EarFun Air Review – Earbuds that Work the Way You Want

There are so many AirPod-like earbuds on the market that it’s difficult to choose which ones to buy. They are offered in every price range, but when it comes down to it, what matters is performance. This EarFun Air review will determine whether they fit the bill and whether they will give you the performance you’re looking for.

We have previously reviewed the EarFun Free earbuds and like them a lot. Can their sibling EarFun Air perform as well?

Unboxing

The EarFun Air ships with everything you’d expect with quality earbuds. The only surprise is the USB-C cord, and what a great surprise that is. In the box you will find:

• EarFun Air earbuds
• Charging case
• Three extra sets of ear tips
• USB-C charging cord
• User manual

Pairing

It seriously could not be easier, which is a feature that appears on everyone’s wish list for pairing anything through Bluetooth. After unboxing, insert the earbuds into the case and close it. With your phone or other device’s Bluetooth turned on, just open the case. That’s it. The EarFun Air will automatically pair.

The instructions suggest you charge them fully before your first use. Frankly, I didn’t need to, but I only got about four hours of use, and the manufacturer says they get up to seven hours of use, with 35 hours total with the case. I have never had seven hours of use, but I never get the promised hours with earbuds, which may be due to my particular usage.

Another unexpected bonus was that battery usage showed in the Battery widget in iOS 14. Not all earbuds show up there. But you can see in the image above that it shows the battery level of my iPad, my Apple Pencil, and the EarFun Air.

Pairing with Second Device

The EarFun Air will automatically re-pair with the last device that was used. To pair with a second device, the instructions suggest you have the first one turned off, then pair them with the second device the same way you did the first device. I didn’t want to completely turn off my iPhone, so I just unpaired it so that I could pair the EarBuds with my iPad.

Finger Touch Actions

There is a long list of finger touch commands for music, calls, and voice assistant – more than with other sets I have owned. The actions are also more successful than other sets. It’s still not always successful like the AirPod Pro earbuds are, but it isn’t at a frustrating level like some other earbuds and their touch commands. Difficulties could also be user-defined, such as whether your triple tap is more like a tap and hold, whether the time before taps is too long, etc.

Ear Tips

By this point you should be figuring out whether the ear tips that were on the EarFun Air when they shipped fit well. If they seem too loose or too tight, it’s quite easy to switch to a more appropriate set. That said, they fit perfectly in my ears. While I have a small face, I usually fit well in the earbud tips that come installed on earbuds, other than Apple earbuds.

Sound

I found the sound on the EarFun Air to be really good. It is immersive and puts me right in the middle of whatever I’m listening to, be it music, an audiobook, or a podcast. The two microphones in each earbud lead to great noise cancellation. The only earbuds I have found to surpass the sound is the AirPod Pro, and that is only because of the recent spatial audio upgrade. If not for that, I would say the similarity is very close.

Even using just one earbud, the sound is still very clear. This is simple to do. Just take one earbud out of the case, and it works the same as if you were wearing two. However, if you are wearing both and take one out of your ear, it stops the music or whatever else you’re playing. I found that to be a great feature, as there are many times instinctively that I take one earbud out to hear someone addressing me.

Charging

Again, USB-C charging of the charging case is a great bonus. Additionally, if you put the earbuds back in the case for 10 minutes, it will give you another two hours using the EarFun Air. It will take an hour and a half to fully charge them.

The light on the front of the case is color-coded. If it’s green, you have more than 30 percent left in the case. If it’s orange, you have less than 30 percent. If it’s red, you have less than 10 percent. If it’s flashing red, you have less than 1 percent. The case will charge in two hours via USB-C and three and a half hours via a wireless charger.

Only Concern

I had just one problem with the EarFun Air during this review. It’s not a complete gamechanger but does affect enjoyment and usage. One earbud continued to unpair and die sooner than it should when the other had much more time left.

As it seemed the contacts weren’t allowing the one earbud to completely charge, the EarFun team helpfully provided me with a quick fix to clean the contacts on the bottom of the earbuds and inside the case with a cotton swab and alcohol. This was followed by a factory reset with the button on the back of the case until I saw the lights on the front of the earbuds blink purple three times. I easily re-paired them after this.

This worked great until the right earbud went out. I just couldn’t re-pair the two of them together, no matter what I did. However, the EarFun team was great at issuing me a new set. I’ve been using them for a few weeks, and there are no problems at all. Nothing like with the first pair.

Verdict

When all is said and done for this review, I still find the EarFun Air to be the best earbuds I have used, save for the AirPod Pros, and that’s saying a lot. Price-wise, they are a fraction of the price of Apple’s but the same as other budget sets that don’t work as well. The list price is $79.99, but they are on sale for $59.99. If you clip the 20-percent off Amazon coupon, it brings the price down to under $48.