iLive Truly Wireless Noise Canceling Earbuds review: Budget friendly AirPods Pros?

It seems everyone is looking for the perfect pair of earbuds.  Light and comfortable, great sound, long battery life, and simple use. For many, Apple AirPods are the standard.  Lots of companies are trying to deliver the Apple experience, but at more affordable prices. So when iLive Truly Wireless Noise Canceling Earbuds arrived on my doorstep I was hopeful that I had uncovered this illusive earbud.

Experience:

As I open the packaging and examine the iLive Truly Wireless Noise Canceling Earbuds and case, I notice the resemblance to the Apple AirPods Pro.  The white coloring, case design, and earbuds are similar to Apple’s offerings.  The case is nicely sized and compact, however it is sleek and slippery.  The first time I go to remove the earbuds from the case I almost drop it.  A textured cover would be helpful as this is a recurring issue for me. Additionally, the earbuds are a little difficult to remove from the case. (Perhaps I just have fat fingers – which is likely based on my texting history – but I haven’t had this issue with other earbuds and cases).

As I put the iLive earbuds in for the first time, I immediately note the comfy and snug fit.  I’m not worried they will slip or fall out.  The silicone ear tips are soft and I found them very comfortable over long stretches of use.  At times I almost forgot I was wearing them.  With three sizing options they are sure to fit most people’s needs. They pair quickly with my phone and I am listening to music almost immediately. (Although I did have some issues with the auto-paring and both earbuds syncing at times. Putting them in the case and taking them out again would often fix the problem, but occasionally it took several tries).

By resting my finger momentarily on the earbud I switch through the available features.  The noise canceling quickly cuts out any white noise and background sounds.  It isn’t strong enough to completely mute out nearby conversations (which is more than I would expect from an earbud anyway). However, it does enhance the clarity of the music I’m listening to. The transparency mode works as advertised, simply letting me hear background noises and conversations while still playing music and other audio. Overall the sound quality was fair, and about what I would expect from a mid-range earbud.

Features:

The iLive Truly Wireless Noise Canceling Earbuds come equipped with Bluetooth wireless 5.0, active noise cancellation, and True Wireless Stereo (TWS).  They feature easy pairing as well as auto pairing, which worked fairly smoothly for me.  I appreciate that they are sweatproof, and that the built-in microphone works with Siri and Google assistants. The rechargeable case takes approximately 1.5 hours to fully recharge.  I found the 5-hour available use per charge to be mediocre, and prefer an earbud with longer battery life.  Although they come with on-ear controls, I found them to be hyper sensitive.  On numerous occasions a simple bump or accidental brush either switched modes or turned them off all together.  This would even happen just taking the earbuds out of the case.  It happened so frequently it became annoying to use them.

Analysis:

The iLive Truly Wireless Noise Canceling Earbuds design is appealing, sleek, and comfortable.  They come equipped with a lot of functions and features, although their consistency and overall performance leave something to be desired.  While the sound quality is average, the pedestrian battery life is a drawback.  Although designed with an Apple look, they fall short of Apple quality.  The iLive Truly Wireless Noise Canceling Earbuds are a fraction of the cost ($69.99 at time of this writing) of the Apple AirPods Pro. Depending on what’s most important to you, weighing out the cost savings and performance is something to consider.

Note: Our reviews are always 100% independent but Gearadical receives a small affiliate amount if you purchase the product on Amazon.