Wings Lifestyle, a subsidiary of Brandscale Technologies, produces audio gears for the music enthusiasts. One such product is the Wings PowerPods, a Bluetooth-enabled true wireless pair of earbuds. With a lot of competing TWS earbuds already available in the market, what makes this one stand out? And at a retail price of ₹4,499 (price on the box is ₹9,499), is it worth it? I try to find out in my review.
There are two things that stand out when compared to the competition - a digital display on the outer wall of the case, and the fact that it can be used as a powerbank to charge a smartphone.
Design and build
The first thing I noticed on opening the box was the compact plastic case in which the earbuds reside. Albeit a bit on the heavier side owing to the fact that it houses a 2,500 mAh battery inside, the case fits snugly in the palm of my hand.
The top half of the case is a digital display that tells the remaining charge in percentage, and the bottom half flaunts the Wings logo in the middle. The display is helpful and user-friendly. One need not depend on those hideous blinking LED lights to determine the remaining charge. Although the screen covers so much real estate, the only information is provides is the battery juice that is remaining. They could have put all that space to a better use by showing stuff like date, time, day of the week, and weather information. All this could have been easily retrieved when the buds are connected to a device with access to the internet.
The case also contains two ports on the outside - a USB out-port and a micro USB in-port. They are hidden behind a movable rubber lid. As expected, the first one is for using the case as a powerbank, while the second one is to charge the case itself. It would have been better if they had gone with USB-C instead.
On opening the case, it is noticed that the two buds are sitting in their respective compartments, which each one of them marked for the left and the right ear respectively. They are held in place by magnets so strong that it sometimes takes effort to pull the earbuds out.
Each earbud comes with the brand logo enclosed in a circle. The circle is illuminated by green light that keeps turning on and off at a regular interval. This sure makes them stand out, but they are annoying in my opinion. I was the center of attention more often than not when using the buds in public places. I would love an option to switch those lights altogether. Even those who prefer the lights would want options to change their color, or make them twinkle as per the beats of the music being played.
The earbuds are very easy to pair for the first time. They automatically pair next time onwards when plucked out of their case. They fit perfectly in my ears, and never fell out while jogging or walking briskly. The touch controls on each earbud is capable of controlling music, volume, calls, or for invoking virtual assistants like Google Assistant or Apple Siri.
All in all, the design is good, and the build quality is strictly average.
Wings PowerPods sound quality
The Wings PowerPods come with an 8 mm driver unit, with support for Bluetooth 5.0. It claims to have an operating range of 10 m, a speaker impedance of 16 ohms (plus/minus 10 percent), and a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 KHz.
The sound clarity and detail were great. There was no distortion noticed at peak volume levels, and the vocals were clear. The bass is on the higher side though, and with no option to control it, can sometimes become a nuisance.
The auto connectivity works most of the times, but the connection drops, though rare, are present (say 0.5% of the time).
Wings PowerPods battery
The earbuds promise to deliver a playback time of up to 5 hours through its 50 mAh built-in battery, with a total output of up to 50 hours on a single charge owing to the 2,500 mAh battery pack that also works as a powerbank. I was able to use the earbuds for around 4 to 5 hours per charge cycle.
Design and build
Sound
Battery
Ankit writes code for a living. He reviews gadgets and books in his free time, and believes in the magical power of a strong cup of coffee.
