Redmi Buds 6 Review: The budget bangers

Redmi is known for packing relatively high-end specs in competitively priced devices, earning the reputation of being a market disruptor. This is not limited to phones; it extends to its other products as well. The Redmi Buds 6 that follow the same line. Priced at Rs. 2,999 (~USD 35), they come with a number of features and specs that make them appear very compelling – 12.4 mm dual drivers, ANC, spatial audio, and impressive battery life. But how does all that add up in terms of real-life performance?

Redmi Buds 6 looks and design: Solid yet lightweight

The Redmi Buds 6 come in a very light and compact rectangular case that can easily fit in your pocket, sit well in your palm, and can be carried in the smallest of handbags without any trouble. We got the Spectre Black color option, which looks quite decent– it will not make heads turn but will not stick out like a sore thumb either. There are two more color options, Ivy Green and Titan White, and we believe the Ivy Green looks the best of the lot.

Getting back to our basic black unit, the whole package (case with the buds inside) weighs just a smidge over 42 grams, which is incredibly light. Redmi branding is goldish yellow right on top of the case. The case is glossy on the sides, while the top and the base are matte. There is a long dash-like LED battery indicator just below the lid on the case, and below it is a Type C port for charging. Flip open the case, and you will notice how incredibly light the hood is. It barely requires any effort to open. And once flipped open, you would find the buds resting in their allocated spots.

The buds have a very traditional in-ear design. There is a bulbous head with a small stem attached. They are very light as well, with each one weighing about 5 grams. The buds are glossy black, while the stem has a flat, matte side for controls. The buds have two pin connectors on the inside, which connect magnetically to the buds in the case and charge them. Like most TWS, the Redmi Buds 6 also come with three different-sized ear tip pairs. The medium ones come pre-installed, but there are large and small sizes in the box, too. We found the medium ones fit us best, but you can try to see which one makes you feel the most secure.

The Redmi Buds 6 are light, but in no way do they feel flimsy. They feel quite nicely built. The glossy part attracts scratches and smudges more easily than the matte side, but the black unit would age well, we feel. The buds come with an IP54 rating as well, making them a great partner for sweaty workout sessions.

Connectivity and controls: Easy connectivity, customizable controls

Connecting the Redmi Buds 6 with your device is pretty easy, whether it is an Android or an iOS device or a laptop. They work best with a Xiaomi device, though, and come with dual device pairing support, which means you can pair them with two devices at once without too much trouble. If you are not using the buds with a Xiaomi device, you will have to install the Xiaomi Earbuds companion app. It is available for iOS and Android and gives you the option to customize controls, change audio effects, tweak equalizer settings, update firmware, and even find the buds if lost.

Controls are very versatile and revolve around taps and holds. The single tap is disabled by default, as it can be triggered accidentally when you touch the buds, but this can be changed if you wish. Double tapping either earbud plays or pauses the audio, while a triple tap on either takes you to the next song. Pressing and holding either earbud starts noise cancellation. While these are the controls right out of the box, you also get the option to customize them and add volume control, summon your virtual assistant, and even take a photo. You also get to manually change the intensity of ANC through the app. All in all, extremely useful.

Redmi Buds 6 performance: Mostly impressive, MOSTLY

The Redmi Buds 6 come with 12.4 mm dual drivers with Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity, Google Fast Pair, and a quad mic set up with AI ENC, ANC, and Spatial Audio. This is a very promising spec sheet especially considering the price and the Buds 6 deliver on most fronts. With the Xiaomi Earbuds app, you get five different sound modes – Standard, Enhance Treble, Enhance Bass, Enhance Voice, and Custom. Unlike many other buds that come with a number of modes but with a very subtle difference between them, all of these modes actually do make a very noticeable difference in the audio output of the buds.

The Standard mode is good enough while going through everyday usage. The audio was surprisingly balanced, and the vocals were clear, but the beats felt a bit muddied in songs like Send My Love by Adele. The thump got deeper in the Bass mode, while the songs sounded crisper when we enhanced the treble. You can always choose to customize audio and play with the equalizer as well.

You get 49 dB ANC on the buds, and while we have not had a very impressive run with ANC on budget segment TWS, the Redmi Buds 6 have changed that. ANC on the buds can easily drown out the noise of a crowded cafe, and if you turn on Immersive Sound, the audio performance definitely goes up a notch, giving you solid multi-dimensional audio feels. The buds also come with a Transparency mod,e which works just as well as the ANC on the buds – impressively

While the audio performance of the Redmi Buds 6 is bang for the buck, we did face a few issues in other departments. There is a latency issue with the buds. Thankfully, the Low Latency mode helps on Xiaomi devices, but the issue persists on others. This comes forth while one is deep in gaming sessions as well.

On calls, the receiver never complained or had any problems with our audio, but for some reason, the buds delivered underwhelming caller audio to us while on calls. It was almost like we had cut the volume in half. Connectivity was also spotty at times. If we used the buds with, say, our laptop and phone at the same time, shifting from one device to another took a few seconds on more than one occasion.

Redmi Buds 6 Battery: Pretty impressive and close to claims

One of the biggest USPs of the Xiaomi Redmi Buds 6 is its battery. Xiaomi claims the cases’ 475 mAh battery can give you up to 42 hours of battery life while the buds can see a span of 10 hours on a single charge without ANC. While the Buds 6 do not match these exact numbers, they come pretty close, which is still impressive. The buds can easily last anywhere between 8-9 hours on moderate volume levels. If you turn up the volume and turn on ANC as well, the battery takes a hit and gets cut to about half very easily.

Thankfully, the buds come with fast charging support, which gets you about 3 to 4 hours of playback time in just ten minutes. That said, charging the case all the way from zero to full takes a little over two and a half hours. All said and done, battery performance still remains impressive. Another major plus that we absolutely love about the Redmi Buds 6 is the Flow LED indicator just below the lid, which shows the battery left. It not only looks very classy but is accurate, too, helping us know when we had to connect the case to a charger without having to look it up on our phone.

Redmi Buds 6 Review Verdict: Nothing breaks this Redmi Buds 6 deal

For Rs. 2,999 (~USD 35), the Redmi Buds 6 come with some really impressive specs, features, and performance. ANC and battery performance are stars of the Redmi Buds 6 show, but they do very well in the general audio output department as well. They do have their share of issues (latency, connectivity, and output on calls), but none of these issues feel like deal breakers at this price point. They are well ahead of most competitors but face a tough challenge from the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro, which come with a similar feature set and a slightly more bassy sound but at a higher price (Rs 3299) and with inferior ANC.

Buy Redmi Buds 6