The Hakii Ice true wireless earbuds are an open-fit style earbuds, which is like the AirPods, where you won’t get any noise isolation as there is no silicon ear tips. The Hakii Ice retails at US$105.
Unboxing
The Hakii Ice comes in only one colour, which is a light pastel blue. In the box, you’ll find the following:
- Hakii Ice earbuds
- Charging case
- Drawstring bag
- USB-C cable
- Documentations
Tech specs
| Driver size | 13mm |
| Bluetooth version | 5.2 |
| Audio codec supported | AAC/SBC |
| Charging time | 1.5 hours |
| Music play time | 7 hours 24 hours in total with case |
| Water resistance rating | IPX4 |
| Weight | 4.1g per earbuds 65.1g (charging case) |
Build quality and design
The biggest of Hakii in their new Hakii Ice true wireless earbuds is the design. The charging case has a very unique design that you have probably never seen in other true wireless earbuds. Like its name, the charging case is designed so that the wavy blue interior is encased by ice, giving it a dual layer look. While the case of the Hakii Ice is really nice to look at, it is also rather chunky so if you usually pocket your earbuds, this might be a little bulky.
As for the earbuds, the Hakii Ice has its own style when compared to AirPods. The driver part of the earbud look like it is joined to an icicle, making it look like two separate pieces. Like most open-fit style earbuds, the Hakii Ice also has a stem. I did find the stem on the Hakii Ice to be quite long compared to other brands such as the Sudio Nio. The earbuds have a nice matte finish with a gradient hue colour of white and blue across the stem. Hakii Ice is rated at IPX4, so it should be safe to use during light workouts.
As for controls, the Hakii Ice utilises touch controls. Below is a quick summary of the controls:
- Single tap on either side activates play/pause (pick up a phone call)
- Long tap (2 sec) on left to go back on a track & on the right to skip a tracks (end a call)
- Double tap on left earbud to activate voice assistant
- Double tap on right earbud for game mode
The touch sensors are located at the top of the stem which are quite natural to tap on since they are located where the drivers are at. However, this also means that I tend to accidentally activate play/pause when wearing the earbuds. Unfortunately, the touch controls do not include support for volume control.
Battery life
The Hakii Ice provides around 7 hours of playtime on a full charge. This is slightly above the average for open style earbuds as their small size don’t usually carry much battery. You can get up to a total of 24 hours with the case, which should comfortably last you a week of use.
Hakii Ice does not have quick charge feature, which is a miss given its higher than average price tag of US$105. Having said that, charging via USB-C from zero to full takes 1.5 hours.
Fit
The fit of the Hakii Ice is just like any other open-fit pair of true wireless earbuds. Generally, if the EarPods from Apple fit okay in your ears then the Hakii Ice should fit well for you. One thing to note about the Hakii Ice is that since the stem is a little longer than average, the fit can move a tad bit if you yawning. But personally it wasn’t much of an issue for me.
The Hakii Ice rest well in my ears with a light fit that is comfortable to use for many hours without ear fatigue. The earbuds are only 4.1 grams so the lightweight nature of the earbud also helped with the overall comfort.
Pairing and connectivity
The pairing the Hakii Ice was fast and straightforward as it comes equipped with Bluetooth 5.2. The earbuds are seen as one unit in your Bluetooth settings. During my time of testing, the connection was stable and I did not experience any audio dropouts. And if you want to use just one earbud, you can use either side of the earbuds. As for audio-video sync, I did not experience any lag while watching from the YouTube app on my iPhone 11.
Hakii Ice also comes with a gaming mode which can help to reduce latency even further.
Sound quality
Bass on open-fit earbuds are never going to be as resounding and thumping as on a pair of in-ear earbuds, but the bass on the Hakii Ice is surprisingly good. The low end offers a good amount of depth and presence which helps to give the overall track a fuller sound, and not too flat and airy. Mids and highs on the Hakii Ice are forward and emphasised. Vocals and instruments will stand out in the mix and are delivered with good clarity without sounding too bright and veiled.
The Sudio Nio offers sufficient bass with its mids and high sounding a little thin and harsh at times. For comparison, the Hakii Ice seems to be a better sounding pair as the mids and highs are more well controlled, with the support of the bass providing a more balanced and fuller sound which prevents the thin sound that the Sudio Nio can sometimes have.
Again, the sound experience will differ from person to person depending the fit you achieve. A loose fit will generally reduce bass and produce a more airy sound.
Microphone quality
The microphone of the Hakii Ice is good and reliable, as expected from a pair of earbuds with a stem. The quality of the pickup is quite similar to that of Sudio Nio, which isolates my voice well and keeps my voice forward with good enough clarity. Voice output presents some depth for a fuller sound. When external noise was introduced, Hakii Ice was able to cancel out most of noise and reducing them to subtle “whirs” while keeping my voice untouched.
Conclusion
The Hakii Ice checks all the fundamentals of a good open-fit earbuds, even able to offer a well-balanced sound signature which most open-fit earbuds tend to lack. If you care a lot on the design on a pair of earbuds then the Hakii Ice would likely attract your attention if you can look past its chunky size. At US$105, it is slightly more expensive than Sudio Nio, which is its closest competition.