Redmi Buds 6 Review

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The Redmi Buds 6 are the latest true wireless earbuds from Xiaomi’s budget-friendly sub-brand. Priced at £34.99, these earbuds aim to deliver premium features like active noise cancellation and dual-driver audio at an affordable price point.

When many options from popular brands like Sony, Apple, and Bose cost multiple times more than these, how good can a pair fo £35 ANC earbuds be?

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Specification

SpecificationRedmi Buds 6
ModelM2429E1
Colour OptionsNight Black, Cloud White, Coral Green
Dimensions and Weight
Dimensions of a single earbud31.13mm x 21.34mm x 23.5mm
Dimensions of charging case61.01mm x 51.71mm x 24.80mm
Weight of a single earbud5.0g
Total weight43.2g
Charging
Battery capacityEarbuds: 54mAh
Charging case: 475mAh
Charging portUSB-C
Earbud input parameters5V 150mA
Charging case input parameters5V 500mA
Charging case output parameters5V 300mA
Connection
Wireless connectionBluetooth 5.4
Bluetooth protocolsBluetooth Low Energy / HFP / A2DP / AVRCP
Communication range10m (open space free of obstacles)
Package Contents
Items IncludedRedmi Buds 6 (2 pcs)
Charging case (1 pc)
Type-C Charging cable (1 pc)
User manual (1 pc)
S ear cap (2 pcs)
L ear cap (2 pcs)
Battery Indicator
Above 75% powerAll 4 lights are on
50%-75% power3 lights are on
25%-50% power2 lights are on
Below 25% power1 light is on and flashing

Features

Screenshot 20250118 071444

The Redmi Buds 6 is compatible with the Xiaomi Earbuds app on both Android and iOS devices. This app provides access to various settings and features, including:

  • Audio effects and EQ adjustment
  • Gesture controls
  • ANC mode selection
  • Firmware updates

The app offers four audio presets and an 8-band custom equaliser for tailoring the sound to your preferences. There’s also an “immersive sound” feature that attempts to create a spatial audio effect with any audio source.

For Xiaomi phone users, many of these features are integrated directly into the Bluetooth settings menu. However, this integration can be confusing at times, with certain options being unavailable or ineffective depending on system-wide sound settings.

The Redmi Buds 6 supports Bluetooth 5.4 for connectivity and is compatible with the SBC and AAC audio codecs. They also offer dual device pairing, allowing you to connect to two devices simultaneously.

Other notable features include:

  • In-ear detection for automatic play/pause
  • Customisable touch controls
  • Find My Earbuds function
  • Low latency mode (only on Xiaomi phones)

Unboxing / Design / Fit

Redmi Buds 6 Review

The Redmi Buds 6 features a familiar design that closely resembles their predecessors. The charging case has a rectangular shape with rounded edges, measuring 61.01 mm x 51.71 mm x 24.80 mm. It has a matte finish on the top and bottom surfaces, with glossy sides that create an appealing contrast.

On the front of the case is a USB-C charging port and an LED indicator strip. This LED provides a visual indication of the remaining battery level, lighting up in segments from left to right. While functional, the positioning of the USB port next to the LED may be awkward depending on your charging cable orientation.

The pairing button is located on the right edge of the case. It blends in seamlessly with the side finish, which makes it difficult to locate and press at times.

Opening the case reveals the earbuds themselves, which have also received some design tweaks. They retain the glossy touch-sensitive strip on the outer surface but now feature a shape more reminiscent of Apple’s AirPods Pro when viewed from the inner side. The overall construction feels somewhat plasticky, which is expected at this price point.

The earbuds have an IP54 rating for dust and splash resistance, providing some protection for outdoor use and workouts. However, the charging case lacks any official water resistance rating.

In terms of comfort, the Redmi Buds 6 are excellent. Weighing just 5.0g per earbud, they are extremely lightweight and can be worn for extended periods without discomfort. You only get three sizes of eartips, and I found the largest size relatively small, but comfort was still good and they required very little adjustment during vigorous exercise.

Sound Quality

The Redmi Buds 6 has a dual-driver design, combining a 12.4mm titanium-coated dynamic driver for low and mid frequencies with a 5.5mm piezoelectric driver for high frequencies. This design aims to deliver improved audio performance across the frequency spectrum.

With ANC disabled, the Redmi Buds 6 deliver a pleasing sound signature out of the box. The tuning is slightly bass-forward, providing a warm and punchy low-end without becoming overpowering. The midrange is well-represented, resulting in full-bodied vocals with good timbre. High frequencies are somewhat restrained, lacking some sparkle and air compared to more expensive earbuds.

