Months after OPPO officially entered the true wireless earphones battle, the Chinese firm has announced another offering in the form of the OPPO Enco W31, which arrived on our local shores just this July. Launched as an affordable alternative to the Enco Free, the OPPO Enco W31 packs an impressive overall performance for just a sub-PHP 4K tag. Here’s what we have to say about this pair.
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| OPPO Enco W31 Review; All The Right Boxes Ticked |
Get yours now at https://bit.ly/oppoencow31tws for only Php2,990.
DESIGN AND ERGONOMICS:
The OPPO Enco W31 comes in a rather unconventional charging case. While most true wireless earphones -- like the Enco Free -- mimic the form factor of the charging case of the Apple Airpods, the Enco W31 is enclosed in a cute-looking, circular case in seashell design. It reminds us of a compact face powder that ladies carry in their purse all the time. An advantage this brings is that you can easily bring the charging case anywhere, and it seamlessly fits in jeans pockets.
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| Retail Package |
The charging case is made of plastic though it has a matte finish, making it look premium. What we had in our lab was the white variant, which we noticed is a dirt magnet, but stains can be easily wiped off. Inside the charging case sits a physical button surrounded by a circular light, indicating pairing and charging status. On the back of the case is the device’s USB Type-C port.
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| Charging Case |
The OPPO Enco W31 earphones are light and comfortable when worn. OPPO said that the entire device, the earphones plus the charging case, weighs 50 grams. You may opt to change and choose from the other ear tips included in the box to find the right fit, which is also vital for good noise isolation. We’ve been using the pair for more than a week now, and we never felt even slight discomfort. The OPPO Enco W31 has a stem on it, making it look like the Apple Airpods, but its silver detail on the upper part of both the left and right earbuds adds a unique touch.
See Also: OPPO Launches Its First-Ever Smartwatch, the OPPO Watch; Yours for PHP12,990
PERFORMANCE:
The OPPO Enco W31 delivers an audio performance that’s decent enough to make yourself lost in the music. The pair has a special bass mode and balanced mode accessible through tapping the left earbud twice, and either mode produces sound well. Testing it further, we listened to several songs, including Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust,’ which the OPPO Enco W31 delivered with the right balance between the bass and the electric guitars without overpowering the vocals. The OPPO Enco W31 also did justice in delivering EDM hip-hop tracks like BTS’s ‘Mic Drop,’ as it played an impressive sound separation on the song’s distinctive beats and its lyrics. On more relaxed, mellow tracks like Taylor Swift’s ‘Exile,’ the said earphones presented clearly the sound of the piano in the background.
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| White Variant |
Also, there isn’t any noticeable sound delay when we use the OPPO Enco W31 while watching videos both on YouTube and Netflix. The OPPO Enco W31 also supports AAC audio formats, which OPPO claims are for life-like audio detail. This can be accessed mostly on OPPO smartphones. Pairing the OPPO Enco W31 on OPPO models is also extra easy as the brand's smartphones will automatically display a pairing prompt the moment they detect the OPPO Enco W31.
These earphones also come with a dual-microphone noise cancellation function, which we can confidently say did its job well since we're quite impressed with the microphone performance of the OPPO Enco W31.
What we find quite lacking about the OPPO Enco W31 is its limited variety of touch functions. Unlike most TWS models, which controls like playing/pausing music and adjusting volumes come as standard, the OPPO Enco W31 only has easy controls on playing the next song, activating the voice assistant, and switching between bass and balance modes. The earphones’ sensors are responsive enough, sometimes too sensitive as we found it responding even when touched by the hair.
The earphones also have an IP54 rating, meaning it can be used when working out to withstand sweat and minimal water splashes. Another thing to note about the OPPO Enco W31 is its stable Bluetooth connection, which works well within a 10-meter range.
BATTERY:
This is another department where the OPPO Enco W31 excels. On paper, OPPO advertises the said earphones with 15 hours of music playback and 12 hours of call time. We were able to use the OPPO Enco W31 for an accumulated time of 10 hours. Its charging case got fully drained after four days of using it to fuel up the earphones. Charging the device will take up to 2 hours at most using its USB Type-C charger. The OPPO Enco W31 doesn’t support wireless charging.
CONCLUSION:
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| OPPO Enco W31 |
With its sleek form factor, good ergonomics, and impressive overall sound quality, it’s safe to say that the OPPO Enco W31 is one of the best in its price bracket.
This device retails for PHP 3,990 at all OPPO concept stores, online shops, and authorized dealers, but currently on sale at Lazada for only Php2,990.