If you are stuck with the much-beloved 3.5mm headphone jack on your smartphone, wake up and smell the coffee. Ever since Apple ditched the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 and then introduced the wildly popular AirPods wireless headphones, every smartphone vendor has since moved on — at least with their flagship devices. This has got everyone hunting for options of the best True Wireless Earbuds/Earphones or TWS on the market. Xiaomi’s Mi AirDots Pro or just Mi Air or Mi True Wireless Headphones is one of the best options on the market right now.
The Mi AirDots Pro —as they are known in the Chinese market or Mi True Wireless Headphones in the European and global market— are the premium version of the Xiaomi’s Redmi AirDots, also known as Mi True Wireless Earbuds. It’s important to note that Xiaomi names the same product different names based on various markets it sells the product to partially avoid being sued by big Apple. So don’t be confused as I was with these product names.
The Mi AirDots Pro (or Mi True Wireless Headphones) follow Apple’s AirPods stem design style with touch controls on the stem. The wireless earphones are housed in a storage/charging case that have Lithium-ion battery charged via USB-C or wirelessly via Qi-Certified charger depending on the version.
The Mi AirDots Pro have Smart In-Ear detection. That means they can pause/resume music playback when you remove them from your ears. They do this with the help of an Infrared optical sensor installed on one of the earphones.
You also get Environmental Noise Cancelling (ENC) with the Mi AirDots Pro. Here, ambient noise is reduced by generating a canceling anti-noise signal which is equal to or out-of-phase with the outside noise. The earphones do this with the help of two microphones which are also used for making quality calls. ENC isn’t exactly the same as Active Noise Canceling (ANC) though. So don’t get them confused.
Lastly, the Mi AirDots support Bluetooth 5.0 and SBC and AAC codecs in all versions. However, the Mi AirDots Pro S supports LHDC which has 3 times more data transfer rates than SBC. More on the differences later. The AirDots series is powered by a 14.2mm dynamic driver.
For simplicity, I am going to stick to Air 2 name which is almost mostly used in the Chinese market. It is much easier to remember. Feel free to replace Air 2 with AirDots Pro 2 or Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 names.
Summarily, here are the differences in table format.
Mi Air 2 vs Mi Air 2 S vs Mi Air 2 SE
| Differences between Xiaomi Air 2 vs Air 2S vs Air 2 SE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Air 2 | Air 2S | Air 2SE | |
| Model | TWSEJ02JY | TWSEJ05WM | TWSEJ04WM |
| Weight | 4.5g (per earbud) | ||
| Size | 60x60x45mm (battery box) | ||
| Drive Unit | 14.2mm dynamic | ||
| Bluetooth version | 5 | ||
| Range | 10m | ||
| Battery Capacity | 40mAh (Earbuds), 300mAh (Charging case) | 40mAh (Earbuds), 450mAh (Charging case) | ? |
| Charging Time | 1 hr | ||
| Music playback | 4 hrs(earbuds), 14 hrs(with charging case) | 5 hrs(earbuds), 24 hrs(with charging case) | 4 hrs(earbuds), 14 hrs(with charging case) |
| Wilress charging | no | yes | no |
| Bluetooth codecs | LHDC/SBC/AAC | LHDC/SBC/AAC | SBC/AAC |
| Bluetooth profiles | BLE/HFP/HSP/A2DP/AVRCP | ||
| ENC | Yes | ||
| ANC | No | ||
| Waterproof | IPX5 | ||
| Price | $75 | $83 | $53 |
Air 2
The Xioami Mi Air 2 (China version) or Mi AirDots Pro 2 are also called Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 in the European or global market. They go with the product model of TWSEJ02JY. They support the LHDC Bluetooth audio codec but have no wireless charging. They are basically the lite version of the Air2 S.
