After making a name for itself with some
of the most affordable AirPods and AirPods Pro alternatives on the market, as
well as an extensive family of feature-packed Wear OS smartwatches with
similarly competitive prices, it shouldn't come as a surprise to see Mobvoi try
its hand at over-ear headphones rocking active noise cancellation technology
too.
Naturally, the key selling point of the
company's rookie Sony WH-1000XM3 and Bose 700-rivaling effort is the retail
price, set at an almost too good to be true US$ 129.99 in the US. That makes the
curiously named TicKasa ANC cans a whopping US$ 220 and US$ 270 cheaper than Sony and
Bose's latest high-end wireless Bluetooth headphones respectively, although for
what it's worth, the industry veterans are routinely sold at pretty substantial
discounts by various authorized retailers.
Still, you definitely shouldn't expect the
incredibly well-reviewed WH-1000XM3 and Bose 700 to come anywhere close to the
phenomenal level of affordability offered by the Mobvoi TicKasa ANC Headphones
anytime soon, which obviously makes us curious to see the in-depth reviews for
the ambitious market newcomer.
At first glance, these bad boys look
positively dreamy, with a battery life of up to 30 hours on a single charge
(with the ANC functionality disabled), a lightweight and compact design focused
on providing all-day comfort with "premium materials" including
breathable mesh and soft ear cushions, as well as a bold promise of delivering
"superior sound quality" powered by Qualcomm's QCC301 chipset, aptX
HD Audio technology, and AAC audio codecs.
Thanks to five built-in microphones and
dual-microphone noise isolation, Mobvoi claims the TicKasa ANC headphones are
capable of "easily detecting environmental noise", analyzing your
surroundings to create the "perfect soundwave" to keep things all
nice and quiet around you.
Of course, integrating some form of active
noise cancellation functionality and actually getting it right are two very
different things, so it's definitely wise to wait and hear some professional
opinions on the "superior" audio performance and "state-of-the-art"
ANC on the US$ 129.99 TicKasa before pulling the trigger. Then again, that price
point puts these puppies squarely in impulse buy territory, and bargain hunters
might find it hard to resist hitting that purchase button on Mobvoi's official
website. That's right, the TicKasa ANC Headphones are already up for grabs
stateside in both black and gray color options.
