When everyone first got Apple AirPods, I thought they were super snobby, unnecessary and show-offy.
But it wasn’t until I joined the gym and launched a podcast that I saw the appeal in completely cordless, Bluetooth earphones. They’re just so much more convenient, with portability and practical features.
Being an Apple user, I ended up treating myself to a pair, costing me a cool £119.
And whilst I’m now a total convert and couldn’t go back to being physically tethered to my phone or laptop, there’s simply no denying that AirPods are an expensive, luxury buy.
So when I saw that budget retailer Aldi was stocking a dupe, I had to see if their version lived up to the superiority of AirPods - and I have to say, I was impressed.
The ‘Maginon’ Bik-3 in ear Bluetooth earphones launched on the Aldi website as an online exclusive on January 30 - and my pair arrived four days later.
They cost £24.99, so less than a quarter of the price of Apple’s AirPods - which are also stocked on the Aldi website for £119.99.
Inside the box you get the charging case with a pair of wireless headphones as well as a USB charging cable and instructions booklet.
On first impressions, the charging case is bulkier than the AirPod case, but similar in terms of shape, look and feel.
I popped them on charge for just under four hours as recommended, before seeing if they would connect to my iPhone 11.
The instruction booklet was easy to follow, with lots of diagrams to explain what buttons do and what different lights mean.
All I had to do was open the case and search for the BIK-3 device on my phone’s Bluetooth setting. It didn’t take long for my phone to pair with the earphones and they made a chime to suggest they were good to go.
To test them out, I put my Apple Music playlist on shuffle, and found the acoustics to be surprisingly good quality.
They offer stereo sound, and it didn’t sound tinny or distorted when I whacked the volume right up. That said, a more comfortable listening volume could be found just under the halfway point, as they’re fairly loud.
In terms of how they felt in my ear, the Aldi earphones are slightly bigger than AirPods, in both length and the ‘in ear’ part.
I only have small ear canals, so AirPods are the perfect size for me, while the Aldi version were potentially a smidge too large.
That said, they were still very comfortable, sat nicely in the ear, and would be ideal for most adults.
The earphones are brilliant for listening to music, podcasts and audio books on the go, and the lack of a wire makes them safer to use at the gym, and you’ll never have to untangle a dozen knots from a cable just to listen to a TikTok video, either.
The Aldi earphones have a 3.5 hour playback time and four hours of ‘talk time’ if you’re using them to make calls, while Apple’s version offers five hours of playback (listening to music) and three hours of talk time.
Not only that, but they have a multi-functional button that can be used to accept and end phone calls without getting your phone out of your pocket.
The button can be held down to decline a call, while double tapping will activate the voice wizard to you can ask Siri, Google or your device's particular AI assistant to complete a task.
The one upper hand Apple has is their feature which means when you remove an AirPod, it automatically pauses the audio you were listening to, whereas with the Aldi dupe, you have to tap the button on the earbud.
Overall, the Aldi earphones were easy to set up and use, were comfortable and performed well. The audio was great quality, and for the price, they’re a brilliant alternative to the Apple AirPods.
But if you are desperate to maintain a collection of Apple products, Aldi do have the 2nd generation Apple AirPods in stock too - but they’ll set you back £119.99.
