It is a fact that TWS (True Wireless Stereo) headphones are the most used type today. Although the first completely wireless in-ear was launched by a German company called Bragi, “The Headphone”, Apple was primarily responsible for popularizing this headphone format through the AirPods, launched in 2016. With that in mind, in this article we will talk regarding whether TWS headphones are really good for any situation, if they are really worth what you pay for them.
Everything you need to know regarding TWS headphones
TWS headphones are found in both in-ear and earbud formats [1] and they are completely wireless (there is no cable connecting the right and left sides). Previously, in the older Bluetooth standards, there was a reception of the Bluetooth signal on one side of the headset and this signal was retransmitted to the other, with that there was a certain delay in the reproduction of the signal. However, with Bluetooth 5.2, the audio signal is transmitted via Bluetooth individually, simultaneously, to the left and right sides.
Due to the need to have on both sides of the TWS headphones a Bluetooth receiver/transmitter, a battery, several microphones, a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter or Digital to Analog Converter), an amplification section, an audio processing chip , in addition to the speaker (driver) [1], among other parts, the cost to produce them is higher than a wired headset, which only has cables and speakers inside. Due to this need for a greater investment in the TWS project, generally the investment in the driver and in the acoustics, to produce a quality sound, is smaller compared to wired headphones. Furthermore, it has to be considered that there are a large number of parts in the True Wireless Stereo that are more susceptible to problems.
[1] Article “What types of headphones exist”
[2] Article “What types of technologies exist in headphones”
How TWS technology came to be
The first TWS headphones were released to the market in 2016, the first being “The Headphone” by Bragi, which was released two days before Apple’s famous AirPods. While the first one came in at US$149, the second one was sold at its launch for US$159. After that, the headphone industry noticed the success that True Wireless Stereo headphones had when they were sold together with cell phones, and started a flurry of launches on the market.
The Chinese headphone industry was responsible for making TWS headphones more accessible. In recent years, we’ve seen model releases costing from $20 to, say, $200. However, it should be noted that the lower the value, the greater the chance of inconsistencies in the build quality and sound of the headphones. .
What are the advantages of TWS headphones?
The great advantage of a TWS headset is practicality, convenience, as with them it is possible to have great flexibility when, for example, listening to music on the notebook and answering an audio or video call automatically, as the audio is transferred from one device to another as soon as the phone rings. In addition, many use it during exercise or even to clean up the house while listening to a track or podcast through an application from a streaming service on their smartphone.
Another positive point is the absence of cables that might eventually cause poor contact with constant use of the headset. Although today there are already very malleable and resistant cables [3]sometimes the fact of not having cables can facilitate the execution of non-routine tasks.
[3] Article “Does 8, 16 or 24 cores (colors) cables for headphones have advantages?”
However, due to the higher manufacturing cost than wired headphones, TWS tend to have worse sound quality compared to, for example, wired in-ears of the same price.
Are TWS headphones worth it?
If you don’t crave sound quality above all else and don’t mind sacrificing it for practicality, the TWS headphones are definitely worth it. True Wireless Stereo headphones will bring greater fluidity to activities that require movement or connectivity between more than one device at the same time (laptop and cell phone or tablet).
