Each year, dozens of wireless earbud offerings are unleashed onto marketplaces everywhere, and with costs on virtually everything going up, it is hard to commit to one brand, especially when the bigger names in audio are asking for a ransom or remain exclusive to a user’s go-to options. This is where Soundpeats goes against everyone else, and rising prices, to introduce the new Soundpeats Air6 HS Earbuds. While these buds will not win any sound quality awards, the Soundpeats Air6 HS Earbuds bring the beats in a stylish package with seemingly endless battery life that will not drain your bank account in the process.
The Soundpeats Air6 HS come packaged with the bare minimum needed to get up and running. After tearing through the packaging, you are left with a user guide, a reminder that Soundpeats has its own app, a very small charging cable and the Soundpeats Air6 HS themselves. These earbuds make a statement straight out of the box. The matte case is embossed with sleek Soundpeats branding along the back of the charging case. When opened, the case presents the Soundpeats Air6 HS to the user as if beckoning them to give them a try.
Unlike the case, the buds themselves have a glossy two-toned finish that reflects light. While I did not like this design decision at first, it does make locating them on a black surface much easier than usual. The Soundpeats Air6 HS also make a very satisfying magnetic snap that lets me know they are safely back home when returning them to the case. Everything else considered, the Soundpeats Air6 HS make a first impression worthy of prom night.
“The Soundpeats Air6 HS Earbuds bring the beats in a stylish package with seemingly endless battery life that will not drain your bank account in the process.”
If you have owned a pair of Bluetooth headphones before, setting up the Soundpeats Air6 HS is like riding a bike. There is a deftly hidden button on the bottom of the case that you press when connecting to Bluetooth, then you connect from the Bluetooth menu on the device of your choice, and presto, they are up and running.
For audiophiles, Soundpeats has its own app that you, groan, must register for. The download is free from any app store, and it works just as advertised, whether you are using an iPhone, a Google Pixel or even a Samsung Galaxy. Although having yet another app dedicated to using a single device is unwieldy, it is incredibly easy to use in practice.
The Soundpeats app lists every device you connect within its ecosystem in one place, so consumers who own other Soundpeats audio devices can adjust their settings as they see fit for each one. As the name suggests, the Soundpeats Air6 HS weighs virtually nothing, so the app includes an onboard “find my earbuds” function that allows each earbud to emit a pulse noise if it is lost around the house or at the gym. On top of that, the earbuds can be located using GPS if you leave them connected to Wi-Fi.
With the app, the Soundpeats Air6 HS brings the usual suite of functionality to wireless audio. Spatial audio can be turned on and off with the flick of a switch, and you can switch from one device to the next without stopping and reconnecting.
“The strongest feature of the Soundpeats Air6 HS is its battery life.”
While listening to “Constellations” by August Burns Red, I was able to fine-tune which parts of the guitar solos were most prominent, and sections with double bass received a tremendous boost when using the HiFi preset. Using the app’s functionality, I seamlessly swapped from a spatial Indonesian guitar riff to Super Mario Bros. Wonder. There are a multitude of presets onboard, so listeners who prefer a one-tap solution are covered.
The strongest feature of the Soundpeats Air6 HS is its battery life. On each full charge, the pair lasted seven to nine hours outside the case, and the case itself lasted a full week and a half before I had to charge the whole package. I often forget to charge my devices, but like the everlasting battery on the Xiaomi Watch S4, these last even longer than that. I was able to get four to five full charges out of the case before returning it to the wall, and that is an incredible feat.
“The Soundpeats Air6 HS has a serious sound-leak problem.”
The Soundpeats Air6 HS is not without its shortcomings, though. When taking them on a bike ride, I had to wear the buds with the stem tucked upward to remind me they were there. These buds do not stay in place, and they will fall out during more strenuous activity when worn with the stem down.
The Soundpeats Air6 HS has a serious sound-leak problem. At maximum volume, even when inserted properly, everyone in the room can hear what you are listening to, and the sound becomes severely muddled when a track gets especially busy, even with the proper preset. The Soundpeats Air6 HS also does not handle phone calls very well. The microphone picks up a lot of background noise in any given room and, at times, produces fuzzy feedback for no clear reason. While these are drawbacks, they are far from dealbreakers.
The Soundpeats Air6 HS are a quality pair of buds that will not quit on you. Aside from staying under the $100 mark, the Soundpeats offer a battery that takes forever to fade, onboard app functionality that keeps them a step above average headphones, and a look that stands out while doing it.
Shortcomings like poor call quality and the earbuds’ tendency to fall out of your ear without warning when things get a little turbulent do not feel great, but they do not make these headphones any less capable of delivering quality audio. If you are on a budget and searching for a new pair of earbuds, maybe because you lost one, the Soundpeats Air6 HS are a solid choice, and they will not let you down.
