boAt Airdopes 171 review: Should you go for it or not?

boAt is a powerful name in the Indian audio market and has enough strength to give a head to head to its senior competitors. Last Sunday, it placed its new Airdopes 171 for sale on Amazon.in and become sold out within around a day.

As the product was coming at just ₹1,799, we were curious if the Indian brand is providing the same overall quality this time too, even after this price point or not. We already get our answer and now sharing it with you.

Specifications & Variants:

• General
  • 5 x 3.8 x 3 cm product dimensions
  • 50g item weight
  • Multifunction buttons
  • IPX4 Rating
  • Voice Assistant Support
• Audio
  • 20Hz to 20kHz Frequency
  • 6mm Audio Driver
• Connectivity
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • 10m Range
  • AAC
• Battery
  • 43mAh Battery in each bud
  • 380mAh Battery in the Charging Case
  • 70h Standby Time
  • Up to 3h Playback time for Buds
  • Up to 10h with Charging Case
  • 2h Charging time
  • MicroUSB port in the case for charging
• Variants
  • Rose Gold
  • Mysterious Blue
  • Active Black

In the Box:

There is lots of things inside the small box. Here is the list –

• One pair of the earbuds
• One Charging Case
• One MicroUSB Cable
• Two pair of extra Ear Caps
• 1 Year Warranty Card
• User Manual

Design & Build Quality:

The Charging Case comes with an oval-shaped matt finish texture that feels premium from the very first touch. There is a boAt branding on the top, a hidden tri-color LED at the front for charging, and battery level indications. The MicroUSB port is placed at the back. A short model description is also there at the back surface.

Each of the earbuds is also shaped almost a look-alike of the charging case, in terms of design, but obviously in a smaller size. There are also hidden LEDs in the Multifunction Buttons. The mics are placed at the bottom of each one (The bottom part you get after wearing).

The build quality is great and the matt finish on its top enhances the premium feel further. Holding it in the hands is very comfortable and gives a premium feel as well.

Comfort & Usage:

The buds are very light in weight and fit perfectly, not tight but keep steady at their proper place even after getting a good jerk. I used the buds over 4 to 5 hours long and didn’t feel uncomfortable for a single time. The charging case size is enough to carry in your pocket easily and can tolerate little pressures, thanks to the build quality.

boAt is providing Bluetooth 5.0 with this product. So, fast connectivity is quite obvious. For the first time, you have to pair it with your smartphone or PC or Tab. Generally, when you will take out the buds from the case, they will turn on automatically. But I had to turn those on manually once.

The user manual says the Airdopes 171 has a transmission range of 10 meters but it disconnected after 2.5 meters only. Within that range, everything is well and good.

Along with all these, the voice assistant support will make your hands-free experience a lot better. If you are wondering about the latency, let you know it’s very less.

Audio Quality:

Now the most important part started. Airdopes 171 has a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz and has 6mm audio driver. Besides it also has Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) digital audio compression support.

At the volume range of 40% to 70%, the sound feels very much soft, sweet, and doesn’t sting to me. Over that, it is very much loud, like very loud, much like most of the boAt audio products.

Two negative feedback from my side is first, the bass is almost negligible. If you are a fan of high bass, this Airdopes 171 is not for you. The second one is the audio becomes silent at 20% or less volume and there’s no difference between 10% of volume and 0%. Overall, at its price, the sound is justified and is good enough for normal usage.

Microphone:

I attended a lot of calls while using it and I got no one complaints about poor audio or connectivity issues as such. This means, despite being far away position from the mouth, microphones received my words clearly and easily. The good response of my Google Assistant is another proof of it. So, no complaints regarding mic quality at all.

Functionality:

Just making a variation of the press-time duration of the Multi-Function Buttons (MFB), you can do multiple things. There is also a double-tap functionality. The MFBs are soft enough and you need not press hard.

• Press MFB for 2 seconds: Activate your Voice Assistant/Reject call
• Press MFB for 3 seconds: On the Buds manually
• Press MFB for 5 seconds: Off the Buds manually
• Press MFB for 10 seconds: Perform Factory Reset
• Single press on any of the MFBs: Pause or Play music/Receive call
• Double press on Right MFB: Next Track/Switch between an active call and held call
• Double press on Left MFB: Previous Track/Switch between an active call and held call

If you use a single bud at a time, in the case, the track skip or return function will not work.

Battery Backup:

The only thing that surprised me is the battery backup. Each bud is holding 43mAh batteries inside and the charging case with MicroUSB post has 380mAh battery. The company claims a total to 13 hours of playback time including 3 times charging through the case, 3 hours of playback time for each bud, and a total of 70 hours standby time.

Firstly, following the instructions by boAt, I charged the total set for 2 hours using a 5V/2A adapter. After that currently, I’m using it for 17 hours long and still has a 70% charge in the buds. A single bud with a full charge is running for around 5 hours and I charged the buds three times already. Still, it can charge the buds, to get fully charged in the case, the buds are taking around 1.5 hours.

Point to note, I kept the volume at 60% all the time, and the time duration, I provided, is the playback time, not the standby time.

Pros & Cons:

Verdict:

At the pricepoint of ₹1,799, boAt’s new Airdope 171 is one of the best options. Its premium build quality, great audio, the latest Bluetooth version, and the long battery life are more than enough to become someone’s favourite daily use audio device. The only thing you have to compromise is the bass. But, you can’t ignore the pros for just one major con, I personally have no complaint regarding this, keeping in mind the price tag only.

If your heart wants this boAt Airdopes 171 after going through this entire review, you should undoubtedly go for it, also see our review of the Redmi Earbud S and Realme Buds Q, to see the differences. You are just one click away to reach your favourite TWS earphone with your favourite colour among Rose Gold, Mysterious Blue, and Active Black. Reach links are given below, go and order one.

Rose Gold: https://amzn.to/3gMTBnL

Mysterious Blue: https://amzn.to/2DseR3J

Active Black: https://amzn.to/3gGCuUw

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