OPPO Enco W11 Review: Truly Wireless Earbuds For Fitness Enthusiasts On A Tight Budget
Truly wireless earbuds are all the rage now. Ever since Apple “cut the cords” off its EarPods, the truly wireless earbuds industry has rapidly gained momentum. In fact, this industry has gained such momentum that we’re now seeing a bevvy of smartphone companies jump on this bandwagon and deliver some exciting truly wireless earbuds that cater to a wide range of the market.
Shortly after releasing the OPPO Enco Free and the OPPO Enco W31, OPPO recently announced the OPPO Enco W11 that is a pair of truly wireless earbuds that cater to buyers in the sub-3k segment. With value-for-money offerings such as the Redmi Earbuds S and the Realme Buds Q, does the OPPO Enco W11 manage to stand out being a bit more expensive? Well, let’s find out in our full review of it!
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OPPO Enco W11 Review: Case & Design
The first thing I noticed when I pulled out the case from the box is just how similar it looked to that of the Samsung Galaxy Buds. Right from the rounded capsule shape to the lip that helps open the case, it’s strikingly similar. But that’s where the similarities end. Costing almost one-fifth, the W11 case’s build quality is obviously not as good. The hinge of the case is also made of plastic which makes me question its durability in the long run.
The W11 is only available in a single white colourway and the case has a gloss finish. Similar is the case with the earbuds inside that are painted in a glossy white finish. The earbuds magnetically slot inside the case quite satisfactorily. The case also makes use of an LED light which sits just below the opening lip. The LED shows the charge left in the case with green meaning the case is fully charged and red meaning that it needs to be charged.
The buds are in-ear type and hence have projected ear tips that sit inside the ear canal. I found the fit to be quite satisfactory and the earbuds did a decent job with passive noise cancellation. While they’re not as light as the Realme Buds Q buds that weigh 3.6 grams each, the W11- weighing at 4.4 grams each – are still light enough to not be of much bother.
The OPPO Enco W11 boast of IP55 rating which makes them rather resistant against elements.
The buds have support for capacitive touch controls and they cover almost all functions you’d expect them to. A single tap on either bud pauses/resumes music while a double-tap on the buds skips tracks. If you want to activate the voice assistant, you can initiate a triple-tap to do so. And lastly, you can press and hold either side of the buds to decrease or increase volume.
It’s not quite often that you get to see a wide range of controls on earbuds and the Enco W11 definitely score high here. Although, the touch controls are not the best and they quite sporadically fail to register taps. Unlike the Realme Buds Q, the Enco W11 doesn’t have a dedicate application through which you can customize controls.
OPPO Enco W11 Review: Sound & Call Quality
The Enco W11 comes with 8mm drivers and connect to supported phones via Bluetooth 5.0. They have support for the AAC & SBC codec which is pretty much what you’d expect from a budget pair of TWS. There’s no dedicated application out here which offer audio tuning but that’s something you probably shouldn’t expect from a pair of TWS that cost INR 2,499.
Like most budget-oriented truly wireless earbuds, the Enco W11 is bass-heavy, which isn’t necessarily bad if you listen to a lot of pop or electronic music. Unfortunately, the bass isn’t quite tight and this clearly comes across in a song like Heat Waves by Glass Animals where you’ll notice the muddiness. The amplified low-end also muffles the mids and if you’re looking for a well-balanced sound output the Enco M31 should be the ones you should check out. If you’re keen on getting the Enco W11, I’d suggest you make use of an equalizer such as Wavelet to improve the sound performance.
Before I mention how the call quality I think it’s important to know that budget truly wireless earbuds – especially ones which have a form factor similar to that of the W11 – rarely boast of good call performance. The Enco W11 has support for environment noise cancellation which will help in reducing background noise such as wind noise. But in my experience, the call quality is quite average. While it’s definitely usable when indoors, I wouldn’t recommend using them outdoors if you don’t want the receiver to get annoyed.
OPPO Enco W11 Review: Battery Life & Charging
The buds feature a 40mAh battery while the case carries a 400mAh unit. In terms of real-world usage, OPPO claims that the buds last about 5 hours at a stretch while the case carries an additional charge which is worth about 15 hours of listening time. In my usage, I got about 4-4.25 hours on a single charge and with the help of the case, I was about to juice up the buds three times over.
One advantage of the W11 is that it skips the dying microUSB port for a USB Type-C port which although might sound trivial, is a big plus for me. At a time where almost all gadgets I use on a daily basis have Type-C ports, it’s convenient to not care about an additional cable for just one peripheral. The case and the buds take about 2.5-3 hours to completely charge when drained out.
OPPO Enco W11 Review: Miscellaneous
The Enco W11, unlike the Realme Buds Q don’t have a dedicated gaming mode which reduces audio lag. While the W11 is perfectly suitable for watching movies and shows, using them for gaming is something I wouldn’t recommend. I tried playing PUBG with the OPPO Enco W11 and there’s enough of lag to put you at disadvantage in a close encounter.
In terms of reliability of audio connection, I faced no issues with the Enco W11. They were quite satisfactory in that sense and didn’t disconnect or act wonky even once in my use of over two weeks.
OPPO Enco W11 Review: Final Verdict
The OPPO Enco W11 cost INR 2,499 and compete with the likes of the Realme Buds Q and the Redmi Earbuds S that cost INR 1,999 and INR 1,799 respectively. So, should you spend more on the Enco W11? Well, it depends on a few reasons. The OPPO Enco W11 with its IP55 rating is much more suitable if you often find yourself working out. Thanks to the solid fit and solid connection, they’d make a great workout buddy. Also, the inclusion of a Type-C port is definitely a plus as you won’t have to lug around a hard-to-find microUSB port.
But the OPPO Enco W11 sound just fine and aren’t suited for gaming. While you can tune the Enco W11 with an equalizer, I personally preferred the Realme Buds Q which offer better sound performance. Not just that, the Realme Buds Q also have support for a low-latency mode which can come quite handy if you often find yourself gaming.
Finally, if you’re really looking for a pair of Bluetooth earphones that sound good (and are ready to give up the freedom truly wireless earphones afford) I’d strongly recommend you to check out the OPPO Enco M31 which cost INR 2,499. Although I personally haven’t used them, the tech community can’t stop raving about just how good it sounds for its price.
Image Credits: Prasham Parikh | Mashable India
