BlueAnt Pump Sport

AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVES FOR APPLE’S AIRPODS.

AS HEADPHONE JACKS disappear from smartphones, true wireless Bluetooth earphones are the way of the future. BlueAnt’s Pump Air deliver not just a comfortable fit, but marry good sound with a sturdy build. Aimed at those who are constantly on the move, the Pump Air earphones come with seven different ear tips to ensure a perfect seal. During testing, we ran up a few flights of stairs and briskly walked and jogged without the earphones moving even a fraction. That same tight fit gave us a good degree of passive noise cancellation as well.

In terms of performance, the ‘phones promise up to three hours of play time, but we managed to squeeze out about 3.5 hours before popping them back into their charging case to give them a bit more juice, and that included making a few calls, as well as listening to music. The charging case itself holds up 12 hours of extra charge, meaning you can refuel the earphones four times in a fully-charged case.

Call quality isn’t something to boast about, however. Without a protruding microphone — like Apple’s AirPods, for example — there’s a slight echo at the recipient’s end, and we found that the headphones went into mono mode when making calls. That said, the Pump Air’s kept a solid connection and didn’t drop out once.

For this sub-$200 price point, we weren’t expecting heart-stopping sound from these in-ears, but they definitely pack a happy punch. Low volumes bring out the treble tones, but at mid-levels, the bass comes through and any casual listener should be more than pleased.

And with Siri and Google Assistant integrated into the earphones, the digital assistants are only three button presses away. Our only complaint would be the lack of volume control on the headphones — it does take away from the ‘freedom’ that true wireless earphones promise.