Review: Creative Outlier Air V3 ANC True Wireless Earbuds

Creative has finally launched the Creative Outlier Air V3, and it comes with all the features that flagship true wireless earbuds have. ANC, Ambient mode, wireless charging, companion app? Yup the new Creative Outlier Air V3 got them all. All these new features and Creative has decided to sweeten the deal further with the Creative Outlier Air V3 starting at a lower price of S$99.Unlike the V1 to the V2, the V3 has some defining changes from the V2.

Unboxing

The Creative Outlier Air V3 comes in the same sized box, and inside you’ll find following items:

• Creative Outlier Air V3 ANC earbuds
• Charging case
• Pair of silicon ear tips x 3 (S, M , L)
• USB-A to USB-C cable
• User manual

Tech specs

Build quality and features

The case of the Creative Outlier Air V3 retains the same design as all its predecessors – round rectangular looking shape with a push/pull hinge. The Creative Outlier Air V3 comes in a new metallic green colour. Build quality is also improved. The push/pull hinge does feel a little more sturdy than the V2. The way the earbuds latch back magnetically to the case is also re-designed to prevent accidental dislodging when the case is shaken.

Comparing the cases side by side, the Creative Outlier Air V3 is bigger in both length and width. The case now feels more chonky, but it shouldn’t really affect portability much since the original cases weren’t exactly pocketable in the first place.

Like the case, the new Creative Outlier Air V3 comes in a metallic green colour. The design now features squared off edges and build quality is also better as the earbud feels more tightly sealed as one piece of plastic.

Comparing both earbuds side by side, overall shape roughly the same, but you can tell that the Creative Outlier Air V3 has a more squared off edge compared to the V2, giving it a slightly smaller size. The touch panel is now matte and the inner contours are also less aggressive.

The Creative Outlier Air V3 continues to be certified with IPX5 water-resistance rating so you can use them during your workouts. Like the Creative Outlier Air V2, the Creative Outlier Air V3 utilises touch controls.

Controls

The touch controls on the Creative Outlier Air V3 is able to control everything from play/pause, adjusting volume, skipping of tracks, and handling calls. Since the V3 now introduces ANC & Ambient Mode, the playback controls are contained on the right earbud.

Creative stuck with requiring a double tap to trigger a play/pause rather than a single tap, which is a great choice as it reduces accidental tapping of the touch controls. The touch controls is generally responsive and easy to use.

Ambient Mode

The Ambient Mode allows external surrounding sounds to enter the earbuds so it is like wearing an open fit pair of earbuds. The transparency effect is rather natural– voices sound normal and not processed. There isn’t much over-amplification of any sounds as well. Wind, however can be a little sensitive on the mics which causes a slight hiss.

Creative App

Like the companion app for the Creative T60 speakers, the new Outlier Air V3 also has the Creative App for added functionality. It also opens the door for Creative to push firmware updates to the earbuds.

The Creative App provides three main features – EQ, noise control, and customising buttons. If you do not like the way Creative has configured the touch controls, you can customise the functions to your liking.

For custom EQ, you can adjust multiple levels of the frequency chart which does help to alter the overall sound signature by a fair bit. It does not modify the sound as drastically like what Jaybird can, but it does elevate areas in the audio spectrum for my liking.

Battery life

Battery life is actually shorter on the Creative Outlier Air V3 compared to the V2 – 10 hours vs 12 hours. Although it is 2 hours less, 10 hours is still very impressive. But if you were to look at battery life on the whole, by including the case, then the new Creative Outlier Air V3 actually outlasts theV2 by 40 hours vs 34 hours.

Creative Outlier Air V3 still charges via USB-C and now gets support for wireless charging.

Fit and comfort

Since the design and shaped of the Creative Outlier Air V3 has changed, so you will not be getting the exact same fit as the Creative Outlier Air V2.

Firstly, the size of the new Creative Outlier Air V3 is smaller than the V2 due to its squared off edges and shorter nozzle. This mean that the the V3 will sit more flush and will protrude less. The earbuds won’t go as deep into my ears. This will have less intrusive fit and will better fit individuals with smaller ears. Secondly, the inner contours of the new Creative Outlier Air V3 is gentle and not as protruding as found on the V2. For me, this resulted is lesser contact with the curves of my ears, and the ear tips not going as deep as the V2.

Personally, I prefer the fit of the V2 over the V3 because it led to a greater seal and better sound isolation. However, I do see the merits of the fit of the V3 as it is less intrusive and feels lighter in your ears.

Pairing, connectivity, and latency

Unlike the predecessors, the new Creative Outlier Air V3 is equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.2 and the way it pairs to my phone also differs. The Creative Outlier Air V3 now pairs as a single unit to my phone instead of the L and R unit, of which one acts as the master.

During my time of testing, the connection I experienced was stable and there was no latency or audio lag when watching YouTube videos from the YouTube app on my iPhone 11. If you want to use just one earbud, you can use either the left or right earbud.

Sound quality

Before we go into the sound signature, do not that the new Creative Outlier Air V3 now drops support for aptX codec that was previously found on the V2. If you’re using an iPhone this shouldn’t be a big deal, but if you’re on Android and care about audio codecs, this is something to take note.

The sound signature of the Creative Outlier Air V3 has the same direction as the V2 – V-shaped to emphasise bass and treble to create a fun energetic sound. Bass continues be to punchy, clean and boomy with supportive sub-bass reverb. When compared to the V2, the V3’s bass is slightly less elevated.

Midrange is where the difference between the V3 and V2 lies. The Creative Outlier Air V3 has more forward mids, especially in the upper midrange, for vocals and instruments to be take the spotlight. This addresses one of the complaint of the V2 where midrange can seem tame at times. Treble is also forward, sounding bright and transparent.

Super X-Fi

The Creative Outlier Air V3 supports the Super X-Fi Ready feature which allows your onboard memory music played via the SXFI App to have to large and open SXFI effect. It would had been cool to see Super X-Fi been a feature of the earbud itself.

ANC performance

The Creative Outlier Air V3 now has Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) that is a common feature on most flagship true wireless earbuds. Creative terms it is ‘active noise reduction’ instead but it is essentially the same thing. The ANC is good, at an above average standard. It can get rid of the low rumbling engine noises effectively but if the volume of the noise are too loud they do seem in seep in. As for higher frequencies noises such as mechanical keyboard typing or rail squeal, they still can be heard but the overall volume is reduced.

Microphone quality

Instead of the single Qualcomm cVc 8.0 microphones on the Creative Outlier Air V2, the new Creative Outlier Air V3 now uses a dual microphone system. It doesn’t seem to be using any Qualcomm tech as Creative did not advertise it.

The voice pickup quality of the Creative Outlier Air V3 is slightly improved over the V2 – voice is clear and sounds slightly more full and rounded. The main improvement would be noise cancellation and voice isolation in noisy environment. The microphone is still able to pickup my voice well and cancels out majority of the background surrounding noise, though high frequency sounds tend to seep in now and then.

Conclusion

The first Outlier Air was a big hit because it offered many great functional features at a low price. The new Creative Outlier Air V3 continues in the same vein, giving users the needed true wireless earbuds feature set such as ANC and Ambient Mode to stay relevant in 2021, while keeping a low price. In fact it is even lower than the first version, now coming in at only S$99. Competition is stiffer these days, but the Creative Outlier Air V3 continues to offer lots of value for the money that you’re paying.

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