Noise has quickly become one of the major volume drivers for affordable gadgets in India, with a strong focus on smartwatches and true wireless earphones. Most of the company’s products are competitively priced, but Noise’s recent launch into the TWS space takes a markedly different approach — one that shows intent and ambition to drive up the average price of its products. The Noise IntelliBuds are among the company’s most advanced and promising true wireless earbuds to date.
Priced at Rs. 4,999, the Noise IntelliBuds have been developed in partnership with Bragi, which is known for being the first brand (that we know of) to launch true wireless headphones in 2015. The headset is designed as a “smart” headset with head -gesture control, hot voice commands and numerous customization options via a specially developed app. Is this the smartest true wireless headset under Rs. 5,000 you can buy right now? Find out in this review.
The Noise IntelliBuds have a USB Type-C port for charging and offer good battery life
Design and features of the Noise IntelliBuds
Although the IntelliBuds are the most expensive true wireless headset in Noise’s lineup, it’s still fairly affordable compared to much of the competition at Rs. 4,999. As expected, these are a fairly ordinary looking pair of headphones with no exceptional design features or even a tendency to cram more into a smaller form factor. The Noise IntelliBuds’ earbuds and charging case are large and a little clunky, though not uncomfortable.
The Noise IntelliBuds have a snug canal fit, long stems that extend downward, and a flat touch-sensitive surface with the brand’s logo etched into it. The earbuds come in two colors, black and white; While I have no complaints regarding the white review unit that was sent to me, the black one looks slightly better in my opinion.
The earbuds are IPX5 waterproof and weigh 5.4g each, while the charging case weighs 45g. It’s not a particularly small charging case, but you should still be able to easily slip it into your pocket when you’re not using it.
Unlike most options which are around Rs. 5,000 the Noise IntelliBuds do not have active noise cancellation. This might be eyebrow-raising for many, but the brand is pitching the IntelliBuds as a ‘smart’ option and wants you to look past the lack of obvious features like ANC. However, the secure, comfortable fit in the canal offers decent passive noise isolation, and there’s a transparency mode.
Admittedly, the “intelligent” experience offered by the Noise IntelliBuds is interesting for a number of reasons. The headset has features designed to make the user experience easier and more intuitive, such as B. Hot voice commands and head-tracking gestures, as well as detailed app-based functions. If you prefer a more predictable and classic approach to using headphones, standard touch controls are also present.
Noise IntelliBuds app and specifications
A lot of what the Noise IntelliBuds offer has to do with the collaboration with Bragi. The headphones are powered by “Bragi OS”, but it’s important to clarify here that this isn’t an “operating system” like devices like smartphones, media streamers or even smartwatches have. Instead, Bragi OS enables some additional “smart” features on the Noise IntelliBuds, such as: B. Voice control on the device and tracking of head movements.
All of this works via the Noise IntelliBuds (NoiseFit smart) app, which is only available for Android at the time of this review. The app lets you set up and calibrate some of these features, which then work natively on the headphones themselves, rather than relying on your smartphone and internet connection to work.
The Noise IntelliBuds app is currently only available for Android
You can also use the app to view the earbuds battery level, configure and customize touch controls, and adjust equalizer settings. The app interface is nicely designed and easy to get used to, although I found the touch controls to be a bit complicated to configure. Connectivity with the app was also occasionally buggy, with the battery gauges sometimes not showing levels correctly and on a few occasions the interface wouldn’t charge at all despite the headphones being plugged in.
The Noise IntelliBuds true wireless headset features 6mm dynamic drivers with Bluetooth 5 for connectivity and support for SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs. The sales package includes three pairs of silicone ear tips for the earphones and a short charging cable.
Noise IntelliBuds performance and battery life
Although Noise has seen phenomenal sales growth in recent months, the brand is still widely regarded as a specialist in affordable ranges. This puts significant expectations on the Noise IntelliBuds given the Rs. 4,999 price tag and promise of top notch capabilities. In fact, for me the overall experience was largely enjoyable, although some features felt forced and unpolished, and the sound didn’t seem fully in line with competing options at this price point.
First, I tried out the special features that are being added as part of the collaboration with Bragi – hot voice commands and head gestures. The former worked reasonably well for me, with the headphones registering the wake command most of the time and usually understanding any specific voice commands I gave right after.
I could control playback and volume, turn transparency mode on or off, and answer calls with voice commands. Interestingly, this does not require an internet connection, as is the case when using voice assistants such as Google Assistant or Siri; All of this works natively on the IntelliBuds headset itself, once set up. Of course, this only covers hardware functionality, but you have the option of using your smartphone’s default voice assistant for the richer functionality it offers.
There’s no active noise-cancellation (ANC) on the Noise IntelliBuds, but the in-canal fit offers decent passive noise isolation
Head-tracking gestures, on the other hand, didn’t work very well. Despite repeating the calibration process multiple times, even the slightest head movement tended to unintentionally do something on the Noise IntelliBuds. Holding my head in a certain way would cause the volume to increase or decrease unexpectedly, among other unwanted effects. I found it best to leave this feature turned off.
While the feature set and specs seem decent for a headset in this price range, the overall sound quality of the Noise IntelliBuds is rather disappointing. I wouldn’t go so far as to call the sound unpleasant, but there was certainly nothing special about it. The headset felt restrained and reserved even at loud volumes, with the tuning feeling a bit sluggish and unrefined.
When listening to Calvin Harris’ New To You, the sound was pleasant and bearable for long periods of time, but the performance lacked any drive or feeling. The violin riff at the beginning of the track and the accompanying electronic beat sounded dull, with the Noise IntelliBuds not really providing any emphasis in any part of the frequency range. While the highs felt a bit more pronounced a little further down the house-pop track, the bass felt a bit dull and unexciting.
Even on livelier and naturally more lively tracks like Tokyo Night Train (Claes Rosen Remix) by The Midnight, the Noise IntelliBuds felt understated and somewhat lacking in character. The somewhat dull sound signature might have been forgiven if a fair amount of detail had been heard, but even that wasn’t too much. That said, you’re unlikely to be put off by the sound in any way; Your favorite tracks shouldn’t really be affected, but the point of enhancing the listening experience is somewhat lost with the Noise IntelliBuds.
The transparency mode does a good job of enhancing your awareness of your surroundings without sacrificing audio playback, but it sounded a little too artificially enhanced for my liking. Call quality is acceptable indoors, but the lack of active noise cancellation hampered my ability to focus on calls even in relatively quiet outdoor environments. Connection stability was not an issue for me as the Noise IntelliBuds worked well at distances of up to 3m from the paired smartphone.
The battery life of the Noise IntelliBuds is pretty good, with the earbuds running for around seven hours on a single charge at a moderate volume. The charging case added three full charges for a total runtime of around 28 hours per charge cycle. Fast charging is available and the earbuds can be fully charged within the case in up to 30 minutes, but a full charge of the case and earbuds took me around two hours.
Verdict
Noise has typically succeeded in the budget segment of true wireless headphones, but the IntelliBuds are a refreshing sign of intent from the Indian company. It’s a technology-driven approach, but one that focuses on user experience rather than often meaningless specs and feature padding. It’s also incredibly bold given the lack of ANC, despite this being the company’s most expensive true wireless headset to date.
Unfortunately, the Noise IntelliBuds are let down by an unpolished and seemingly unfinished overall experience. The gesture controls didn’t work that well for me, and the overall sound was unimaginative and boring. While I look forward to whatever comes next from Noise, the IntelliBuds aren’t worth recommending for now at this price point, and you’ll be better served with the OnePlus Buds Z2 or Oppo Enco Air 2 Pro in this household.
