Review: Mifo S ANC True Wireless Earbuds

In the sea of true wireless earbuds in today’s saturated market, it is hard to stand-out unless it is offering something groundbreaking. The Mifo S isn’t anything groundbreaking, but it manages to physically stand out due to its attention grabbing design and size. The Mifo S True Wireless Earbuds retails for US$150 or S$213 on Amazon.sg.

Unboxing

Here’s what you’ll find in the box:

• Mifo S ANC True Wireless Earbuds
• Charging case
• USB-A to USB-C cable
• User manual
• Ear tips x4 (XS, S, M, L)

Tech specs

Build quality and features

The Mifo S has a very eye-catching design because of the bright lime green coupled with all the word cloud motif splattered across the case. Personally, it comes across as tacky to me as I’m someone who prefers a more clean and minimal look. The size of the case is something I would classify as medium. Despite a cheap looking design, the case itself is pretty well built. It has a good heft to it and the button in the middle flips the case open to reveal the earbuds and LED indicators for battery life.

The earbuds also feature the same design as the case, with the text splattering the whole face of the earbud. The Mifo S earbuds are the smallest pair of true wireless earbuds that I have reviewed to date. The shape of earbuds extends to feature an ear fin, which cannot be removed and feels hard rather than something softer like rubber. Since the Mifo S is marketed as a sports focused earbuds, the earbuds are rated at IPX7 water-resistance which means it can withstand heavy sweat and rain.

Controls

Mifo S features touch controls which are easily to locate and use. You can control all of the main media functions such as play/pause, volume, and forward/back.

The touch controls are responsive but given the small size of the earbuds, I tend to accidentally increase/decrease the volume when adjusting the fit in my ears.

Transparency mode

Transparency mode allows external surroundings sounds to come into the earbuds, which can be useful for safety reasons if you’re jogging along traffic junctions. Mifo S‘s Transparency mode is pretty decent. Voices still feel slightly distant and seems to have a focus on wind noises.

Battery life

Mifo S provides up to 6 hours of playtime on a full charge if you listen without ANC, and this is actually quite good for its small size. Listening with ANC will bring the battery life down to 4 hours. The hefty charging case can recharge the earbuds five times.

At almost S$200, I was expecting wireless charging but charging the Mifo S can only be done through a wired option of USB-C.

Fit and comfort

As the Mifo S are incredibly small, the fit will rely heavily on the ear tips as the will be the main contact point when the earbuds are in your ears. I found the Medium size ear tips to fit me well, and once they are in my ears, I can barely feel them especially because of how light they are. It would have be good if Comply foam ear tips were included given this is a sports focused earbuds.

It was advertised that you can wear the Mifo S to sleep, but since the ear fins are hard, I can feel them pressing against my ears. Having said that, this largely depends on ear shape as well. The Mifo S sits completely flushed in my earbuds, so if you like low-profile earbuds then this might be something of your interest.

Pairing, connectivity, and latency

Mifo S is equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.2 and pairs to my phone as a single unit. During my time of testing, I did not experience any connection issues but I did hear some weird “hiccupping” sounds sometimes when playing music. As for latency, I did not encounter 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

Mifo S has a dynamic sound signature which emphasises more on bass and treble. Bass offers power and thump which is great if you enjoy the low end reverb and rumble. Midrange is forward and has good clarity that provides a warm undertone to it. Treble offers a controlled shine to provide enough support for vocals and instruments to pop without sounding overly sibilant.

If you usually listen to modern pop, EDM or hip-hop, then the Mifo S will be a pair that can offer an enjoyable audio experience.

ANC performance

The noise control modes shuffles through three modes – (1) Transparency mode, (2) Strong noise cancelling, and (3) Mild noise cancelling. The latter is simply ANC turned off.

While testing the ANC on the “Strong noise cancelling” mode, I found that the ANC performance of the Mifo S earbuds on the above average level. Low frequency noises such as engine rumble are reduced such that you can only hear a slight hum in the background. For comparison, it is better than the Nokia E3511 but loses out to the Creative Outlier Pro. Higher frequency noises such as chatter and rail squeal on MRT can still be heard but albeit at a lower volume.

Microphone quality

I would say the the microphone of the Mifo S earbuds is pretty decent for its size. In a controlled environment, voice pickup was quite clear and a good amount of warmth such that it sounded more full. However, once noise was introduced, the Mifo S started to struggle a little in differentiating what to cancel out. If the surroundings are very noisy, then output is rather choppy and unpredictable. So, I’d say take calls only if you’re in a relatively quiet room.

Conclusion

The Mifo S earbuds are a good pair of sports focused earbuds especially if you have small ears. The small and compact size of the Mifo S earbuds is the main X-factor. The earbuds also keeps up with the latest trends by offering ANC and transparency mode which is great to have. The audio out of the Mifo S offers a dynamic and fun listening experience, which is always a great companion during workouts.