Mono headsets in the format of a small stick sticking out from ear to mouth have been sold for a very, very long time, and today, when inexpensive TWS headphones (headsets) appear on the market, they have practically lost their relevance.
All and sundry, from nameless Chinese factories with unpronounceable names and the same quality to well-known companies with a long history of producing musical devices, are producing their own versions of fully wireless headsets.
Xiaomi have not stayed away from this trend, having presented not so long ago the headset Xiaomi AirDots in their favorite laconic design. However, today we will not talk about it, but about another headset that came out a couple of months earlier than AirDots – the mono headset Mi Bluetooth Headset Mini, which looks suspiciously similar to AirDots.
Apparently, this similarity is not accidental – today it is fashionable to make gadgets in one design key so that the brand is recognizable.
The headset attracted my attention primarily by its external resemblance to its stereo sister.
It's worth mentioning the price right away – in Russian retail it's about 1,500 rubles, in Chinese online stores you can find it for 700-900 rubles. The price tag does not look too high and is equal to that for more familiar monophonic sticks from other manufacturers.
But we'll come back to the price, and now let's take a closer look at the headset.
Packaging, equipment and appearance
The headset is available in two colors – white and black. I got the black version. White looks more elegant, but also gets dirty, I think, faster.
The packaging is a familiar white box with a transparent top – a business card Xiaomi, inside it contains the headset itself, a charging cradle, two replaceable attachments and an accordion instruction in Chinese with understandable pictures, but with incomprehensible hieroglyphs. Well, that means we'll figure it out using the scientific poke method.
Outwardly, the headset itself, in my opinion, is what such a device should be – laconic and inconspicuous.
This is a slightly convex barrel without protruding parts, except for a small sound guide with a neat attachment (ear cushion). Minimalism in its purest form. I like.
The entire body is made of rubberized matte plastic with soft-touch effect (the headset is IPX4 waterproof).
On the inside, you can see two charging pins.
On the outside, on a flat surface, there is an embossed ring that denotes the only button responsible for accepting / rejecting a call, starting / stopping music playback when pressed once, and calling the voice assistant when pressed twice.
The sound guide is covered with a sulfur filter in the form of a very fine mesh, which makes the filter appear to be a transparent film, but this is not the case, it is a mesh with a very fine mesh.
The serial number of the device is painted around the base of the sound guide – so as not to confuse the boxes with each other, for example, if you have several such headsets.
On the front end, above the sound guide, there is a microphone hole (there is only one here) and an LED, which is visible only when it is on.
Separately, it should be noted as a plus, firstly, that the LED is quite dim, so it does not interfere or annoy at all, and secondly, that it only works in standby mode, in pairing mode and when charging. After the headset is connected to the phone, the LED goes out and does not remind of itself until the next shutdown or loss of connection with the phone.
That is, in fact, all that can be said about the appearance and controls. Not much. On the other hand, what else do you need for a mono headset?
From the point of view of ergonomics, almost everything is fine – the headset is symmetrical, which means it is equally suitable for any ear, and thanks to its miniature size and weight, it fits perfectly into this very ear and does not create any inconvenience, since it practically does not protrude from the ear.
However, there are complaints about the button – it is taut, which is why when you press it, the headset is pressed into your ear, which creates unpleasant sensations.
To avoid any discomfort, you have to hold the headset body with your thumb and middle finger when you press the button.
The charging cradle is made in the form of a tray with magnetic contacts inside.
The first couple of times the headset had to be sent inward with a finger so that it sat firmly on the contacts. Then this problem went away – it looks like the headset and cradle got used to each other and everything is holding up very well.
Working hours
In music playback mode, the headset lives on average three hours. Sometimes it's a little less than three hours (on a frosty day), sometimes three and a half hours (indoors).
It takes about 40 minutes to charge, which is not surprising – it uses a crazy 40 mAh battery. It's amazing how the headset can live for three hours with this capacity.
Sound
Now let's talk about how the headset sounds. I'll start with its main function – talk mode. A MEMS microphone with the ability to suppress external noise is announced, as well as a 7-mm dynamic radiator.
In the course of the conversation, the interlocutors understood that I was speaking through the headset, and noted a kind of echo, saying that they could hear me, 'as if you are at the entrance.' However, there were no complaints about the clarity and intelligibility of speech. If you bring your hand to your ear during a conversation, the sound becomes clearer and louder. With this design, this is not surprising.
In the wind, you have to cover the headset with your hand, otherwise the audibility deteriorates significantly – the declared noise reduction does not really help. Therefore, for the street, this option is not the most successful, while, for example, for use in a car it is.
Thanks to the A2DP profile, you can listen to music with the headset. Or, for example, podcasts, audiobooks, etc.
What surprised me was the sound quality in the earphone for this price.
The volume is enough to hear music even on a noisy street without listening. However, there is no stock as such. But the quality of the sound itself surprised and turned out to be very high. Good, tight bass without booming and kick kicks, decent mids, and even the treble is clearly audible.
The only thing that is missing is clarity and transparency – the sound is dirty, which is why it falls into a mess on complex compositions. But even not the maximum volume, there is no sand and rattling.
Why am I writing in such detail about the sound in a device that, in fact, is not intended for listening to music? It's simple – if you have Bluetooth 5 in your phone, then you can tie two such headsets to it at once and use them as an inexpensive alternative to TWS headphones.
Due to the design, size and characteristics, this turns out to be more than an appropriate option, because two of these headphones will cost you only 1,400 rubles, and the sound quality will be even better than in most Chinese 'nouns' in this price category.
Yes, the use case, on the one hand, is far-fetched, since it will not be full-fledged stereo, but the very possibility is surprising. I have used such a combination for a couple of days and I can say that this option has the right to life – the sound does not cause negative emotions. The only thing missing in this use case is the playback controls on the headset itself – you have to take out your phone to switch tracks.
Conclusion
Xiaomi got an unusual device that can be used both for its intended purpose – for talking and for listening to music. In general, listening to audiobooks or podcasts seems to be the ideal scenario for this headset.
If you fantasize a little, then another scenario emerges, which is described above – pairing two headsets with a phone and using them as TWS headphones. Fortunately, the sound quality allows you to listen to music without experiencing negative emotions.
By the totality of characteristics and at such a cost, this product can be bought 'in reserve', just in case.
The author thanks X | STORE Ulyanovsk for the device provided for review.