Earlier this year, Xiaomi introduced two new wearables that really caught our attention during the Human X Car X Home event. The first is undoubtedly the Xiaomi AI Glasses. While that was the talk of the town, there was another wearable that we were interested in – the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro.
Now, it’s finally here. Just like the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo that came before it, this one isn’t your typical in-ear headphones. These float above your ear, making it a lot more accessible to a lot of people. Despite that unique design, these also come with large drivers, long battery life, and more.
There is a catch, though – the price. With a slightly more expensive price tag compared to the brand’s regular headphone/earphone lineup, is the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro the one you should consider?
Design and Construction
As mentioned earlier, the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro isn’t like your traditional earphones. These are designed to fit almost everyone’s ear. If you’re not used to this open-ear design, it takes a while to get used to the fit.
Specifically, it feels like it might fall out of your ear when you’re using it while walking around. For my ears, that certainly felt like what would happen. After using the OpenWear Stereo Pro for a few days straight, though, I did get used to them just hanging over my ears.
Despite their size and shape, which features a big ear hook, these didn’t feel heavy to wear. In fact, I wore them for more than an hour, and I didn’t feel the need to take them off. Each bud of the OpenWear Stereo Pro only weighs 9.7 grams after all. They look premium too, with the chrome finish on the bud and the hoop.
One thing I didn’t get used to is the way you put it on your ear. It might just be a me problem, but I still prefer the in-ear earphones simply because you can just pop them on. But for those who’ve used the open-ear style earphones before, I’m sure this won’t be an issue.
The earbuds do have an IP54 rating for dust and splash resistance. But if you plan on using these for your outdoor workouts, don’t do so in the rain.
The case itself is also lightweight and compact. It’s thin but wide, making it easy to fit in my pocket. It doesn’t bulge too, making it great if you’re wearing tight pants or shorts. It looks classy too, featuring just the Xiaomi logo at the top. Even the inside feels premium, featuring an alcantara-like material in the upper portion of the clamshell.
Meanwhile, the button to pair it with your smartphone is neatly hidden on the right side. At the back, you’ll find the USB-C port and a subtle Harman Tuning sticker.
Sound Quality
Despite having an open-ear design, it’s surprising how the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro sounds. I initially expected it to be a bit underwhelming, especially compared to in-ear devices. However, it is more than adequate for everyday use.
Each bud features five drivers, which is surprising to find in an earphone of this price. There’s even a large 18x13mm driver that should improve bass. In addition, there’s also a driver that helps reduce sound leakage. This means people around you won’t be able to hear what you’re listening to. Not to mention, there is support for Hi-Res Audio, LDAC, SBC, and AAC codecs.
When I first tried them out, they were average despite having all that hardware fitted into them. It had a nice sound stage when listening, but all I could hear was the mids. It severely lacked bass and treble. To be specific, some of the instruments were not audible in certain songs I was listening to.
Honestly, it was quite a let-down after seeing all it had on paper. However, that all changed when I paired it with the Xiaomi Earbuds app. For reference, I first got my hands on these when the earphones weren’t officially released yet. At the time, I couldn’t change the sound profile in the app yet.
After it was officially launched, I could finally adjust the sound profile in the settings. There’s no individual equalizer adjustment, unfortunately. However, simply switching from the default sound profile to either Harman AudioEFX or Harman Master significantly improves the overall quality. There’s a better bass and treble, and I can hear the separations better.
If you plan on getting these earphones for yourself, I highly recommend downloading the Xiaomi Earbuds app. Otherwise, you’ll be very disappointed by how they sound out of the box.
As for the volume, they are loud. When you max it out, you’ll even have a hard time hearing those around you. Think of it as a form of noise cancellation, allowing you to focus on the music.
There is a problem I noticed, though. For my ears, even with the volume on max, there’s no sound leakage. But when Miguel tried it, I could slightly hear what song he was listening to. I had to be directly in front of him to hear, but still. With that, I believe the sound leakage still has something to do with how they fit.
Battery, Connectivity, and Features
Xiaomi claims the battery of the OpenWear Stereo Pro to be at 8.5 hours for the buds. From my experience, there’s no reason to doubt that claim. After around one hour of use, the battery of the earbuds dropped to 85 percent charge.
The case itself features a 700mAh battery pack, which should be able to extend battery life by 45 hours. With that, you won’t really find yourself needing to recharge the earbuds very often. It’s more than enough juice to last you even on a medium-haul flight out of the country. In fact, you’ll probably run out of shows to watch first before the battery on these earphones runs out.
In terms of connectivity, the OpenWear Stereo Pro features Bluetooth 5.4. There are no issues pairing it with non-Xiaomi devices, and it’s just like any other Bluetooth earphones. It still connects even when you’re in a different room, which is great if you leave your phone somewhere.
As for the features, voice recording is available. You don’t even need to open the Earbuds app to do so. You can just set it up in the gestures to activate anytime you want. Just don’t use it to eavesdrop on others because that could land you in some serious trouble.
Conclusion
Overall, the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro is a great choice if you want to try out open-ear headphones with a more premium look and feel. It sounds great when you adjust the sound profile, and it has a long battery life as well.
It does come with a more premium price, especially compared to Xiaomi’s other wearables. At the time we wrote this review, this device retailed for PHP 7,199, excluding the use of vouchers on the Shopee store.
There are more expensive headphones out there, but for the price, you do get what you pay for. Based on my preference, I would still choose in-ear headphones. But the OpenWear Stereo Pro did show me what open-ear headphones are capable of.
Still, what do you think of the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro? Would you cop it or pick a more traditional pair of headphones instead? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
What we liked:
Great sound quality
Long battery life
What we didn’t like:
Still doesn’t fit all ears well
A bit expensive
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