Oddict Twig Pro review: Lossless Bluetooth is here at last
With the recent focus on hi-res and lossless audio by nearly every music streaming service, the Bluetooth in your average earbuds is not up to the challenge. Only the latest standards can handle these larger files with newer codecs capable of higher bandwidth. The latest one of these to hit the market is Qualcomm’s update to aptX Adaptive, known as aptX Lossless. Qualcomm makes it easy to identify these products at a glance with a “Snapdragon Sound” badge on the box. The Oddict Twig Pro earbuds are one of the first devices to bear the badge outside of the$1,500 Snapdragon Insider bundle, which included a modified set of Master and Dynamic’s $300 MW08 earbuds. While the Oddict Twig Pro aren’tcheapat $150, the combination of Airpods Pro-like features and great sound quality do a lot to justify the price tag.
The Twig Pros have more going on than just a shiny new codec, though. With in-ear detection, active noise canceling, and fairly big 12mm drivers, they’re clearly meant to compete with premium devices, and they feel and sound like it too.
Oddict Twig Pro
The Oddict Twig Pros are one of the first pairs of earbuds to hit the market that support Qualcomm’s new lossless Bluetooth codec. That, along with good sound quality and features you’d expect on much more expensive earbuds, makes these hard to pass up if you have a phone that supports Snapdragon Sound. Just beware the mediocre battery life.
Design, hardware, what’s in the box
The Twig Pro seems laser-focused on emulating Apple’s AirPods Pro. The features and design are all familiar: auto-pause when one leaves your ear, great ANC and transparency modes, opting for physical buttons instead of touch sensors, and even the part of the bud that sits in your ear is shaped very similarly. These are all reasons I use my AirPods Pro so often, and they’re definitely welcome features on the Twig Pro. While they’re a different color than any earbuds Apple sells, all the aluminum on the Twig Pros is a very close match for Apple’s space gray, available on devices like the iPhone and MacBook Pro.
The Twig Pro case is one of the more unusual I’ve seen—it’s the one part of the design that doesn’t ape Apple. While we’ve all become accustomed to rounded rectangles and pill-shaped charging cases, Oddict has opted for a unique cylindrical case. Tucked away behind the charging case inside the plastic-free packaging are all the usual add-ons, like a short USB-A to type-c charging cable, and a set of small and large bud bits.
The front of the case is a plain aluminum plate, and branding is only present on the metal hinge. That hinge is sturdy and is representative of the overall high build quality. The magnets that keep the buds in the case are very strong, but there’s still enough exposed stem on the buds to give you an easy handle to pull them out. Even though the case is round, the bottom is weighted to help keep it from rolling away.
The buds each have a physical button for all the controls, as opposed to touch sensors. While some may not like them, I prefer real buttons. I’m not a fan of repeatedly tapping things that are wedged in my ear canal, so I’ll gladly use more reliable buttons. Much like the AirPods Pro they’re clearly emulating, Oddict has opted to put the buttons on the stems in an easy to squeeze location. The controls are fairly intuitive: play/pause on one press, skip forward on two, back on three. Hold it down for three seconds for Assistant, or for just one to toggle between ANC and Transparency modes, but in my experience a second and a half feels more accurate. It could stand to be alittlemore forgiving for how long you need to hold that button, but it isn’t so bad once you get used to it.
Sound quality, features, battery life
The Twig Pro’s raison d’être is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound certification, but good sound quality doesn’t hinge on that alone. Even when testing them on my oldOnePlus 8 Prothat isn’t compatible with Snapdragon Sound (just regular aptX Adaptive) music still comes through clearly with little to no noticeable distortion at even high volume. The bass doesn’t muddy up any vocals, which is impressive given just how thumpy these buds can get. The sound quality isn’t life-changing, but it’s definitely good enough.
