Wireless earbuds have come a long way, but Xiaomi’s latest release, the Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi, takes things in a new direction. These are the first consumer earbuds capable of streaming audio over Wi-Fi, promising better sound quality and longer range than traditional Bluetooth earbuds. Sounds exciting, right? Well, there are a few things to consider before jumping in.
Most wireless earbuds rely solely on Bluetooth, which, while convenient, has its limitations—especially when it comes to audio quality. Even with high-quality Bluetooth codecs, there's always some level of compression. Xiaomi, however, is using Qualcomm’s S7 Pro chip and its Expanded Personal Area Network (XPAN) technology to stream lossless 96kHz/24-bit audio over Wi-Fi at up to 4.2Mbps.
To put that into perspective, that’s more than double the bandwidth of Bluetooth 5.0, allowing for a more detailed and richer listening experience. Also, since the earbuds are connected to your Wi-Fi network instead of your phone, you can walk around your house without worrying about losing connection—a major bonus for anyone who likes to move around while listening.
As cool as Wi-Fi earbuds sound, they’re not without limitations. First and foremost, they’re only compatible with select Xiaomi smartphones—specifically, the Xiaomi 15 and 15 Ultra. That’s because they require a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 or 8 Elite chipset to take full advantage of the Wi-Fi connection.
If you’re an iPhone user or have a non-Xiaomi Android phone, you won’t be able to use the Wi-Fi streaming feature. Instead, you’ll be stuck with regular Bluetooth—which kind of defeats the purpose of buying these in the first place.
Another unknown is whether the buds can switch between multiple Wi-Fi networks. If they can’t, that means their best use case is at home or in the office, rather than seamlessly switching between networks as you move around a city.
One of the surprising things about the Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi is that streaming over Wi-Fi doesn’t drain the battery more than Bluetooth. In fact, they actually have better battery life than their Bluetooth-only counterpart. You’ll get 10 hours of playback on a single charge, with the charging case extending that to 40 hours.
For audio performance, Xiaomi has packed in a triple-driver system—an 11mm dynamic driver, a PZT tweeter, and a planar driver—all designed to deliver a more immersive sound experience. They also include active noise cancellation (ANC) that can reduce outside noise by up to 55dB, plus AI-powered features like real-time call transcription and translation.
If you’re looking to get your hands on a pair, the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi will cost £189.99 (around $240) and come exclusively in black. If you don’t care about Wi-Fi streaming, the Bluetooth-only version is available in white or gray for £159.99 (around $200).
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