Read More: Mi AirDots Pro 2 (Mi True Wireless Earphones 2) Review
Air 2 Full Specs
Product name: Air 2
Product model: TWSEJ02JY
Weight: 50g
Charger: USB-C
Charging input: DC 5V / 1A
Impedance:32Ω
Bluetooth version: 5.0
Bluetooth profiles: BLE/HSP/HFP/A2DP/AVRCP
Range: 10m
Charging time: 1 hr
Battery Playback time: 4 hrs
Battery with charging case: 14 hrs
Channel version: Stereo
Microphone: Dual Microphone
The Air 2 goes for about $75 depending on where you buy it from.
Air 2S
The Xiaomi Mi Air2 S (China version) or Mi AirDots Pro 2S are also called Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earphones 2S in the European or global market. They have a product model of TWSEJ05WM. These do support the LHDC Bluetooth audio codec and the charging case supports wireless charging. They are the most advanced and most expensive of Xiaomi’s wireless earphones.
If you are looking at something closer to the Apple AirPods at a third of the price, then the Xiaomi Mi Air2 S is your best bet.
The Xiaomi Mi Air2 S is available for $83 on GearBest.
Mi Air 2S Full Specifications
Product name: Air 2S TWS Earphones (Chinese Version)
Product model: TWSEJ05WM
Color: White
Bluetooth version: 5.0
Impedance: 32Ω
Charging port: Type-C
Input: 5.2V 1.1A
Charging time: 1H
Working distance: 10m
Single earphone battery-capacity: 30mAh
Charging box: 250mAh
Audio decoding: LHDC/SBC/AAC
Bluetooth profiles: BLE/HSP/HFP/A2DP/AVRCP
Air 2SE
The Xiaomi Mi Air 2 SE (China version) or Mi AirDots Pro 2 SE is also called Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 Basic in the European or Global market. Their product model is TWSEJ04WM. These do NOT support LHDC Bluetooth audio code or wireless charging. Notice the charging case of the Air 2SE is quite different from the Air 2 and Air 2S.
They have 20 hours standby battery life and 5 hours on music playback. They are basically the lite version of the Air2. These Earbuds were launched in June 2020 with Xiaomi comparing them to Apple’s 2nd-gen AirPods and JBL Tune 220TWS.
They are also the cheapest of the Air series and for the price of one Apple AirPod, you get four of the Air SE.
Read more: What’s New With Xiaomi MI True Wireless Earphones 2 Basic
The Air SE go for about $52 on GearBest.
Mi Air 2 SE Full Specifications
Product name: Air 2 SE
Product model: TWSEJ04WM
Color: White
Material: ABS
Bluetooth: V5.0
Channel version: Stereo
Microphone: Dual Microphone
Support Protocol: BLE/HSP/HFP/A2DP/AVRCP
Bluetooth codecs: AAC, SBC
Range: 10 meters
Impedance: 32Ω
Charging Input: DC 5V / 1A
Charging Time: 1.5 hour
Battery Life: 5 hours (when fully charged) 20 hours(with charging case)
In the box: Pair of Xiaomi Air 2SE Earphones with Charging Box, User Manual, Type-C Cable
Mi Air 2 Pro
The Mi Air 2 Pro are Xiaomi’s Apple airpod-like wireless earphones with Active Noise Cancelling(ANC). These wireless earbuds are just like the Mi Air 2 S just with ANC added. They also support wireless charging unlike the Mi Air 2 S and Mi Air 2SE. Xiaomi has boosted their battery capacity slightly more with 500mAh charging case and 50mAh single earbud.
Read more: Mi Air 2 Pro with Active Noise Cancellation: Specs and Price
The Mi Air 2 Pro are Xiaomi’s most premium wireless earphones priced at about $120.
Update: The Xiaomi Flipbuds pro are now Xiaomi’s most premium wireless headphones with slightly more beefier specs than the Mi Air 2 Pro.
So to recap, the Mi Air2 S is Xiaomi’s most advanced wireless earphones with LDHC Code and wireless charging support. The Mi Air2 have LDHC codec but no wireless charging while the base level Mi Air 2 SE announced in June 2020 don’t have LHDC codec but support SBC/AAC codec which the rest aldo have and they don’t have wireless charging.
