Zepp Clarity Omni, One, Pixie Review: Lackluster Hearing Aids Leave a comment
Battery life for the aids is specified at 17 hours of steady use, and Zepp Readability says the case provides as much as two extra weeks—336 hours—of extra capability. Observe that these aids can’t be used for streaming media or taking cellphone calls over a Bluetooth connection; they work with real-world listening solely.
Just like the Omni, these aids noticed their worth slashed, from $1,199 to $699, whereas I used to be engaged on the evaluate. They’re nonetheless dramatically overpriced for what they do.
Ranking: 2/10
Zepp Readability Pixie
The Zepp Readability Pixie listening to aids take a design cue from the One aids, with an in-the-ear design and a per-aid weight of simply 1.17 grams. The similarities diverge from there, nevertheless, because the Pixie aids are extra customizable, with options extra according to the Omni than the stripped-down One.
The Pixie aids assist the Zepp listening to take a look at. As I’d already taken it for the Omni, I used to be capable of copy these settings over to the Pixie aids with out having to take the take a look at once more (although I later did a retest anyway). The identical six program choices seem like obtainable to the Pixie in addition to the Omni.
Zepp’s app for the Pixie is completely different from each the Omni and the One, providing a quantity slider on one tab and eight preset environmental applications on one other. These vary from basic to TV to restaurant to crowd.
I’d prefer to say that there’s a major distinction amongst these listening modes, however the most effective that I can counsel is that the primary distinction includes the quantity of hiss and high-pitched suggestions they endure from. Very like the Zepp Readability One aids, the Pixie aids function frequent and random bouts of ear-piercing squeals which are unimaginable to disregard, even on the naked minimal quantity. A layer of static underlies this, starting from minimal to grating, which makes the listening expertise much more insufferable. The amplification and readability enhancements in any other case aren’t dangerous, and within the absence of all that suggestions they could make for a compelling product. Alas, I used to be by no means capable of dial the noise right down to an appropriate stage.
The aids don’t have any bodily controls and depend on the identical tap-your-ear technique as described above to change amongst as much as three completely different environmental modes you choose within the app (although one is at all times set because the default mode). The aids can’t be used for streaming by way of Bluetooth, although they do function a cellphone setting that’s alleged to make it simpler to listen to cellphone calls performed over your handset’s speaker with out eradicating the aids out of your ears. The suggestions points sadly didn’t make that doable for me.
Battery life is specified at 17 hours per cost, with an additional 187 hours within the case. The case, by the way, might be charged wirelessly along with the USB-C port.
The aids are snug sufficient bodily, however so acoustically troubled as to make that largely irrelevant. As with the remainder of Zepp’s aids, these had been slashed in worth from $1,999 to $999 whereas I used to be testing them. In comparison with an analogous product just like the vastly superior Sony CRE-C20 aids on the similar worth, the calculus needs to be plainly apparent.
Ranking: 4/10
