Ugreen HiTune S5 wireless headphones review: grippy

 

There are not so many form factors of headphones and among the most compact there are two – in-canal and ear-buds. Until recently, this division was preserved, but in recent years, versions of earbuds with additional fastening for the ear have begun to appear more and more often. They combine two features – an open design, still fitting into the auricle, not the ear canal, and additional brackets that prevent them from falling out. The second part, apparently, is designed to solve the problem of unreliable fastening of earbuds in the ears. Let’s see if it works in the Ugreen HiTune S5 model.

 

Design

 

 

The Ugreen HiTune S5 headphones look like two horseshoes, at the ends of which two parts of the case are attached. The first has a speaker and a sensor zone on the outside. The second half has a battery. The thicker part allows you to attach the headphones to the auricle. We also note that it is comparable in size to the headphone itself. You might think that this allowed you to install a larger battery, but this is not the case. The capacity is quite normal for this class of audio equipment.

 

Out of habit, it is not immediately clear how to attach the headphone to the ear. Check points: the part with the speaker, visible on the end of the capsule and the glossy panel with the company logo. It contains a sensor zone. An interesting point is that the logo on the left half turns out to be upside down when worn. This is not a feature of our device, but of all released units of the model.

The microphone holes are located on the bridge between the halves of each earbud. It is interesting because it can be covered by the ear on the inside. At the same time, the headphones have IPX5 moisture protection.

 

The left and right side are marked on the second half of the earphone, which goes behind the ear. It already has two contacts on the end for charging in the case. The earphones are installed in it like a podium.

The case turned out to be large for TWS models. It is quite thick and tall. This is partly due to the fact that the headphones are placed in it and there is still enough space around. The glossy, almost mirrored cover looks good, but is impractical. It leaves fingerprints on it, and with gloves it turns out to be very slippery. Fortunately, the lower half of the case is matte and a little more grippy.

 

It’s easy to take out the headphones, as well as to put them back in for charging. Just as you took hold of the earphone in your ear, you put it inside. Unlike some models of completely wireless headphones, you don’t have to guess how to unfold the case.

 

Ergonomics

 

 

It may seem that the earphone, which is held by the ear, will cause discomfort during prolonged wearing. It turned out that this is not the case and the soft silicone surfaces do not put pressure on the auricle. There are even elastic cushions on the inner battery part for cushioning. The bracket that fastens the half is moderately stiff and holds the earphone well.

 

But as for the reliability of holding when playing sports or other active pastime – everything can be individual. Headphones have an average size of the body parts, which is designed for a certain depth of the auricle and the volume of the ear. Therefore, we will give our most common advice when choosing headphones – try to put them on before buying and try it for at least a couple of minutes. The headphone speaker may not be deep enough in the ear, and the physiology of the ear will not allow it to be securely fixed.

 

 

Hardware

 

The LED indicator on the charging case has several operating modes. It pulses when the headphones are charging, and is constantly lit when the case is charging. It also turns red when the battery is less than 20%.

 

 

The touch zones on the headphones support a number of commands:

• Play/pause – single tap;
• Next track – short tap on the left or right earbud;
• Answer/end call – double tap on either earbud;
• The voice assistant is called by double tapping on the left earbud;
• Game mode is turned on and off by double tapping on the right earbud;
• Resetting all settings and pairings occurs after placing the headphones in the case and holding the button for 10 seconds.

 

When tapping on the touch zones, the headphones produce a clicking sound. At first it seems that it is mechanical, but this is not the case. Command execution and mode activation are accompanied by voice.

 

The headphones can also be synchronized with two sound sources for quick switching between them. To do this, after synchronization with the first one, you need to place the headphones in the case, hold down the button for 3 seconds and synchronize them with the second device.

 

The battery capacity of both the headphones and the case is quite ordinary and even smaller than in some previously tested models. Nevertheless, the Ugreen HiTune S5 charges in almost an hour and a half and will work for almost a day with additional charges from the case. The autonomy of the headphones themselves is 6 hours.

 

In the Ugreen Home application, which is downloaded from the company’s website, you can check the battery level of the headphones, select an equalizer (there are eight installed), enable game mode, activate Dual Link, and also reassign control of touch zones. You can also enable the search for headphones through the program.

 

Impressions

 

Ugreen HiTune S5 turned out to be interesting. From the point of view of ergonomics, such a double body was not a problem. They sit normally in the auricle and hold on to the ear quite well. In the literal sense. But with active shaking of the head, they can still fall out. Let’s say, the earbuds with such a behind-the-ear mount hold more securely than ordinary earbuds, but still worse than in-canal ones. Probably, if you supplement the “vacuum” model with this kind of fixation, it will turn out more reliably, but guessing with the dimensions and the necessary geometry for the ear will be much more difficult.

 

The headphones sound quite good as an open form factor. The frequencies are well presented and considering that the speaker is somehow at a distance from the ear canal, the volume is enough to listen to music loudly. Isolation from external noise is the same as with regular earbuds – minimal.

 

I didn’t really like the work of the sensor zones. They are quite sensitive and considering that the headphones have to be adjusted in the ear from time to time, the music is interrupted every now and then by the click of the pause-play command. Over time, you need to get used to adjusting them by the flexible connecting bracket, then the sensor will not work. But the very fact of the need for adjustment means that there are problems with versatility.

 

The autonomy of the headphones is sufficient, but it is interesting that with the larger size of the case and its parts, the battery is not so capacious. Yes, working for 6 hours and another 18 with recharging from the case – very good indicators. But it was probably possible to use the space in these dimensions more efficiently or reduce the size of the case.

 

Features of Ugreen HiTune S5 (WS210) headphones

Speaker size:	12 mm
Headphone frequency range:	20 Hz – 20 KHz
Number of microphones:	2
Codecs:	AAC, SBC
Connectivity:	Bluetooth 5.4
Bluetooth profiles:	HFP/AVRCP/A2DP/BLE/SPP
Protection:	IPX5
Earphone, case battery:	Li-ion, 40 mAh, 400 mAh
Cable length:	10 cm
Case dimensions:	58.72×50.15×25.81 mm
Headphone dimensions:	31.68×20.22×24.4 mm
Headphone weight:	4.2 g
Case weight:	46.2 g
Device provided by:	Company OPPO AED Ukraine
Price:	$35

Rating:

+ protection against moisture

+ convenient case

+ sound like for earbuds

-usual disadvantages of in-ear headphones

-Relatively large dimensions

 

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