The budget TWS segment in India right now is one of the most heavily competed spaces when it comes to technology. Brands across the board are rushing to get a share of the revenue pie that this segment generates. Some brands, like BoAt, Boult Audio, OnePlus, and the like, have introduced some truly quality products in this space. Entering this segment with their line of TWS earbuds is Honeywell, and I got the Honeywell Trueno U5100 ANC earbuds to take out for a spin.
At a price of around ₹3,500, these earbuds go head to head against the Noise Buds Xero, which I recently got a chance to experience at the Test Centre. So, when these earbuds showed up at the Digit Test Centre, they had a high bar to clear. The Noise Buds Xero, with its design, overall performance and feature set, set the bar high for the Honeywell Trueno U5100. So, were these earbuds able to clear the bar or not? Let’s find out –
When it comes to the design of the buds, I believe Honeywell tried their best to match up to the price tag that these buds come with. Within a thousand rupee range of these buds, there are some really high-quality offerings out there. And I believe they did a decent job at ensuring that the consumers are getting the most out of the 3.5k rupees that they spend on the Honeywell Trueno U5100.
The materials used are of great quality and have a matte finish to them. The magnets holding the buds in place are strong, and the lid is snappy and holds its own. The only two gripes that I have with the case are the branding, which I believe could have been better with embossed lettering or a more subtle approach, and the bulky design of the case. Having seen what brands like OnePlus and Redmi have done recently with their buds, a slimmer case with much less bulk to it would have been a great addition.
Coming to the buds themselves, they are lightweight and fit well. You get a total of four sets of tips included in the box as well, which is good. If you have read my articles, then you would know that I am a fan of earbuds with a stem on them, and the Honeywell Trueno U5100 ticked that box for me right off the bat.
The metallic accents look great, but their charm is slightly marred by the blinking LED, which, in my opinion, looks a bit tacky. And, the branding on the stems, again, in my opinion, looks a bit too much. They could have skipped out on that or, instead, could have added it to the back of the stem. Because it is printed on the stem, with time, when the users are using the controls, it might fade, which would make it look odd. I hope that is not the case because Honeywell has been active in the electronics industry for some time and has built a name for itself.
Overall, for the price you are paying for these buds, you get good worth for your money; however, if the above-mentioned kinks had been ironed out, it would have been an absolute champ, in my opinion. Strong start for Honeywell, nevertheless.
Now, before going any further, the usual PSA is mandatory. Everything that is related to audio is very subjective. So, please try them out before you buy them.
The Honeywell Trueno U5100 come with a limited yet well-implemented feature set. These earbuds come equipped with ANC, coupled with transparency mode, a dedicated gaming mode which brings down their latency to 50 ms, an IPX5 rating, which will prevent damage caused by light splashes of water, and voice assistant trigger from the buds. All these features are not something that would blow your mind away, but they are well implemented on these buds. Let’s start by talking about the ANC.
When turned on, the ANC on the Honeywell Trueno U5100 drowned out noises from the AC right above my head in the office and general sounds around the office as well. This is greatly helped by the fit of these buds in my ear. Your mileage may vary. However, when it came to sharper noises like the clicking of my mechanical keyboard, it did struggle a bit. However, in noisy situations like when in traffic or on the train, the buds handled the noise well. Nothing to write home about, but kudos to Honeywell on their efforts!
The transparency mode surprised me as the sounds coming in sounded natural for the most part, and the buds did not let in excess noise or add an added layer of filtration, which would drown out some noises that were coming in.
In terms of sound quality, like most other buds, the sound is fairly bass-heavy. Fans of Bollywood, hip-hop, and pop music rejoice! The instrument separation and the clarity of vocals on these buds, again, was a happy surprise. In tracks like Rescue Me by OneReublic, initially, the bass-heavy nature of the audio kinda lowered my expectations, but when the vocals and the instruments rolled in, it was happy sailing. However, this is where I missed app support with an EQ.
Given that Honeywell has an expansive lineup now, it is about time for them to build an app. We have seen earbuds with lower price tags come with one. An app would also add customisation options for the controls, which would be a great addition to the feature set of these buds. With ANC on and off, I did not notice much difference in the sound quality of the buds. The same was the case across the volume range.
The touch controls on the buds were responsive, and I did not find it difficult to figure out how many taps I needed to trigger various actions. Lastly, in terms of battery life, Honeywell claims that these buds can get you up to 62 hours of playback in ideal conditions. In my time with these buds, I was able to get around 5 hours of playback with ANC on, with the case adding another 4-5 cycles of charging.
All in all, as I said earlier, the feature set and performance of these earbuds deliver on the expectations that are set. There are some things left to be desired. However, if you are looking for a robust pair of earbuds in terms of features and performance, the Honeywell Trueno U5100 will not disappoint.
With their satisfactory build quality, robust and well-implemented feature set, and sound that will appeal to most Indian consumers, it is hard to miss out on these earbuds when it comes to recommendations under four thousand rupees. With the Honeywell Trueno U5100, the brand has set a strong foot in the market, and I believe, after ironing out the kinks in their armour, these earbuds can easily take the battle to the established players in the TWS market.
If you are looking for options apart from the Honeywell Trueno U5100, then you can look at the Noise Buds Xero, which are built well, and come with a host of quality-of-life features around the same price. If you are looking to push your budget a bit, then you can safely place your bets on the OnePlus Buds 3, which are hands down one of the best sub-6K buds in market right now.
