Everyone needs headphones these days. Whether it’s to block out noisy co-workers so you can concentrate on the task at hand, or to immerse yourself in your favourite tunes; a set of stereo headphones undoubtedly resides in almost everyone’s backpack or purse. However, if you’re looking for true on-the-go portability and a more inconspicuous look, then you’re going to prefer to go the wireless earbud route for a number of reasons. If you’ve been on the lookout for a sweet new set of wireless ear buds, let me fill you in on the Uolo Mini Pulse Wireless Ear Pods I recently had a chance to test out.
Uolo Mini Pulse Ear Pods out of the box
The packaging on this is nice. The box has a magnetic flap on the side that you lift, revealing a plastic-covered piece of solid black foam, inside of which sits the Uolo charging case and the two Pulse ear pods. Under the foam, you’ll find different-sized silicon ear tips, charging cable and user manual.
Uolo Mini Pulse Wireless Ear Pod design
Apparently, these are the smallest true wireless stereo ear pods on the market, and I believe that claim. These are really tiny—just 22mm long and 13.9mm in width. They actually resemble little black bullets. Well, they look like silver and black bullets, with black ear tips and ends, and silver in the middle. The pods are very compact and lightweight. However, they don’t feel lightweight when it comes to quality. They immediately give the impression that they’re solid, well-built and more high-end. The quick charging case is about the size of a box of Tic Tacs and is made of a sturdy black plastic. The two Uolo Mini Pulse Ear Pods sit magnetically in the case, which “snaps” close quite satisfyingly.
Setting up the Uolo Mini Pulse Ear Pod
It’s a bit fiddly to pair up the Mini Pulse, but nothing too difficult. I actually think I did it wrong, and the ear buds just did it themselves anyway. Or, it was elves. You never can tell. But, if you follow instructions better than me, all you have to do is charge up the two pods in the handy-dandy charging case, close the cap, reopen it again, and have your device’s Bluetooth on. The right and left pods need to connect to each other successfully before you can pair them in a stereo configuration, or you can opt to use just one and look like a communications officer on Star Trek or something. Once you’ve connected and paired correctly, believe me, you’ll know, because a nice-sounding robot-lady will scare the apple juice right out of you by suddenly and unexpectedly saying “connected” in your ear. I’m not sure if it is my phone’s Bluetooth or the ear pods, but the first time I paired everything up, I got the robot-lady telling me the pods were connected in both the right and left channels. They then “disconnected” and reconnected again a couple of times before settling down. I didn’t have any issues after that.
Uolo Mini Pulse Performance
After I tried the three different silicon ear tips out to see which one would give me a better fit (medium, if you were wondering) I stuck them in my ears and took ‘em for a spin. With the proper silicon tips, the fit is nice and snug, but without feeling too squished into your ear. As I said before, these are very lightweight and small. So, even when I had them in, they were very inconspicuous.
But how do they sound? I have a playlist with a range of genres from Bob Dylan and classic rock, to folk, classical, jazz and bluegrass favourites. It can usually give me a good idea of the dynamic sound quality capable from a set of headphones. I have to admit the sound was very nice. The Uolo Mini Pulse has DSP enhanced HD stereo sound, so your music is going to sound great coming out of these little pods. The audio was clean, crisp and clear, and it didn’t degrade at higher volumes. Some of the sound did bleed out a tad at the highest of volumes (like, brain melting, too-loud-to-stand volumes). I also found the Uolo ear pods did a nice job of cutting out outside sounds, so if you are looking for noise-cancelling pods, these do the trick quite nicely.
One of the things I really like about these headphones is the control interface. Each of the two ear pods features a smart touch surface on the end. So, for instance, if you want to start your music you just have to tap the smooth black plastic end. To advance to another song, just tap the control surface of the left ear pod for about two seconds until you hear a beep. To go back a song, do the same thing, but with the right ear pod’s touch surface. It’s really great, but do make sure you memorize the different control functions, otherwise you will inadvertently blast the volume up when all you wanted was to hear that cool song again. Using those touch controls, you can also answer or reject phone calls, and access your Siri/Google Assistant. The Uolo Mini Pulse sounds just as clear when used for making and receiving phone calls.
The final word
I’m not such a great fan of over-ear headphones. You wear ‘em walking down the street and you look like a DJ who has lost his turntables. They’re bulky and not really great for when you’re exercising, either. So, I really prefer in-ear buds like the Uolo Mini Pulse Ear Pods. Of the in-ear brands I’ve tested out, these are also the nicest I’ve seen and heard. They don’t stick out too much, plus they are comfortable to wear for long periods of time. I really like the touch controls which means I don’t have to pick up or carry around my phone when I’m listening to music or taking calls. These are both water and sweat resistant, making them awesome for workouts or outdoor use. In terms of battery life, you get up to 3.5 hours of premium quality play/talk time with a single charge. The quick charging battery case also provides an additional three charges to the ear pods for continuous usage. And, just charging 15 minutes in the case will provide 1.5 hours of listening time. I would definitely recommend trying them out.
You can find the Uolo Mini Pulse Wireless Ear Pods and other wireless headphones online at Best Buy.