The overall sound balance is commendable, especially at this price point. It works well across various genres and content types. However, enabling ANC has a moderate impact on the audio quality. With ANC active, the sound becomes more compressed and artificial, with a narrower soundstage and less natural tonality. They still sounds good for the price point but it is one of the quirks that give away their affordable nature.

The Redmi Buds 6 supports various audio effects and EQ adjustments through the companion app. However, enabling these features often results in a more artificial sound with metallic overtones.

Active Noise Cancelling

The Redmi Buds 6 offer active noise cancellation with a claimed reduction of up to 49dB. This is a notable improvement over previous Redmi models.

In practice, the ANC is the weakest point of these Redmi buds and this is a common theme with affordable earbuds. They do provide some noise reduction with low-frequency ambient noise like fan noise, air conditioning, and some traffic sounds. It struggles more with higher-frequency noises, which is common for ANC systems at this price point.

During my usual synthetic test of using aeroplane cabin noise played through my Edifier S3000 Pro speakers at 80% volume, the earbuds provided partial noise reduction which does help, but this is one of the main features that helps justify more expensive earbuds.

The ANC system offers three modes:

  1. Light
  2. Balanced
  3. Deep

These modes allow users to adjust the level of noise cancellation based on their environment and preferences. In addition to ANC, there’s also a transparency mode with options for enhancing voices, ambient sounds, or a balanced setting.

One issue noted during testing was the ANC’s slow adjustment to sudden changes in wind noise. It takes longer than some competitors to adapt to windy conditions and to return to normal once the wind stops.

Call Quality

The Redmi Buds 6 are equipped with a quad-microphone array and AI-powered environmental noise cancellation (ENC) for voice calls. This setup delivers good call quality.

In quiet environments, voice capture is clear and natural-sounding, with no noticeable artifacts from noise reduction processing. When tested in noisier settings, the earbuds did a good job of isolating my voice from background sounds.

Overall, they should perform well for most voice calls and video conferences, even in less-than-ideal acoustic environments.

Battery Life

Xiaomi claims the Redmi Buds 6 can deliver up to 10 hours of playback with ANC disabled, or 6.5 hours with ANC enabled. The charging case extends this to a total of 42 hours of use.

In testing, the earbuds achieved similar to the quoted figures. This impressive result suggests users can expect all-day battery life in real-world usage.

The earbuds also support quick charging, with Xiaomi claiming 10 minutes of charging provides 4 hours of playback (ANC off).

Charging the case and earbuds from empty takes around 2 hours and 30 minutes. While not the fastest charging speed available, it’s reasonable for earbuds in this price range.

The LED indicator on the charging case provides a visual representation of the remaining battery level. It lights up in segments, with each segment representing roughly 25% of the total capacity.

Price and Alternative Options

The Redmi Buds 6 are available from mi.com with an RRP of £34.99. At the time of writing, there was also a £5 off coupon.

At this price point, I have very little personal experience with earbuds that perform this well.

The Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 are excellent for the price but they still cost quite a bit more at over £50.

The Tozo Tonal Dots T12 are probably the best alternative option that I have used, priced at just £30.

The QCY MeloBuds Pro TWC Earbuds are also excellent and priced closely at around £40.

Soundpeats and Anker Soundcore both have excellent options on the affordable end of the market, but again, I haven’t reviewed any recently that I can recommend at this price.

Overall

It is always difficult to criticise earbuds at this price point, as most affordable ones nowadays sound surprisingly good for their price.

This is true for the Redmi Buds 6. They are far from perfect and can’t compete with the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 4 or Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro, but they cost less than a fifth of the FreeBuds and less than a quarter of the Liberty 4 Pro earbuds I have recently reviewed.

But these don’t offer a quarter of the performance, far from it, they are much better than that. The sound quality is not as refined, and the ANC is not as good, but I suspect many people who are not fussy about sound quality will struggle to notice a significant difference in the sound.

Overall, if you are on a budget and have realistic expectations, then the Redmi Buds 6 are excellent.

Redmi Buds 6 Review

Summary

The Redmi Buds 6 offer an excellent choice for budget-conscious consumers looking for feature-rich true wireless earbuds. They deliver good sound quality, moderate noise cancellation, and long battery life at a price point that’s hard to beat.

Pros

  • Affordable price point
  • Comfortable, lightweight design
  • Good sound quality (for the price)
  • Impressive call quality
  • Strong battery life
  •  

Cons

  • Sound quality degrades slightly with ANC enabled
  • ANC is not great (but comparable to other affordable earbuds)

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