The TWS earbuds market is booming. As a major electronic consumer brand in China, Xiaomi has already started its layout very early. And through its Xiaomi and Redmi brands, it continues to iterate new products, product performance is continuously improved, functions are constantly enriched, and product sales continue to be at the forefront.
Xiaomi has successively released Xiaomi FlipBuds Pro, Xiaomi Buds 3 Pro and Xiaomi Buds 3 in 2021. Entering 2022, Xiaomi has only recently launched the Xiaomi Buds 4 Pro annual flagship tws earbuds. Redmi launched Redmi Buds 4 Pro and Redmi Buds 4 and two new products at one time. The former is a new generation of flagship earbuds with a new design. The latter continues the appearance of the Redmi AirDots 3 Pro.
This time, based on the previous teardown report, I will share with you the teardown comparison of Xiaomi Buds 3 and Redmi Buds 4 Pro under the Xiaomi and Redmi brands. Let’s take a look at the difference between the two.
01/ Product Appearance
Appearance Design
In terms of appearance, Xiaomi Buds 3 and Redmi Buds 4 Pro have a similar design language except for the color difference. The charging case has an oval shape. The handle-shaped in-ear earphones backplane is designed with a decorative sheet, which is processed by a different process from the fuselage to improve product texture and recognition.
Charging Case Interface
The charging interface of Xiaomi Buds 3 and Redmi Buds 4 Pro charging case both use USB Type-C interface, which has a wide range of compatibility and can be shared with mobile phone charging cables. Xiaomi Buds 3 also supports wireless charging, providing a more convenient charging method.
Weight
In terms of weight, the overall weight of Xiaomi Buds 3 is about 52.0g, and the weight of a single earbud is about 4.6g. The overall weight of the Redmi Buds 4 Pro is about 47.0g, and the weight of a single earbud is about 5.4g.
02/ Earphones
Bluetooth Audio SoC
In terms of main control scheme, Xiaomi Buds 3 is equipped with BES BES2500ZP bluetooth audio SoC. Support Bluetooth 5.2, active noise cancellation and 3-Mic to achieve high-definition call noise cancellation. The chip also has powerful radio frequency performance, and the average power consumption is less than 5mA, which can realize the design of long battery life or small size earphones.
Redmi Buds 4 Pro uses AIROHA AB1565AM bluetooth audio SoC. AB1565x is Airoha’s new generation of bluetooth advanced audio solutions, supports Bluetooth 5.3, has the ability to support LE audio, the latest multi-point for TWS, and can be connected to laptops and mobile phones at the same time to switch easily. It provides ultra-low power consumption and ultra-low latency performance, and the average power consumption can reach ~4.x mA, which is the leading power consumption level in the current bluetooth audio market. It also has stable bluetooth connection, clear sound quality and Hybrid ANC function.
Touch/Pressure Sensing Sensor
Xiaomi Buds 3 and Redmi Buds 4 Pro use different solutions in terms of operation control. The former adopts pressure-sensitive buttons to achieve more precise control. The latter adopts the mainstream touch solution, which is more convenient to use.
Touch/Pressure Sensing Detection IC
In terms of touch and pressure sensing detection ICs that are used with sensors to control various functions, Xiaomi Buds 3 adopts CHIPSEA CSU18M68 pressure sensor detection IC, which is a SOC with dual-channel pressure sensing measurement function and supports AFE mode and MCU mode. Redmi Buds 4 Pro uses ABOV A96T549D capacitive touch MCU.
Battery
Xiaomi Buds 3 uses a soft-pack button battery with a capacity of 38mAh and a QR code on the silk screen for product traceability. Redmi Buds 4 Pro uses a MIC-POWER steel shell button battery, model: M1154S3, rated voltage: 3.85V, capacity: 0.212Wh.
Microphone
Both Xiaomi Buds 3 and Redmi Buds 4 Pro are equipped with three MEMS microphones. It includes a feed-forward noise cancellation microphone in the rear cavity, a feedback noise cancellation microphone in the front cavity, and a call microphone at the bottom of the headset stem, which are used to mix active noise cancellation and call noise cancellation functions.
Xiaomi Buds 3 includes a “M1 1AW26” feedback noise cancellation microphone, “N 14N95” feedforward noise cancellation microphone and “N 15E87” call microphone. The three microphones of Redmi Buds 4 Pro are all from XINGANG, and the models are “X042M 28415”, “2204 MX05” and “2207 MX08”.
Speaker
The ultra-dynamic dual-magnetic unit used in Xiaomi Buds 3 is composed of N52 dual-magnet, Japanese CCAW coil and high-rigidity diaphragm. It can effectively reduce the distortion rate, improve the frequency response, and reduce high-frequency split vibration.
The Redmi Buds 4 Pro is equipped with a coaxial dual unit, which is composed of a 10mm aluminum-magnesium alloy diaphragm dynamic and a 6mm titanium diaphragm tweeter dynamic. Crossover cooperation to achieve excellent sound quality performance in different frequency bands.
