Noise Shots Rush: Affordable TWS earphones are now officially a thing

Here’s an interesting Indian company that I’ll be talking about more in the coming days. Gurugram-based Noise (gonoise.com) sells earphones, smart wearables and action cameras, and undercuts its competitors by huge margins. Although its products, too, are manufactured in China, like for many other Indian tech startups, Noise stands out for its affordable quality. I went on a few runs with the new Noise Shots Rush, a pair of truly wireless stereo or TWS earphones, to see if affordable wireless earphones have finally arrived.

Design 3/5

The cute, rotund charging case is simple in construction and is of a better quality than you’d expect. The stereo earphone pieces, which can function independent of each other, are thin, rectangular, in-ear pods with hooks that go around the ears for a more secure fit than offered by some smaller TWS earbuds. It’s squarely targeted at active individuals.

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The pods have touch controls — no swipe, just tap — that operate volume, calls, play/pause, voice assistant and EQ modes. They fit securely. You can be sure that the earphones won’t come off. But since the Shots Rush don’t have Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), they are entirely dependent on the eartips to fit tightly and block background noise. Long hours are bound to cause some discomfort.

Performance 3/5

The pair sounds good. There’s some bass, the mids are clear and the highs are manageable. There is some annoying distortion when the treble shoots up, as it did for instance in electronic pop track Rose by Saint Jhn, but it’s not something to complain about at this price point.

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For calls, the Shots Rush are better than expected. Folks won’t complain of too much background noise or too little volume. The battery life, too, is great and, combined with the charging case, the earphones deliver close to the promised 24 hours. The charging port, though, is still a micro-USB and not a USB Type C.

Verdict 3/5

The case is just a bit too big to comfortably fit in a pocket and the earphones aren’t the best fit for long hours. But decent music and good call quality, an IPX5 sweat- and splash-resistance, low latency mode for gaming, touch controls and good battery life are hard to get at this price. Affordable TWS earphones are now officially a thing.