Redmi Buds 5C Review: Reliable and Affordable

Redmi recently introduced its new budget-centric TWS in the market with Redmi Buds 5C. The latest earbuds come with a price tag of Rs 1,999 and offer some interesting features and specifications. The new earbuds offer hybrid ANC up to 40dB, 12.4mm dynamic Titanium drivers, five different sound profiles, an IP54 rating, and more. The earbuds will be going against the likes of Boat, Noise, and more that have already established themselves in this price segment. However, is it enough to make its presence felt in the affordable TWS segment? Let's find out in this in-depth review.

Redmi Buds 5C Design and Features: Compact and Comfortable

• Size: 31 x 21.4 x 23.45mm (Buds); 57 x 55.95 x 26.85mm (Case)
• Weight - 4.2g (Each Bud); 38.5g (Total with Case)
• Water and dust resistance - IP54 (Buds only)
• Colours - Symphony Blue, Bass White, and Acoustic Black

The Redmi Buds 5C comes with a compact design and comfortable in-ear design. The case comes with a square design with rounded edges, which makes it easier to fit in your palms. The lid also feels sturdy and you get a good clicky sound when you close it. The device is available in different colour options, but the Symphony Blue, in my opinion, gives a quite premium look and feel. There is a small LED light at the base to indicate the connection. At the base, you find a USB Type-C port and a pair button.

The Redmi Buds 5C is available in Acoustic Black, Bass White, and Symphony Blue.

The stem design of the earbuds draws inspiration from the AirPods Pro (2nd gen). The earbuds are lightweight, fit comfortably in the ear, and come with two additional pairs, one small and one large. The medium earbuds stay in place during walks, but they feel a bit loose during exercise.

Although there is no IP rating on the case, the earbuds come with an IP54 rating, meaning that they can withstand light splashes. You also get touch controls on each earbud to play, pause, adjust volume, and more with tap functions.

Redmi Buds 5C App and Specifications: Easy-to-Use Interface

• Driver - 12.4mm
• Companion App - Xiaomi Earbuds
• Gesture controls - Yes (tap)

The Redmi Buds 5C comes with a companion app through which you can control multiple functions. The Xiaomi Earbuds app is available on both Android and iOS platforms, which is a good thing. The app interface is quite easy to use, and you get the important information on the home screen, like the battery percentage and noise cancellation options.

The earbuds also support a companion app known as Xiaomi Earbuds.

The app also allows you to customise the gestures on the buds. One can customise single tap, double tap, and triple tap on each earbud separately. The company gives you the option to select different actions for different taps, like volume up and down, pause and play, and more. While the press and hold function turns on/off noise cancellation mode.

The app also allows you to select the equaliser as per your preferences, check the firmware update, or find your earphones. However, for these features, you need to either sign in with your Xiaomi account or create one.

The Redmi Buds 5C offers an IP54 rating, making it splash and dust-resistant.

Coming to the specifications, the Redmi Buds 5C offers some interesting features. The earbuds come with a 12.4mm driver along with hybrid active noise cancellation up to 40db. The earbuds support SBC and AAC codecs along with Google Fast Pair and dual device smart connection. It also features Bluetooth 5.3, custom EQ modes, and dual microphones with AI noise reduction.

Redmi Buds 5C Performance and Battery Life: High on Bass, Dependable Battery

• ANC - 40dB
• Battery - 45mAh (Bud), 480mAh (Case)
• Charging - Wired (USB Type-C)
• Bluetooth - 5.3

The Redmi Buds 5C offers a decent performance at this price point. The Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is quite effective, and you get three different modes: Noise Cancellation, Transparency, and Off. The noise cancellation works well in the indoor environment. Once you turn it on, the ambient noise is reduced decently, if not completely. In outdoor conditions as well, the performance was decent, and it was able to suppress sounds of traffic or other environmental disturbances.

The Redmi Buds 5C supports the hybrid ANC feature, which works effectively.

The earbuds also come with different EQ modes, which you can control via the Xiaomi Earbuds application. You get Standard, Enhance Treble, Enhance Bass, Enhance Voice, and Custom modes to choose from. However, the Enhance Bass is the best mode to go with as it provides the best sound output. You can also customise the frequencies as per your taste with the Custom mode.

Coming to the performance, the Redmi Buds 5C brings a balanced approach with emphasis on the bass. This means you will get a bassy sound while playing songs like ‘Big Dawg' by Hanumankind. However, I noticed that the bass was overpowering the mids and highs. So, in a song like I'm Yours by Jason Mraz, the bass suppresses the instruments and vocals. Also, at high volumes, I noticed some distortion and uneven sound separation, which was a bit disappointing.

The latest earbuds come with an AI-enabled ENC feature for noise reduction during calls.

The earbuds also come with decent battery life. The company claims that you can get up to 36 hours of backup with the case and up to 7 hours of backup on each earbud. During the testing period, I found out that the earbuds delivered close to 4 hours of backup with the ANC turned on. With ANC turned off, you can get close to 6 hours of backup from each bud.

With the charging case, I got close to 30 hours of playback time, which is impressive given its price point. The charging time of earbuds is quick as well, and within 50 minutes of charging from the case, you get a full battery. However, the charging of the case was a bit slow, and it got fully charged in over two hours.

The earbuds offer up to 36 hours of playback time with the charging case.

The call quality is good as well. The earbuds offer dual mics with AI-based ENC that provide good isolation from the ambient noise but not the bustling roadside. The earbuds offer good clarity on both ends, which is a good thing.

Redmi Buds 5C Verdict

To conclude, the Redmi Buds 5C brings a good package in the affordable TWS segment. At the price tag of Rs 1,799, the buds deliver effective ANC coupled with some decent sound quality and impressive battery life. The segment also comes with some good competitors. You have  Noise Buds Venus  (Review), Honor Choice Earbuds X5 (Review), and more that deliver good performance under the Rs 2,000 price segment. That said, if you are one of those who like bass-heavy sound and don't want to invest much in earbuds, then you can consider the Redmi Buds 5C.