A few months ago, I was drawn to the Oraimo Freepods 4 Pro that had just been released. Being a fan of their products and knowing that I was in need of a new pair of earphones, I went on to purchase one for myself and had it delivered. I then went on to write a review of the earphones after about two months of usage.
In my review of the earphones months ago, I applauded the makers for being able to pack in a lot of great features within an earphone and making it more affordable than its counterparts in the market. However, I missed something in that review and the overall experience of using the earphones.
I like being able to make calls hands-free. And, of course, that was why I wanted to get it. My experience with its predecessor, FreePods 3, was excellent at making my call experience very nice. My call recipients were able to hear me very clearly regardless of the noise around, and I would usually be able to hear them on my end. Hence, I expected that and even more with the Freepods 4.
"I cannot really hear you. I think the network is bad. Your voice sounds really low. Can you come close to the mic?" Such statements were what I usually heard from my friends whenever we talked over the phone. I would often attribute the problem to some unfortunate circumstance, like poor reception and the like.
After a couple of weeks dealing with such remarks and commentaries on my call quality, I finally realised the problem.
I was on the phone one time with a friend of mine. For some reason, I couldn't hear him clearly. The audio was mostly frustrating to listen to. On trying to "fix that," my friend tried switching from his audio source to the phone's built-in microphone and speaker to find a solution. It worked.
I could hear my friend just fine, and then I asked him what he did to adjust that. He said that all he did was disconnect his Bluetooth earphones. It turned out that his own earphones had really bad audio through their microphones. And, also, it turned out to be the very one that I was using, the Freepods 4.
It was in that moment that I realised what my own problem with my calls had been all along. The Freepods 4 had really poor quality when it came to calls to the audio from its source.
The level of disappointment I felt when I realised this problem with the earphones that I had already hyped was so immense. I wondered just how a really cool pair of earphones has so many qualities and is lacking in an area that is virtually the most important.
Embracing this very flaw of the earphones, I proceeded to find an alternative—a possible solution to my phone call palaver.
Since I couldn't afford to buy its predecessor (the FreePods 3) at the time I realised the problem, I looked at the option of wired earphones. I went to the market, and then I bought wired earphones from the same Oraimo. These wired earphones were going to make things much easier when making calls.
The quality I get from listening to audio through the Freepods 4 is unmatched. I could not entirely forsake the earphones, and so I kept on using them—alongside the wired earphones.
What I do regularly is have the Freepods 4 on and actively listen to music with them. When a phone call comes in, however, that is when I switch up the earphones and put on the wired one for a better call experience. What this means is that I mostly have to carry both earphones around wherever I go. That wasn't my experience with the Freepods 3.
At certain points, ever since I purchased and started using Freepds 4, I felt regretful that I was stuck with something that didn't serve me as well as I expected. Although my solution seems to be just alright, I never really hear complaints about my audio quality whenever I am on the phone with people.
In a nutshell, what I am trying to say is that, as great as Freepods 4 may be, this is something that you need to know beforehand. It's not exactly cheap, but it sure is affordable. It is worth knowing exactly what you'll get for your money's worth.
Original images
...shot on Redmi Note 10 Pro
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