just 2 hours and 30 minutes. If we average that consumption rate, the earbuds would likely last around 5 to 6 hours under the same conditions before being completely drained. If you don’t need the ANC feature you can extend the earbuds usage to probably up to 7 hours. However, the active noise cancellation feature is so convenient which for us as well as users would most likely want to keep it enabled all the time.
Both earbuds took almost 38 minutes to fully charge inside the case, while the charging case itself was fully charged after around 1 hour and 9 minutes only using a 25W wall charger.