Introduction: The Promise of Future-Forward Audio
True wireless earbuds have become an essential gadget for every tech-savvy user. But what happens when an Indian tech brand attempts to leap ahead by infusing “artificial intelligence” into this everyday accessory? The unveiling of the Mivi AI Buds answers this question, positioning itself as India’s first AI-powered earbuds—promising futuristic capabilities, advanced sound engineering, and the convenience of smart touch controls. But is the experience truly transformative or just an incremental upgrade dressed as a revolution? This detailed blog aims to answer every question you might have, guiding you honestly through its features, use cases, drawbacks, and more.
Unboxing the Mivi AI Buds: First Impressions Matter
Unboxing any gadget sets the tone for the user experience to follow. The Mivi AI Buds arrive in a sleek, premium-looking box that immediately signals the brand’s attempt at crafting a future-ready product. The maximum retail price is listed as ₹19,999, but real-world prices can be much lower and are often highlighted on e-commerce sites and in the video’s overlay and description.
In the box, you’ll find:
- The earbuds housed in a compact, matte-finish charging case.
- Extra ear tips for customizable comfort.
- USB charging cable.
- Quick start documents, including a “Hi Mivi” guide explaining the AI activation process and a unique AI Activation Code (essential for unlocking AI features through the Mivi app).
From the outset, Mivi emphasizes its AI proposition, but it becomes clear very soon that this “AI” is less about onboard intelligence and more about external connectivity—which we’ll explore in depth.
Design and Ergonomics: Built for Daily Comfort?
Design Varieties: The Mivi AI Buds are available in four premium colors—Black, Champagne, Silver, and Bronze. The review showcased the Champagne variant, praising its understated elegance and compact build.
Case Ergonomics: The case is pocketable, offering a matte non-slip finish that feels premium and is easy to clean.
Earbud Fit: The review found that the earbuds fit “snugly”—not too loose or too tight, making them comfortable for long hours of use, such as calls, music, or gaming. Extra ear tips allow users to customize the experience based on their ear size.
Verdict on Design: For anyone who prioritizes aesthetics and comfort, these buds prove themselves immediately. The lightweight build and color options make them versatile for both professional and casual use.
Sound Quality: Studio-Grade or Just Another Earbud?
Audio Codec Support: The Mivi AI Buds offer LDAC support for high-resolution audio playback—a feature often reserved for more premium brands.
General Sound Impression: The review describes the sound as “studio-like” in clarity, with pronounced bass and balanced mids and highs. The kind of sound profile suits Indian music tastes, which often favor richer bass.
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC):
- 42dB ANC courtesy of a quad-microphone system is a headline feature. In real-life use, this means effective suppression of both traffic and ambient background noise, making these buds suitable for crowded environments or commutes.
- The microphone’s ability to filter out surrounding noise is particularly praised, resulting in “clear voice calls”—a vital factor for professionals and students alike.
The bottom line: If you want solid sound, these deliver. Are they the absolute best at this price? That, as always, depends on individual taste.
Call Quality and Microphone: More Than Just a Music Device
Extensive microphone testing showed that the Mivi AI Buds are reliable for all types of calls—work, study, or social. The ENC (Environmental Noise Cancellation) filters out ambient sounds to the caller’s end.
- Callers on the other end won’t hear your background chatter, according to the review, making these buds a strong candidate for anyone who spends significant time in virtual meetings or online classes.
AI Functions: Innovation or Gimmick?
Here’s where the Mivi AI Buds attempt to stand out—but also where the review delivers the most critical insights.
How Does the AI Work?
- The AI is not in the earbuds; it’s in the accompanying Android app.
- To use the advertised “AI” features, you must download the Mivi app on an Android device. The review explicitly states that there is no current iOS support, making these buds unsuitable for iPhone users who want AI features.
- To activate AI, you need:
- AI Activation Code (provided in the box).
- Internet-connected Android device with the Mivi app.
- Not on-board AI: This is an important nuance. The intelligence is cloud-based, and all smart interactions require the phone and Internet to function.
The AI Avatars and Their Functions
Within the app, several digital “avatars” are available, such as “News Reporter,” “Guru,” “Interviewer,” “Chef,” and more. These avatars enable context-driven conversations or queries. For instance, one could request:
- News updates (“Hi Mivi, give me the latest cricket news”).
- Recipes (“Hi Mivi, can you tell me the recipe for palak paneer?”).
- Astrological advice, general chat, and more.
More avatars and functionalities are likely to be added as the app evolves.
