They’re light and compact, but packs a real punch! The Zendure Zenpods are packed full of good stuff. They have Active Noise Cancelling for blocking out noise, Environmental Noise Cancelling for clear calls, good battery life and more!
Review continues under the video.
In the video review we go through all content of the box, we have a close look at the case and the earphones, we show how media controls work, test the microphone and the latency in games. We also try them on. Check it out!
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Zendure Zenpods
As mentioned they’re packed full of good stuff, like Active Noise Cancelling for blocking out noise, Environmental Noise Cancelling for clear calls, good battery life and more! Let’s have a closer look!
What we get in the box
In the box we have the charging case, a usb type C cable for charging, and some extra rubber buds in different sizes.
Beautiful blue case
I’m usually not a fan of shiny cases, but the metallic colour looks very nice. It’s almost got a mirror finish and it’s got a premium look to it. Two things to note about this colour is that it will attract fingerprints and if you get any scratches, they will be quite visible.
On the back is the usb connector for charging, and inside is a 300 mAh battery that can charge the earphones three times, which gives us 24 hours of play time.In the middle is a little light that blinks while charging the case, and will show a steady light when it’s fully charged. It will also light up while charging the earbuds, so you can see if they’re ready or not.
The earbuds are held in here by magnets, and makes sure they fall back into place without having to fiddle with them at all.
The Earphones
Here we have the two earphones, which have the same type of blue colour on the stems. This sure is something for people who want unique looking earphones. If you prefer a different colour, they are also available in white and black.
I really like the colour combination they chose for the blue version. I don’t know if you can see it, but the colour changes from blue at the bottom and fades a bit over to a blueish purple at the top.
Eache earphone weighs only 4 grams, so I hardly notice the weight at all while wearing them. They’re also quite compact, and the stem sticking down the side is quite short.
Inside we have 40 mAh batteries, that are informed to last up to 6 hours at medium volume. But, in my tests I got about 6 hours even at quite high volume, with ANC switched on. So the battery here is very good. They also have 13 mm drivers that give us a very nice sound, but more about that a bit later.
For water resistance they are rated IPX5, and can easily handle some water splashes and sweating.
The controls on these are based on touch, and it’s the top part of the stem that’s touch sensitive.
On the inside of the stem we have the charging connectors and the microphone is located under it.
Pairing and connection
Just opening the lid doesn’t really do anything, so to pair them, we must first take them out of the case. When it pops up on the screen, just select it and we can start using them, and we can see the remaining battery on the screen. I also paired them with my laptop, and you can of course switch between them without unpairing the other device.
Latency in games and video
Regarding latency they do a good job in videos, and there’s no noticeable delay in apps like youtube and netflix.
I also tested them in games, and even though I got used to having a bit of delay, I personally find it to be a bit too much for fast gaming. But then again, these earbuds are made for music, and not really for games.
Watch the latency tests in the video – https://youtu.be/2UTOiJA-O64
Microphone for calls
Regarding call quality they do sound good, and in the video are some tests i made, so you can hear for yourself. They sound good in silent areas, but may struggle a bit in windy areas.
Music and call controls
For controlling music, we can single tap on either earbud to play and pause.
To skip to the next song, we double tap the right earphone.
To go backwards or to the previous song, we double tap the left earphone.
Holding a few seconds on the right earphone will cycle through the ANC mode, transparency mode and normal mode. When doing this, there’s a voice confirming if ANC is on or off.
Holding the left earphone for a few seconds, will open the assistant.
Wearing the Zendure Zenpods
Comfort is very important when wearing earbuds for long periods, and Zendure did an excellent job with the Zenpods. They’re so light and comfortable that I hardly notice wearing them. They’re also quite compact so they don’t stick much out of the ears.
The Active Noise Cancelling works well, as it blocks out a lot of crowd noise and other noise from the surroundings. I can of course hear some of the noise, but it works quite well. One thing to note, is that you must use both earphones for ANC to work. If you use only one of them, it’s not going to work at all.
Transparency mode can also be activated when needed, by turning on the microphone and playing the sound through the speaker.
Both ANC and Transparency mode works well without having any impact on the sound quality while playing music. The music will sound just as good with these functions switched on or off.
Sound Quality
The most important is of course the sound quality, and the Zendure Zenpods are very good.
The highs and mids sound very good, and they’re crisp and clear, even at loud volume with a lot of bass. They’re spacious with a good dynamic range and separation between instruments and vocals is good.
If you like bass, you’ll not be disappointed, because it sounds very nice. It’s punchy and firm when it needs to be, and they have the low powerful rumbling bass that I love.
I can’t really call the sound warm or cold, because I feel the mids and highs fall in the neutral area. So the overall sound is a bit neutral with rich bass. Anyway, the sound is very good, and I could easily see myself using the Zenpods on a daily basis.
To summarize, the Zendure Zenpods have very good sound, very good battery life, good ANC and transparency mode, they’re comfortable to wear and they look amazing in the blue colour.
