The Secret of Us and Tortured Poets Department have been on repeat these past few weeks, and my companion has been the Tozo Crystal Pods, the latest true wireless stereo earbuds that have been making waves in the country.
Tozo already makes incredible accessories that deliver excellent value, including wireless earbuds, headphones, smartwatches, and speakers. The company extends this trend with the Crystal Pods, which combine smart technology, style, and function.
The earbuds stand out immediately from their transparent design, premium features like ANC, customizable sound profiles, and AI-powered call clarity, among other AI features, all at an affordable price.
Competition in true wireless stereo earbuds is heating up this year, and the Tozo Crystal Pods have struck the perfect balance between being budget-friendly, offering great audio performance, and being aesthetic.
I’ve spent close to a fortnight with them since they landed on my review desk, taking them through their paces—both outdoor and indoor—and it was clear to me that they are not just another pair of earbuds but a serious contender in the budget ANC earbuds category.
TOZO Crystal Pods Unboxing
The Tozo Crystal Pods come in a neat white box housing the Quick Guide, User Manual, a pair of ear tips in various sizes, and a USB-C charging cable. The main attraction is the transparent charging case with a view of the earbuds housed inside. The transparent design gives a refreshing contrast, blending modern look with old aesthetics.
Tozo Crystal Pods earbuds are compact, lightweight, and feature the same transparent design of the case with a semi-glossy finish. The lid opens smoothly and closes sturdily with a magnetic snap, making it feel premium, and the whole case reflects the nostalgia-driven appeal of the transparent accents.
This premium unboxing experience sets the pace for a feature-rich experience ahead.
TOZO Crystal Pods Design and Comfort
Form and function are in sync with the Tozo Crystal Pods earbuds when it comes to their design. The semi-transparent design is eye-catching and sleek.
Moving away from its aesthetic look, the buds have been engineered for comfort, ideal for long wear during commutes, long listening sessions, workouts, or active outdoor activities. Even with my extensive use of them, I had minimal ear fatigue thanks to the silicone tips, which add to the passive noise cancellation. There are three pairs of tips included for you to find your perfect fit for your ears.
The earbuds feature an IPX5 rating, which makes them resistant to sweat and water splashes, so you can enjoy your workouts or walking in light rain.
The earbuds have touch-sensitive controls on their stems for convenience, and I loved the smooth and responsive experience during my workouts and commutes. The app lets you customize the touch controls, and you can assign different functions to either the left or right earbuds. Both support various taps from single, double, triple, or long presses. The functions range from play/pause, playing next or previous track, switching sound modes, activating voice assistant, and accepting or rejecting a call. The sensitivity is well balanced, so you can avoid accidental touches, but still easy to use when you’re out and about.
The earbuds featuring their ergonomic build, semi-transparent look, and IPX5 rating make them super comfy for long wear and will fit right in your daily routine without ever feeling intrusive.
TOZO Crystal Pods Sound Quality and Audio Performance
One surprising thing about the Tozo Crystal Pods is how great they sound. They’re in the budget category, but the sound profile they deliver rivals buds twice their price.
This is because the buds sport 10mm dynamic drivers paired with the company’s OrigX Acoustics Technology 2.0. This enhancement gives you a wide and immersive soundstage with well-separated layers. Tozo’s Bass+ Acoustic Enhancement provides punchy and deep bass. I also experienced clear mids, sharp distortion-free highs while listening to some of my favourite playlists.
The audio performance was and is still consistently impressive, whether I’m streaming my favorite music playlists, listening to my usual podcasts, or watching movies.
The buds have an accompanying Tozo app available on both Android and iOS. The app offers robust EQ controls for both audiophiles and casual listeners. You can choose from 32 sound modes and over 2000 community-shared EQ profiles. The presets range from Bass, Podcast, Rock, Heavy Metal, Classical to Pop.
Overall, the buds offer a rich, dynamic sound that feels custom-made according to your preference.
Active Noise Cancellation and Call Clarity
If you liked the great sound the Tozo Crystal Pods deliver, then you’ll love the hybrid ANC, which is a standout feature of the buds, especially at this price point. The buds do a really solid job thanks to their maximum reduction depth of 38dB, which reduces background noise during workouts, commuting, or when you’re in office environments. The noise cancellation performs surprisingly well for its class. The app lets you adjust the ANC and transparency modes.
For calls, the buds excel thanks to their dual microphones located in each stem, combined with AI-powered noise suppression algorithms that filter out ambient noise while improving voice clarity.
During my period with the buds, my calls remained sharp and clear even when walking through the busy streets of downtown Nairobi or when I was in a boda boda. That’s how good they are.
App Experience and AI-Powered Features
Besides the features mentioned above, including EQ customization, touch controls settings, and ANC settings, you get white noise options ideal for focus, studying or sleeping – from Soothing, Relax, Hypnotic, and more.
You also get to check the battery level of each bud.
The app also offers standout AI features like Meeting Recording with Transcript, Realtime Translation, Face-to-Face Translation, and AI Chat(powered by ChatGPT). These features are perfect for productivity, travel, and seamless communication. So besides just playing music, the buds are stylish, smart, and functional.
For a pair of buds in this price point, the Tozo app experience is unusually deep and adds real value.
Battery Life and Charging
The Tozo Crystal Pods offer amazing battery life to match your out-and-about lifestyle. I was getting close to 7 hours with ANC mode on, and when disabled, up to 6 hours.
The charging case can extend playtime to 35 hours and 30 hours with ANC mode off and on, respectively. Most days, I was pushing almost a week with mixed use without charging, making the buds dependable.
The buds support fast charging as a 10-minute top-up gets you up to 3 hours of playback. So if they die on you, a few minutes of charging will get you back through most of your day. The case has a Type-C charging port for convenient and fast charging.
It’s worth mentioning that wireless charging is notably missing. But given the price, the battery experience remains impressive.
Connectivity and Low Latency Performance
One thing I loved about the buds is that they support Bluetooth 5.4. This is the latest Bluetooth technology that brings faster, lower power consumption, and more stable pairing. With my use, the connectivity was seamless and paired really quickly with stable signals across the room. You can also add another device to the buds when you want to switch from, like your phone(s) or laptop, or smart TV.
The low-latency mode was very useful when gaming and watching videos. It minimizes audio lag, which means that dialogue and in-game sounds and conversation remain in sync with the visuals.
So whether you’re bingeing your favourite shows or movies on the go, or taking a call, or playing games, the buds will stay reliably connected and responsive throughout.
Verdict
The Tozo Crystal Pods hit a rare sweet spot. The buds combine beautiful design, powerful noise cancellation, customizable sound, and strong battery life, plus a smart companion app – all in a package that won’t break the bank.
The transparent design makes them a fashion-forward choice while still remaining genuinely functional thanks to their comfort and smart features.
If you’re a budget-conscious casual consumer or audiophile, then the Crystal Pods are one of the best deals if you’re in the market for a feature-packed wireless earbuds with great sound and a modern look.
Pricing and Availability
The Crystal Pods go for Ksh 4000 on their website. They also offer up to 18 months hassle-free warranty.
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