Alfawise HBQ-Q32 Review

How cheap is too cheap for wireless earbuds? With change from £15 we check out the Alfawise HQB-Q32.

Should I Buy The Alfawise HQB-Q32?

Our Verdict

While they are not up to the level of the Airpods or Bose Soundsport on quality, these wireless earbuds are very good for the money you pay. You don't expect to find exceptional earphones under £15, but the HBQ-Q32 are as close as you’re going to get at this price.

Price When Reviewed

$16.99

With some of the best Bluetooth earphones setting you back £150-£200 it is refreshing to come across a cheap pair that offer good quality. Costing only £13.87 (USD$16.99), the Alfawise HBQ-Q32 wireless earbuds are a bargain.

Sold exclusively by GearBest, which offers free shipping from China in 15-30 days, the Alfawise buds come with a 45-day money-back warranty and a 360-day repair warranty. Import duty does apply when shipping goods from China, but at 20% of the value on the shipping paperwork the cost here is going to be minimal.

The earbuds have a sleek design and are pleasingly lightweight, so they won’t hurt your ears even after long periods of usage. A built-in mic allows you to make and receive phone calls, and produced clear audio in our tests. We also liked the touch control that allows you to pause, skip or rewind tracks.

On standby the Alfawise HBQ-Q32 will keep going around 120 hours, and in use around 4 hours. That might not be enough to get you through the day, but they are also supplied with their own charging case. It doesn’t have the cleanest of designs - it looks a little cheap and it won’t easily fit into your pocket - but it is functional.

The built-in battery is rated at a 1,500mAh capacity and also has a USB port that will give an emergency boost to your phone (you’ll get about 30% on an iPhone). LEDs usefully tell you how much charge remains.

The Alfawise HBQ-Q32 are easy to set up, automatically connecting over Bluetooth as you remove them from their case and disconnecting as you return them.

Audio quality is surprisingly good, even with bass. The sound is mostly clear, but can be tinny at times. Volume is also sufficient, though they are quieter than some. Some background noise was audible in use, but for the money we found them capable.

One flaw we did find is that the buds could lose connectivity for a few seconds here and there, even when in close vicinity of the paired phone.

You'll also like our round-up of the best cheap headphones.