Practical Experience: Is It Useful?
- Voice Recognition: The review found the AI struggles with dropping or missing words during dictation (“a word here or there is missed”). For instance, during the “palak paneer recipe” request, some ingredients were omitted in the voice response, but the complete answer was logged in the chat history.
- Conversational Interface: All conversations are stored in the chat section of the app for reference, which is beneficial if something is misheard, but also represents an extra step compared to simply using a standard voice assistant or chatbot on the phone.
- Comparison with Competitors: The review openly compares this to established LLMs (large language models) like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot, stating these offer more robust, direct, and reliable AI conversations.
Summary: The AI features are innovative in the context of the earbuds market, but not yet transformative for the user experience. The need for constant phone connectivity, Android exclusivity, and imperfect natural language understanding limit its overall appeal.
Core Functional Features
Battery Life: Up to 40 hours (including the charging case). This is competitive with most modern TWS earbuds and should suffice for both daily commuters and heavy users.
Touch Controls: Highly customizable through the app. Users can assign different actions to single, double, triple taps, or tap-and-hold gestures, enhancing usability for music, calls, or activating the voice assistant.
Low Latency Mode: Dedicated gaming mode reduces audio lag, which can be toggled on and off from the app settings. This is a significant advantage for mobile gamers.
IPX4 Water and Sweat Resistance: Suitable for workouts, ensuring protection against sweat and splashes.
Find My Device: The app includes a feature to trigger a beep on the earbuds to help locate them if misplaced.
Equalizer Settings: Users can tweak sound profiles via the app, choosing from different pre-sets or customizing their own.
Custom Modes: Unique toggles for “gaming” and “kids” (presumably reducing maximum output to protect young listeners).
Android-Only Limitation: A Major Caveat
AI Features are Android-Only: If you own an iPhone, the smart features are inaccessible. The review strongly discourages iPhone users from purchasing, as the AI functionality simply doesn’t work with iOS.
Software Reliability and Updates
- Early Days: The review acknowledges that the app already received a noteworthy update in their one-week testing, indicating Mivi is actively improving the product.
- Bugs Remain: Conversational errors, word omission, and occasional delay mean the AI isn’t production-grade. However, future software updates may resolve some of these issues.
Value for Money: How Does It Actually Stack Up?
With the introductory selling price hovering around ₹6,000–₹7,000, the Mivi AI Buds are priced in a highly competitive market segment.
Strengths:
- Premium design and fit.
- Solid battery life.
- High-resolution audio and effective ANC.
- Good call quality.
- App-based customization and useful sound modes.
- Made in India—appeals to buyers supporting domestic brands.
Weaknesses:
- AI features are more a companion app gimmick rather than a native, seamless upgrade.
- Software still in its early stages, with reliability and iOS support missing.
- Audio, while good, may not objectively outperform some direct competitors from established global brands at this price point.
In the review’, “If you are looking only for the AI, look elsewhere for now. But for good looks, comfort, and decent sound and calls, these are a solid buy in their segment.”
Who Should Buy—and Who Should Not?
Recommended For:
- Android users who want customizable sound, solid battery life, and the novelty of AI conversational support for fun or occasional use.
- Users frequently on calls who need reliable ENC for noisy environments.
- Anyone looking for an affordable, well-designed “made in India” product with unique app-based touch controls.
Not Recommended For:
- iPhone users, as the signature AI features will not work at all.
- Anyone needing bulletproof AI voice interactions; LLM app users will find more mature alternatives already on their phone.
- Shoppers prioritizing only absolute sound quality, as competing TWS earbuds at similar price points may be more established for audiophile audiences.
The Verdict: Bold Beginnings, but Room to Grow
India’s audio accessory market is crowded. For Mivi to chart a new course is commendable, and, for a first attempt at “integrating” AI in TWS earbuds, the AI Buds are both ambitious and imperfect.
- Strengths:
- Forward-thinking integration of smart features (albeit currently app-based).
- Good sound and call quality.
- Strong battery life, made-in-India appeal, in-hand and in-use comfort.
- Weaknesses:
- AI is not embedded, but dependent on Android app and cloud.
- No iOS compatibility for AI mode.
- AI frequently drops words, not LLM-grade.
- Needs regular app updates for improvement.
If your priority is a dependable, stylish pair of earbuds—especially if you’re on Android—and you like tinkering with the latest tech novelties, the Mivi AI Buds will serve you well while hopefully getting better with software updates. However, for true AI enthusiasts and iPhone users, it may be wise to wait for the next iteration.