Given just how few phones are Snapdragon Sound compatible right now, it’s a safe bet that you’ll have to upgrade before you’d be able to make the most of these buds. Snapdragon Sound is only a few months old, and compatibility is mostly limited to select phones from Xiaomi and Motorola, the majority of which are not available in all markets. Qualcomm’s running list of all theSnapdragon Sound compatible devicesis slowly growing, but it might be a while before it hits full mainstream adoption. Given those hitches, it’s good that the Twig Pros are good even without Qualcomm’s latest codec. If you happen to have something like theMotorola Edge+from this year, you’ll be able to treat yourself to lossless CD-quality audio. While the Twig Pros put out good quality tunes without any shiny new codecs, Snapdragon Sound shows there are noticeable gains to be had still. It’s possible to pull out new details from songs you’ve been listening to for years, and like Sony’s LDAC codec, it also gives you access to (albeit lossy) 24-bit high-res playback.
While you can use all the main features of the Twig Pros without the Oddict app, you’ll need it if you want to adjust the EQ or the strength of the noise canceling. You’ll also need the app to install any firmware updates, which makes the app very necessary in spite of how mediocre it is overall. Instead of a more conventional EQ, you get one that looks like a target, limiting your tuning to warm-cool and hard-soft. I’m not a fan of this style of EQ, but can appreciate that it’s trying to make EQ adjustment more beginner-friendly. It’s not for me personally, but it’s easy enough to use, and the adjustments are immediately noticeable, so it’s fairly user-friendly. Pairing the Twig Pros is extremely easy, too. All you have to do to put them in pairing mode is open the lid and leave the buds in the case.
Oddict claims a battery life of five and a half to six hours depending on if the ANC is on or off, but I saw times under four and a half hours with noise-canceling on, and managed to get almost exactly 7 hours on a single charge with the volume turned down and ANC turned off, so take that estimate with a grain of salt. The case has less than 2 extra charges worth of juice in it, so with the inconsistency from the Twig Pros, that could swing from maybe 18 hours of listening time to as low as 10 hourstotal. The battery life is clearly the biggest weakness here, to the point where it might be a dealbreaker for some people. While other buds like theSoundcore Liberty 3 Proscan get similarly low battery life when using the LDAC codec, LDAC is supported bysignificantlymore phones, and will get you very similar sound quality.
Most of my opinions of the Twig Pros are positive, and most of my complaints were addressed with a firmware update, but one that wasn’t is the in-ear detection. On every other pair of earbuds with in-ear detection, transparency mode is turned on when you remove one, but the Twig Pros turn transparency modeoffwhen you take one out. If you instinctively take an earbud out to hear someone better, you may actually have a harder time hearing them.
Should you buy it?
Maybe.The number of phones on the market that can make the most of these earbuds isverylimited right now, and one of them even comes with a much better pair of earbuds. The sound quality is good even without the full bitrate possible with Snapdragon Sound, but there’s no shortage ofexcellent true wireless earbudsyou can make full use of in the here-and-now, some with LDAC support that can get similarly high bitrate audio, all without upgrading phones.
Features like the auto pause and the great build and sound quality still make it a very tempting buy, and I also really like the design. The cylindrical case is distinctive, and the buds themselves are comfy even if they do copy the AirPods Pro a bit too much.
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Q: How do the Oddict Twig Pro compare to the Sony WF-1000XM4?
The Sony WF-1000XM4 have 8 hours of battery with ANCon, while the Twig Pro can’t even manage that with ANC off. The XM4 charging case is much smaller than the one that comes with the Twig Pro buds, and still manages to keep more top-ups in it. They both have great audio quality thanks to their high-end codecs, but the extra money the WF-1000XM4 cost get you hands-free Assistant integration, a much better app, and foam ear tips instead of silicone ones.
Q: How do the Oddict Twig Pro compare to the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro?
The Twig Pro and Liberty 3 Pro have alotof specs in common. They both have an IPX4 rating, ANC and transparency modes, high-end Bluetooth codecs, and cases with wireless charging. The Twig Pro buds have physical buttons on stems compared to the touch controls on the Liberty buds' stemless body. While the LDAC codec can drain the batteries in the Liberty 3 Pro buds almost as fast as Snapdragon Sound can on the Twig Pro, the charging case that comes with the Liberty 3 Pros has over twice as many extra charges in it.
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