Itel ITW-60, a true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud, was launched in Nigeria in the month of October this year. The ergonomically designed earbuds have been engineered by Itel for ultimate comfort and fit in snugly into the ear giving each user hours of listening pleasure. It is free from wires and nothing comes between you and your favourite songs which is why it is called “the true wireless earbuds”.

For

• Battery life is exceptional
• In-ear design allows the earbuds to fit more people’s ears
• Sound is great
• Pairing is easy and swift
• Works with Android and iOS devices
• Splash resistant

Against

• One-size-fits-all design
• rubber wingtips are not available
• Controversial looks
• The case doesn’t support wireless charging
• The earbuds are not sweat resistant

What’s inside the box?

The box is red in colour with a picture of the Itel ITW-60 earbuds on the front. Inside the box is the charging case with the earbuds, the user manual and a USB charging cable.

ITW-60 earbuds specification

• Battery capacity: 35mAh
• BT version: V5.0
• Talk range: 10m
• Weight: 31g
• Manufacturer: itel
• Colour: white

Body and Design

Overall, the Itel ITW-60 earbud looks very attractive, with a slick all-white design comprising two earbuds and a charging case. The white and sleek earbuds make your outfit complete and make a fashion statement to the public. The design of the earbuds and charging case is similar to that of the original Apple AirPods.

The major problem associated with other earbuds is that they keep falling off while in use but while using the Itel ITW-60, you won’t have that problem. The earbuds can stay in the ear during head-turning activities, running, jogging, gym sessions or dancing at a party. But the device isn’t sweat-proof so users should use it for activities that don’t require long exposure to sweat.

The itel earbuds fit easily into your ears. I still wonder how Itel knew the size of my ear because it sits comfortably in my ear.

The body of each earbud act as touch controls, with a force sensor on both earbuds allowing you to easily answer and end calls, play/pause your music, skip tracks and control the volume with a simple touch.

The touch controls are convenient, but you have to be careful with your taps and touching the sensor firmly for it to answer your command or you have to try again.

For both earbuds, you can perform different functions:

• To play or pause music, tap twice
• To answer or end calls, tap once or twice
• For volume down, tap three times
• For the last track, tap and hold for 1.5 seconds

Audio performance

The performance of the itel ITW-60 earbuds is amazing. It features 13mm large speaker drivers that are light, yet rigid to ensure they produce a distortion-free sound that filters out all external noise. The speakers produce bright and loud sounds while in use. I tested the device for bass since it was stated that it has one but I found out it didn’t give me the required bass sound. It features low audio latency for perfect sync between the audio and video – this allows for enjoyable video viewing even when streaming movies.

The Bluetooth 5.0 chip transmits sound to each earbud simultaneously ensuring a stable connection and outstanding sound for listening

Using the earbuds to receive calls was easy and you can hear clearly while using only one of the earbuds. But using an iPhone device to receive calls was quite uncomfortable because it required I switched to the ITW-60 Bluetooth audio.

Battery life

The itel ITW-60 earbuds are powered by a 35 mAh battery each while the charging case comes with a 500 mAh battery.

According to itel, the battery can last up to 2 hours 30 minutes while playing music and 3 hours while receiving voice or video calls. The standby time for the device is 35 hours.

My first full charge for the device took about 2 hours. I watched two movies for about 3 hours and had to charge the earbuds. The earbud’s battery life is okay only if you carry your charging case along and use it for receiving calls only. Playing music and watching videos with it drains the battery faster and requires charging. Hopefully the next earbud, Itel can include wires for charging so users don’t have to remove and put it into the case every time for charging.

Itel ITW-60 earbuds powerful charging case

The powerful charging case weighs 31g which makes it light and easy to carry around and can fit inside your pocket. The case has magnets that hold the earbuds in place when they’re not in use or while charging while the outer body of the case has three small round LED which flashes based on the case power level and turns off after 4 seconds which indicates the battery level of the case and when it is charging the earbuds. Lights off indicate the case is fully charged.

The LED inside the case shows you the earbuds are charging and the battery level. A steady red light indicates earbuds being charged and lights off indicate fully charged. Earbuds will be automatically charged anytime they are returned to the charging case.

Below the outer body of the case is the USB type C charger port for charging. The itel ITW-60 earbuds come with a white USB cable to charge the case.

Compatible with Android and iOS devices

Itel ITW-60 earbuds work with non-Itel devices, such as Android, iOS devices and Bluetooth enables computers. But some of the features might not work effectively while using the earbuds. The pop-up paring feature works on only Itel P36 and P36 Pro LTE.

There were no connectivity issues while using the earbuds on both my iPhone Xsmax and Itel S16.

How to connect to the ITW-60 true wireless earbud?

To pair the earbuds with the Itel P36 and P36 Pro LTE, switch on the device Bluetooth and a window will automatically pop up on your device for Bluetooth pairing. For other devices both android and iOS users, switch on the Bluetooth device and pair manually to connect.

After the initial setup, earbuds automatically connect to your device once removed from the charging case. For itel P36 users you can always check the power status of the earbuds through the pop-up window on your device.

Pictures showing why Itel TWS is a fashionable earbud

The ITW-60 earbuds are stylish and fashionable as it adds some aesthetic groove to my daily activities at work or during an outing.

Verdict

The itel ITW-60 earbuds design is top-notch and comes with convenient touch controls. Pairing the device with android or Apple devices is easy and fast. It comes with a long-lasting battery so you don’t need to always worry about charging. The sound from the earbud gives you a good audio experience during calls, playing music or streaming movies.

However, the earbuds fit into my ear easily but I won’t say that for other users with small ears which can be too tight for them or those with big ears which can fall out easily. I suggest Itel make available rubber wingtips (small, medium and large) inside the box for different ear types that fit each user’s ear.

But if you want to buy affordable earbuds with the best sound output, sleek in design, and comfortable to wear then you should get the itel ITW-60.

Price and availability

The itel True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earbuds are available for you to have and to hold for 10,500 naira and you can purchase one from any itel phone accessories store nationwide.

For more information, please visit www.itel-accessories.com

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