If you’re looking for an excellent set of truly wireless earbuds that won’t break the bank, the Creative Outlier Air may be just what the doctor ordered. They sound great, are super comfortable, and only cost $80.
You’d be forgiven for not thinking of Creative when wondering which brand of earbuds you should buy—I’m not sure this company is on as many people’s radars as it should be. I’ve reviewed quite a few of its products over the years, and I can’t think of many times I didn’t come away impressed. The Outlier Air is no different.
The Outlier Air is the company’s first set of truly wireless earbuds, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better value on the market today. I’ve had several sets of genuinely wireless earbuds stuffed into my earholes over the last few months, so I generally have specific expectations for ‘buds at various price points. The Outlier Air pretty much obliterated every expectation I had, however—they’re comfortable, have excellent audio quality, and killer battery life. What more could you want?
The Case is a Big’un, but Damn It’s Sleek
Before we get into pairing and using the Outlier Air, however, let’s first take a look at the case. Unlike most truly wireless earbuds, which have flip-top cases, Creative opted for a sleek slide-out mechanism. I initially thought this would be annoying, but it turns it’s pretty damn nice. I like it. It also charges over USB-C, which is a great addition— even though it’s 2019 and USB-C should be commonplace now, it’s not always a given on products like this. So shoutout to Creative for being forward-thinking.
That said, the case is on the bulkier side when it comes to truly wireless earbuds. It’s nowhere even close to as sleek as the case you’ll get with a set of AirPods, for instance. In fact, I have five sets of truly wireless earbuds within arm’s reach right now, and the Outlier Air has the largest case of all. Still, it’s not as thick as some of the other (I’m looking at you, Jaybird Run XT), so it still manages to not be terrible in a pocket. But if you’re looking for the sleekest case out there, this ain’t it, baby. Sorry.
No Frills, No Fuss
One thing I love about these buds is that they don’t have a bunch of frills. They just connect to your phone (which is a slightly weird process that we’ll talk about in a minute) and…that’s it. There are no apps to fumble with. In a time when every accessory seems to have its own app, it was nice to know that I didn’t have to mess with any additional installations just to listen to some music. (And before anyone says it: I know you don’t have to install apps for other earbuds, but what kind of reviewer would I be if I didn’t test this crap?)
But yeah, about the pairing process. Most truly wireless earbuds I’ve tried just pair like anything else—they’re automatically connected and pair to your phone as one unit. But the Outlier Air has a “main” bud—it can be either the left or right, as it’s just the first on you pair with your phone. You pair the main bud first, and then it asks for the other one to be paired, too. Once the second one is connected, it pairs up with the other side and disappears from the phone’s paired list. It works, but it’s just bizarre and slightly convoluted. Whatever—at least you only have to do it once.
Once everything is paired up, it’s smooth sailing. Pop the buds out fo the case, and they connect instantly. And, man, they’re crazy comfortable. They’re about the same overall size as the Jabra Elite 65t, but each bud is slightly lighter. They fit in my ears exceptionally well—probably better than any other earbuds I’ve ever used in my life—and show no signs of slippage no matter what I’m doing. Once they’re in, they’re in.
Because of the great fit, they also create an incredibly strong seal, which blocks out most outside noise. This is most excellent when that’s what I’m looking for, but there are also occasions when I want (or even need) to hear what’s going on around me, so the isolation goes both ways. And of course, everyone’s ears are different, so you may have a different experience than me. But these shape of these seems to be very well suited to my ears at the very least. That’s probably a good thing because they only ship with two sets of silicone tips. If one or the other doesn’t work for your head holes, then you’re on your own.
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