Quick Review: Lenovo Live Pods LP3 Pro BT5.0 TWS Earbuds
Description
Merry Christmas to everyone reading this on Christmas Day. Today, I have another gift to myself which doubles up as an impulse buy. I’ve never owned a set of true-wireless stereo in-ears before. Part of the reason is that in-ears tend to cause ear canal irritation for me when used frequently, but also because of cost and the fact I tend to prioritise quality over convenience.
However, in the lead-up to sale season, I spotted a set of Lenovo Live Pods LP3 Pro for the reasonable price of AU$22.51 including shipping and GST. The product was advertised rather inconsistently, with some sources saying there was noise cancelling when it really only applied to the microphone – I didn’t do any research and just purchased it, knowing that the Lenovo brand has been pretty much slapped on a whole bunch of Chinese-made accessories seemingly at random. The name seems very inspired by the Apple counterpart – will this be a good choice, or one I come to regret?
Unboxing
A small box arrived with a few dented corners. The Lenovo Live Pods LP3 Pro charging case including the two earphones features prominently on the front of the box, with the logo in red and white to the side.
As a China market product, the majority of the text is in Chinese with a few bits of English. The item appears to be from March 2021 and offers Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity over a maximum distance of about 10m (8-10m claimed in the listing). It has 13mm drivers with a 1200mAh charging case and 40mAh battery in each earphone providing about three hours of play time. Charging current is 800mA at 5V, with the unit Made in China. The listing also claims an SNR of >=70dB which is not particularly stellar for audio equipment, low-latency, microphone noise reduction and IPX5 ingress protection.
The item is packaged inside a thin plastic tray inside a milky translucent plastic bag for protection.
The top side of the case features a mirrored window through which the charge status shines through “magic-mirror” style. I guess it doubles up as a pocket mirror for the more visually oriented people.
The underside has the details of the product printed, although slightly askew.
Charging is accomplished through the microUSB-B connector, which is a little “outdated” by present standards, but is perhaps expected of a low-end product. A USB-A port output adds to the bulk of the case, but provides an emergency reserve of power as a relatively small power bank.
Flipping the case open wakes up both earbuds, which then immediately pair with each other. Assuming the last connected device is not present, the unit enters pairing mode with the right earbud flashing red-blue continuously.
The earbuds are held in place in the case magnetically, with three pogo-pin contacts per earbud. Placing them into the case and closing the lid initiates shutdown and charging automatically.
United States
