Until a few years back, vivo’s earbuds were everywhere, simply because they deliver awesome sound without weighing too much on the pocket. Take their TWS 3e, for example. Now, after a brief hiatus, the company is back again, with a new pair of earbuds: the Buds. They cost ₹1,999, and for the money, you get 50 hours of battery life, a low-latency mode for gamers, and spatial audio support. But is it worth your money? To find out, I’ve been driving the vivo Buds daily for the past two weeks, taking them to the gym and attending various events. Spoiler alert: they are really good. Here’s how.
vivo Buds Review
Summary
The vivo Buds get the fundamentals right. The case is compact and genuinely pocket-friendly, the earbuds are comfortable enough for long listening sessions, and the sound is balanced with clear vocals and respectable bass. The redesigned app, customizable EQ, low-latency gaming mode, and excellent battery life make the overall package feel complete
Design & Comfort
The vivo Buds follow a pretty familiar design language. You get an oval, clamshell charging case that’s compact enough to disappear inside a jeans pocket. I actually prefer this shape over the squarer cases because it’s much easier to open with one hand, and vivo has nailed the hinge.
The standout color is the light green finish. It looks fresh and much more interesting than the endless sea of black earbuds flooding the market. That said, the glossy plastic isn’t doing it any favors. It looks premium on day one, but the surface picks up scratches surprisingly easily. After a few months of everyday use, I know this case will be full of scratches.
There’s a USB-C port on the bottom for charging, but I genuinely dislike the lack of a dedicated pairing button. Whenever you want to connect the Buds to a new phone, you have to do the usual finger gymnastics: wear both earbuds, then hold the touch-sensitive area until you hear a beep. It works, but it’s nowhere near as convenient as having a physical button.
As for the earbuds themselves, they’re surprisingly comfortable. I have fairly small ears, and bulky earbuds, like the Noise Master Buds 2, usually start hurting after an hour or so. The Buds stayed secure throughout my gym sessions and never felt heavy. They’re glossy too, which makes them a little slippery when you take them out of the case.
Sound Quality & Noise Cancellation
For earbuds that cost around ₹2,000, the vivo Buds sound genuinely impressive. I left them in the default Standard sound profile for almost all of my testing because that’s how most people will use them. The tuning leans toward balanced rather than bass-heavy, which I love. Vocals come through clearly, instruments have decent separation, and the highs don’t become sharp even at higher volumes.
There’s enough bass to give pop and hip-hop tracks a little punch, but don’t expect the room-shaking low end you’d get from more expensive earbuds. The soundstage is a bit narrow, but that’s completely understandable at this price.
If the default tuning isn’t your thing, vivo includes several built-in sound profiles inside the redesigned vEarphones app. You can switch between Clear Voice, Mega Bass, Crisp High Pitch, and an Immersive Audiobook mode depending on what you’re listening to. For anyone who likes tweaking audio, there’s also a full custom equalizer that lets you adjust individual frequencies, which is a surprisingly premium feature to find in budget earbuds.
Sadly, you don’t get active noise cancellation. The Buds don’t have it. The silicone tips create a decent passive seal that cuts down office chatter and traffic noise to some extent, but don’t expect them to silence an airplane cabin or a noisy metro.
Controls & Battery
The vEarphones app has come a long way since I last used it. The redesign makes it much cleaner, with features laid out more logically instead of being buried inside confusing menus. Everything from EQ settings to gaming mode is easy to find, and the overall experience feels much more polished.
Controls are equally straightforward. A double tap on either earbud plays or pauses music, while a triple tap skips to the next song. They worked reliably throughout my testing, and I rarely had to repeat a gesture.
There’s also a dedicated low-latency gaming mode, which I tested during several BGMI matches with friends. The delay between audio and gameplay was minimal enough that footsteps, gunshots, and voice chat all stayed nicely in sync. It won’t replace wired earphones for competitive players, but it’s more than capable for casual gaming.
Beyond that, battery life shouldn’t be a concern. I’ve been using them every day for music, YouTube, calls, and gaming, and I still haven’t had to recharge the charging case since the initial full charge.
Verdict
At around ₹1,999, the vivo Buds get the fundamentals right. The case is compact and genuinely pocket-friendly, the earbuds are comfortable enough for long listening sessions, and the sound is balanced with clear vocals and respectable bass. The redesigned app, customizable EQ, low-latency gaming mode, and excellent battery life make the overall package feel complete. Of course, there are some trade-offs, like the glossy finish and the active noise cancellation, or lack thereof, but these are not deal breakers, especially at the price.