Other
Redmi Buds 4 Pro is also equipped with XySemi DFN1*1 lithium battery protection IC, which is responsible for battery overcharge, overdischarge, short circuit, overcurrent, overtemperature and other series of protection functions. Detailed information on the internal lithium battery protection IC of Xiaomi Buds 3 could not be obtained.
03/ Charging Case
Battery
In terms of built-in lithium battery in the charging case, Xiaomi Buds 3 battery model: BW51, rated capacity: 480mAh/1.82Wh, nominal voltage: 3.8V, charging limit voltage: 4.35V, manufacturer: Dongguan LIWINON Technology Co., Ltd., made in China.
Redmi Buds 4 Pro battery model: 761833QH, battery capacity: 590mAh/2.28Wh, nominal voltage: 3.87V, charging limit voltage: 4.45V, manufacturer: Huizhou EVE Energy Co., Ltd., made in China.
Lithium Battery Protection IC
In terms of battery protection, both products are equipped with XySemi XB5152 ZR series integrated lithium battery protection IC, which is a highly integrated solution. Contains advanced power MOSFETs, high-precision voltage detection circuits and delay circuits in an ultra-small SOT23-5 package with only one external component, making it an ideal solution for limited space in battery packs.
Xiaomi Buds 3 adopts model: XB5152J2SZR. Redmi Buds 4 Pro adopts model: XB5152UA2SZR.
Power Management IC
The power management of Xiaomi Buds 3 and Redmi Buds 4 Pro adopts SinhMicro SS881X series Power MCU chip, which is an AD type Flash MCU with integrated charge and discharge management. Built-in rich interface functions, flexible configuration modes and different low power consumption options bring streamlined peripheral costs, excellent performance and flexible and convenient development.
Xiaomi Buds 3 uses SS881E POWER MCU in SSOP24 package. Redmi Buds 4 Pro uses SS881Q POWER MCU in 4*4mm QFN24 package.
Boost IC
The boost ICs used to boost the built-in battery to charge earphones all use the LPS scheme. Xiaomi Buds 3 adopts LP6261A 1uA low-power boost chip, and the switch pin adopts high-voltage 9V process, which can effectively absorb the high-voltage spike generated when the earphone is plugged and unplugged. There is no whistle in the full load capacity (especially light load). Using SOT23-6 package, 1.7uA ultra-low power boost (5V normally open), the output voltage is adjustable. Shutdown current <0.1uA, built-in EN completely shut down, built-in output short-circuit protection.
The Redmi Buds 4 Pro is equipped with an LP6252F synchronous boost chip in a SOT23-6 package. The switching frequency is 1MHZ with internal compensation, which reduces the number of external components and minimizes the size of inductors and capacitors. Allows external resistors to program the output voltage. In shutdown mode, the output is disconnected from the input and current consumption drops below 1µA.
The LP6252 has strong output capability, and the typical value of the current limit of the lower tube is 3A, which can meet the high current demand of customers for charging headphones. At the same time, it satisfies the light-load high-efficiency mode, which makes earphones more efficient in the charging cut-off stage, and the charging case battery lasts longer.
Wireless Charging Receiver Chip
Xiaomi Buds 3 supports wireless charging. The charging case is equipped with COPO CP2022 wireless charging receiver IC, which is a single-chip, advanced, flexible, and secondary-side wireless charging transmission chip. It can provide up to 3W of power for portable applications, has the advantages of high integration, high efficiency, low power consumption, etc., and complies with the Qi V1.2.4 standard.
04/ Summary
Xiaomi Buds 3 and Redmi Buds 4 Pro are in the same price range on Xiaomi’s official price. Although the two products differ in appearance design, they have a similar design language. The former has a more unique design, similar to the curve of a musical note, with smooth and graceful lines, and is highly recognizable. The latter design is more inclined to the discontinued Xiaomi FlipBuds Pro, which also has the unique brand characteristics of Xiaomi TWS earphones.
In terms of internal configuration, Xiaomi Buds 3 adopts BES BES2500ZP solution, and Redmi Buds 4 Pro adopts AIROHA AB1565AM bluetooth audio SoC. Both solutions support the current mainstream functions such as hybrid ANC and call noise cancellation. The low-power design makes the battery life of both products belong to the first echelon of the current TWS earbuds market. Redmi Buds 4 Pro also supports a new generation of Bluetooth 5.3 and LC3 codec technology, with a full link delay as low as 59ms.
In other respects, Xiaomi Buds 3 supports wireless charging and adopts pressure-sensitive buttons that are more precise in operation and avoid accidental touches. The Redmi Buds 4 Pro is equipped with a coaxial dual unit for the first time, providing excellent sound quality in different frequency bands. And the built-in 590mAh/3.87V high-voltage battery under the condition of reducing the weight of the charging case brings a longer-lasting comprehensive battery life.
Source: 52audio
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1 Comment
Was very good 👌