The Bad

ANC doesn’t quite measure up to the more expensive brands. That should be expected at this price point, but also just noting what I found so they can maybe work on their algo. It’s hard to compete with dedicated chips, though. More details below.

Controls were a little non-intuitive to me. But it could just be because I’m used to the AirPods Pro and switching between brands can always be a little goofy. So this might be a ‘me’ problem, I freely admit that. All brands should just copy each other here. Like anything you get used to it after a week or so.

Found battery life to just be “fine”. Not bad, but not class leading or anything. That said, with USB-C these days, things of this size charge SO fast it shouldn’t be a huge stress point. I wouldn’t really make this a breaking point in your choosing process, as they also weren’t really worse than their competitors.

Due to the microphone qualities and I think lack of a dedicated chip like the top end brands, transparency mode isn’t on par with the top brands. But, it was still fine and I had no problem using it for being polite to the barista so I could properly hear them and not be rude. You just won’t get that high performance version of it. Something like Apple’s is honestly astonishing and isn’t a fair measuring stick - especially when you consider price point.

The Performance of the Capsule3 Pro+ Earbuds

ANC was overall fine. It does a decent job of dulling the noise around you and makes your environment more peaceful. 

Good on low frequency sounds (hums, lowering train noise, airplane engine noise is reduced but not eliminated, fans, etc.).

Not as good with higher frequencies (voices in cafes or lounges, symbols or snare drums in music being played in your environment, speaker announcements, etc.

Connection was flawless, which I was surprised about. Bluetooth struggles in wide open intersections in big cities, also around crowded areas where there is a lot of signal noise. This happens in airports sometimes for both reasons (too wide open and nowhere to bounce the signal, and too much signal crowding from other sources). I had zero skipping connections in these scenarios which I think we can attribute to the newer BT codecs, which is great news for more budget friendly buds - this was always one of their biggest issues between wallet friendly bluetooth buds and something with a dedicated connection chip.

To review where and how I tested these, I used them in the following scenarios: commutes in NYC on the subway, in-office at work, in multiple airports, multiple flights, airport lounges, neighborhood running, and various cafes or coffee shops. I really hit many dfferent environments.