i12 TWS Earbuds Review: Specifications, Weight, Sound and Battery

What does a newer version change for you? Mostly steadier sound on a crowded bus and a little less drain on tiny batteries. Range barely moves: makers quote 10 to 15 meters in open space, and a wall or your own body shortens it.

• Bluetooth 5.4: Btootos A90 Pro, BESNOOW I53, Jxrev J53 and J51, Jrwaro S13, zakotu I66, H69, Qecnato I50, and the Bucephalus T20 and CuiSuto M28 touchscreen pairs.
• Bluetooth 5.3: Fhumsh A10, KTGEE T08, 1 Hora AUT201, XIAOWTEK A40 Pro, Wekily S50, HUIFU T12 and the T21 touchscreen pair.
• Bluetooth 5.0 or 5.1: the SGNICS TWS 5.0 and DRQQ AirBuds 2, the pairs whose radio sits closest to the first i12.

Looking for an i12 TWS Realtek chip, or another chip brand inside? Budget earbuds rarely print it. Makers name the Bluetooth version, the profiles and the codecs instead, and those tell you more. The zakotu I66 lists HID, HFP, A2DP and AVRCP; the Btootos A90 Pro and SP99 add AAC next to the basic SBC codec, which suits iPhones.

Open-fit stems sit loosely at the entrance of the ear, the way the classic i12 does, so a gram more or less barely registers. With soft tips the seal carries the weight, which is why tip size matters more than grams. Start with the medium tips, then go down a size if the bud aches after an hour.

The case adds more to your pocket than the buds do. A few makers publish its size:

• Wekily S50: a 30-gram case.
• Fhumsh A10: a 0.09lb case, about 41 grams.
• TAGRY X08: buds of 1.57 x 0.78 x 0.59in and a 2.56 x 2.16 x 1in case.

Light buds suit long calls and lying on a pillow. A slightly heavier bud with a snug tip often stays put better on a run, so weight alone never makes a pair a poor pick.

• 14.2mm: Btootos A90 Pro, BESNOOW I53, Wekily S50, H69, Qecnato I50, SP99, T21 and PR-4.
• 13.2 to 14mm: KTGEE T08, jaddsa T18 and HUIFU T12 at 13.2mm, XIAOWTEK A66 and S66 at 13.4mm, ZEYARUIBO Ear Bud Pros 2 at 14mm.
• 13mm: TAGRY X08, Fhumsh A10, Jxrev J53 and J51, Jrwaro S13, Gemini GEBX-100, dbsono SoundPods, Surfans T1, and the T20 and M28 touchscreen pairs.
• 10 to 12mm: XIAOWTEK A40 Pro at 12mm, the FEFURS U38 kids' pair and SGNICS TWS 5.0 at 10mm.

Fit shapes the sound more than a millimeter of driver does. Soft silicone tips seal the ear canal, so bass stays in and street noise stays out. Open-fit stems let air through, which sounds lighter and keeps you aware of traffic.

Three touchscreen pairs and one soft-tip pair offer tuning options:

1. The Bucephalus T20, CuiSuto M28 and T21 switch between 5 EQ modes from the touchscreen on the case.
2. The ZEYARUIBO Ear Bud Pros 2 offers sound modes on the buds.
3. The rest play one tuning, usually with a lift in the bass.

Those hours are rated at moderate volume; KTGEE states 50 to 60 percent for its 40-hour figure. Loud music, long calls and cold weather all trim them. Expect a little less than the box promises and you will be pleasantly surprised.

• LED digits: the TAGRY X08, Fhumsh A10, Btootos A90 Pro, Jxrev J53, BESNOOW I53 and Jrwaro S13 cases show the charge left in the case and each bud.
• Wireless charging: drop the TAGRY X08, DRQQ AirBuds 2 or PR-4 case on a charging pad.
• USB-C: every pair that names its port uses USB-C.

What the case lights mean, and how to wake a bud that stops charging, has its own walkthrough in the i12 TWS charging instructions.

• iPhone: pair once in Settings, then Bluetooth; taps reach Siri.
• Android: pairs the same way, and taps wake Google Assistant.
• Laptops and TVs: work as a normal Bluetooth headset; the Fhumsh A10 even switches between a laptop call and phone music.
• Sharing: the TAGRY X08, Jxrev J53 and zakotu I66 play one bud on its own, so two people can listen together.

Step-by-step help for every device sits in the i12 TWS pairing steps. Warranty is the line that varies most, so read it before you choose.

When two pairs look alike on paper, the longer warranty makes a fair tiebreaker. The TAGRY X08 stands out here, with 5 years of cover on a pair that also leads on battery.