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It finally happened. My Gen I AirPods have gone to the great electronics home in the sky. And so… it was on to find their replacement.
Personally, I love the AirPods product. They are super comfortable, they of course have great sound and charge faster than any electronic I’d ever owned. In my opinion they have just one flaw—price. At $159.99 for the Gen II model and $249.00 for the jump to Pro, its a bit of a difficult pill to swallow for many. But is there a decent budget AirPod alternative?
So I began my search to find the perfect alternative. I looked for a set of earbuds that offered, great sound and functionality, but at a affordable price point. What I found was MPOW.
MPOW is a relatively new electronics company, started in 2013. Since their founding, the company’s focus has been to provide ‘the best audio experience at an affordable price’. I have to say based on my own research, this is certainly something I think they’ve achieved.
If you do any research on MPOW, you’ll find they offer a number of different electronics products. However, I think where they shine is with their wireless earbuds. For purposes of my search I narrowed my selection down to a couple options.
The first set is the MPOW X3. If you like the AirPod Gen I or II form factor and functionality, then this may be the budget alternative for you. The X3s have big, crisp sound quality, but still maintain a small, convenient package.
MPOW X3 Wireless Earbuds
$59.99
The MPOW offers a ton of features such as Active Noise Canceling, IPX 8 waterproofing, 4 mics for great call ability as well as app interaction and they provide Smart Touch allowing full control of music, volume, calls, ANC and the voice assistant.
If the nearly $60 price tag is still too much for you, I would suggest the MPOW M30. This set of wireless earbuds are, in my opinion, is the best value in the MPOW family. Again, these have fantastic sound and offer much of same the features as the X3, minus a few. The M30 does not offer for example noise cancelling capabilities, but the shape and fit of the earbud does well to block quite a bit of outside noise.
MPOW M30 Wireless Earbuds
$28.03 (On Sale Now)
Features of the M30 include IPX 8 waterproofing, USB C quick charge capabilities, secure-fit ergonomic ear-fin to keep the buds in place at all times, along with a number of other additions.
UPDATE: MPOW has also developed an updated, Plus version of the M30. Check out the link below for more info.
MPOW M30 Plus
So what did I end up going with? Drum roll… the MPOW M30. For me this was a no-brainer. MPOW offered a fantastic feature-filled product, for UNDER $30! To be completely honest though, the feature that surprised me the most, was just how waterproof they actually are. I even wore them in the shower with absolutely no issue… What? It doesn’t hurt to be thorough.