Budget AirPods: Mivi DuoPods

dhruvtalksstech
Apr 23, 2022
3 min read

Updated: Jul 16, 2022

4.5 months ago, I bought the Mivi DuoPods F30 for 1000 Rs from Flipkart. I was looking to buy a cheap set of wireless buds that I could use besides my AirPods Pro for daily use such as attending classes and when I play Basketball. Can you envision the sight of a basketball falling on 25000 Rs headphones ??!!! I didn’t expect much at this price point. The MRP was 3000 Rs but I have never seen them sell for more than 1300 Rs.

I went for the black ones and would only recommend going white or black unless you are Ranveer Singh and can sport Blue or Red earphones. Upon delivery, the first impressions weren’t great. The contents of the box - Buds, USB-C cable, silicone tips and how-to-guide were chaotically arranged. The case was made of the lowest and flimsiest grade of plastic. It is a very thin sheet of plastic that luckily didn’t crack open when I accidentally dropped the case once.

But then I connected them to my Samsung phone and played “Unforgettable” by French Montana and was promptly taken aback by how deep the base was. As the song went on, I was dazzled by the volume too. I am someone who doesn’t go higher than 40%. I also liked the silicone ear tips which were snug and gave an AirPods Pro-like feel. They were obviously not as cushy and didn’t establish a perfect seal but I was more than happy.

One area where they outperform even my AirPods Pro is battery life. I have been most impressed by the battery life which is abnormally out of the ordinary. I got constant playback for 6-7 hours straight at 40% volume. They charge very quickly too, they never seem to run dry and you will probably have to pull an all-nighter to conduct a battery test on these bad boys.

One thing that I haven’t been able to decipher is whether the driver size is 13mm or 10mm. Sweat doesn’t affect them as there is no crackling in the audio even after using them while playing Basketball. The ultimate test for compactness is fitting inside the small right pocket in jeans. And it passed the test without poking too.

The most depressing part for me was the connectivity range and build quality. The quality of the actual buds is acceptable at this price point and they make a satisfying click when you put them in the case bringing back nostalgic memories of the AirPods 1 and 2. The worst part of the case is the lid which doesn’t stay up and plastic in a Nano is probably a higher grade.

Put everything aside and the after-sales service leaves everything behind in the dust, for being horrendous. No reply to emails, calls and WhatsApp messages. If your product fails for some reason, be prepared to never receive a response.

But you can’t really go wrong with something so economic. This might be the most value-for-money product I bought in 2021. There are a plethora of options in this price category but I went for Mivi because the nationalist inside me drew me in. I could have got them for cheaper still at 800 Rs during the Diwali season. But I am really splitting hair.