Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

$90 TicPods ANC herald a new era of affordable true wireless noise cancellation

By
 

We knew it was coming, but it’s still great to see: Active noise cancellation (ANC) is no longer a prohibitively expensive option on true wireless earbuds. The proof is the newly announced TicPods ANC, a $90 set of true wireless earbuds that bring the popular feature down to a sub-$100 level.

TicPods ANC with charging case
Movboi

Previously, the most affordable set of decent earbuds with any kind of active noise cancellation were Amazon’s $130 Echo Buds. However, even the Echo Buds aren’t technically ANC-equipped. They use Bose’s active noise reduction (ANR) technology, which certainly reduces outside sounds, but isn’t as effective at doing so as the ANC earbud technology used by Sony, Apple, and soon, Bose itself.

Recommended Videos

It’s worth noting that despite their rock-bottom price for ANC, the TicPods ANC aren’t going to blow you away with their other capabilities. Battery life, for instance, is just 5 hours with ANC turned off and 4.5 hours with it turned on, according to Mobvoi, the manufacturer. That’s the exact same specifications as Apple’s rival the AirPods Pro, which have some of the shortest battery life of any true wireless ANC earbuds.

Related: 
Best new movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max (HBO), and more

The design of the TicPods ANC and their charging case is clearly influenced by Apple’s products, and that’s mostly a good thing. Apple’s compact charging cases are some of the best for ease of use and portability, while their golf tee shape remains popular even after years of seeing them everywhere.

The charging case holds a fairly standard two full charges, but it isn’t able to recharge itself wirelessly, something we’re starting to see on lots of affordable earbuds.

The TicPods ANC give you access to Siri or Google Assistant, they feature a sound passthrough mode to let in the outside world, and they’re IPX5-rated to keep most forms of water from damaging them. These are all good features, but also fairly standard in the true wireless world at the moment.

Clearly, ANC is the big drawing card here, especially at this price point. It remains to be seen how good these earbuds will sound, but we thought Mobvoi’s TicPods Free compared favorably to Apple’s AirPods when we reviewed them in 2018, which is promising for the TicPods ANC.

Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen is a contributing editor to Digital Trends' Audio/Video section, where he obsesses over the latest wireless…
Topics

Editors’ Recommendations

Beyerdynamic launches new flagship wireless earbuds and headphones
Beyerdynamic AMIRON 300 and AVENTHO 300.

Beyerdynamic has revamped its top-of-the line wireless earbuds and wireless headphones with two new models, the Amiron 300 ($280) and Aventho 300 ($400). They'll be available in black or white color options when they go on sale in October.

The naming convention of the new models may confuse some long-time Beyerdynamic fans. Historically, the company has used the Amiron name to refer to its wired and wireless over-ear headphones, like the open-back Amiron Home and the wireless Amiron Wireless. However, the new Amiron 300 are the company's flagship wireless earbuds (the company's first wireless earbuds are the Free Byrd.)

Read more
Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro are like AirPods with AI smarts
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Galaxy Buds 3, in their cases with lids open.

Thanks to what were clearly very accurate leaks, we already knew that Samsung was planning to release a new generation of Galaxy Buds wireless earbuds with a strong resemblance to Apple's iconic AirPods Gen 3 and AirPods Pro. What we didn't know at the time was just how closely Samsung had stuck to Apple's formula.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Apple should be feeling very flattered indeed. The new Galaxy Buds are as close as it gets to Apple's designs, right down to the price: $180 for the Galaxy Buds 3 and $250 for the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro (one dollar more expensive than Apple's pricing). The two models are available for preorder today and will be in stores starting July 24.

Read more
Jabra’s next-gen Elite earbuds can go wired or wireless
Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 connected to an airplane seatback entertainment system.

It's only been one year since they were released, but Jabra has already updated its Elite 10 and Elite 8 Active wireless earbuds with a new charging case that can double as a wireless transmitter. Simply plug the case into an analog audio source, like an aircraft's entertainment system or a workout machine, using the included cable, and the case will send that audio to the earbuds using the latest Bluetooth LE Audio standard.

Jabra says it has also made meaningful improvements to spatial audio quality, call quality, and noise canceling. Unfortunately, these new features come with higher prices. Both the Elite 10 Gen 2 and Elite 8 Active Gen 2 sell for $30 more than their predecessors: $279 and $229 respectively, versus $249 and $199 for the Gen 1 products. They'll be available for purchase by mid-June, with navy, black, coral, and olive color options on the Elite 8 Active Gen 2, and titanium black, gloss black, cocoa, denim, and soft white colors for the Elite 10 Gen 2.

Read more