Bookshelf speaker specialist Edifier has updated its wireless noise-canceling NeoBuds Pro headphones with a new version: the NeoBuds Pro S. The biggest difference is that they bring Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound technology to the party. .
The original NeoBuds Pro made some noise with support for high-resolution audio codecs such as LDAC and LHDC, along with noise cancellation for a decidedly mid-range price.
The key new feature of the new NeoBuds Pro S comes with the inclusion of Snapdragon Sound support – another high-res audio platform launched last year that aims to bring wired-like performance to wireless headphones. The downside is that you’ll need a newer Snapdragon Sound-enabled device to take advantage of the feature, such as the new Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro phone – although more and more of these appear as many phones use Qualcomm’s technology inside.
There are also improvements within the knobs, with the NeoBuds Pro S featuring new Knowles balanced high-output armature drivers to deliver the sound.
A game mode meanwhile has a handy 89ms lower latency connection, while there are dual microphones that offer ambient noise cancellation for clearer calls on the go.
As with its predecessors, the NeoBuds Pro S can last up to five and a half hours on a single charge with ANC on, with another half hour of life available if noise canceling is off, while charging The case provides 16 hours. additional playback with ANC or 18 with the setting off.
While the new version is much more expensive than the $99 the original NeoBuds Pro were offered on IndieGoGo last year, the price of these updated headphones is still $179.99 (about £148/AU $259) – this is in line with the Sony LinkBuds S and Apple AirPods Pro.
NeoBuds Pro S are ready to ship in July on Amazon.
Review: New buds could deliver a Neo era for Edifier headphones
Edifier’s dip into the headphone world has been a mixed bag so far – we felt the entry-level Edifier TWS1 was good value for money in terms of features, but we weren’t convinced by its overall audio performance or its limited touch controls.
It was a similar story with the original NeoBuds Pro, which provided competitive features and pricing, but fell through with the mid-range fit and its unintuitive on-ear controls.
There’s no word on whether any of these issues have been resolved with this update, but the addition of Snapdragon Sound at least suggests there should be an improvement over its predecessors, and Edifier has a strong track record of making good products, so we’re cautiously optimistic.