This is the Xiaomi Buds 5: a premium pair of earbuds with a lot of technology and a stylish yet sturdy design. The earbuds ship in a small box with a USB-A to USB-C cable.
The case has a striking semi-gloss semi-matte finish. It is small and has a nice round shape, so it fits comfortably in your pocket.
The Xiaomi Buds 5 in the case
The Xiaomi Buds 5 have an open-ear design and do not have silicone eartips that can penetrate your ear canal. These are generally more comfortable to wear for long periods of time and are preferred by people who don’t mind some outside noise coming through.
The Buds 5 still have active noise cancellation, which uses the 3-microphone array and AI to cancel out outside noise. Wind noise reduction is estimated at 12 meters per second, for what that’s worth.
The earbuds use 11mm drivers to deliver sound and you can enjoy AAC, SBC and LC3 codecs, and both aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless.
The earbuds (not the housing) are also IP54 dust and water resistant.
The buttons have a subtle design
The Xiaomi Buds 5 have just gone on sale worldwide and cost €99. We’ll be reviewing them soon and reporting on our findings.