Earbuds are a fairly common daily driver nowadays and Naenka, a new brand in the earbuds industry, is a fairly young company that aims to be true to what they do. In this article, we are going to take a closer look at the Naenka Lite, the brand’s entry-level TWS wireless earbuds.
Straight to its specification, the Naenka Lite is a wireless earbud that’s priced at $59.99 on the market. It features the latest in earbuds technology such as dual microphones, Qualcomm 3020 chip, dual host, low latency modem, hall switch, IPX5 ingress protection, a ceramic antenna, and more.
Without further ado, let’s get into it.
In this article:
Naenka Lite TWS Wireless Gaming Earbuds
Specification
| Core Specs | |
|---|---|
| Bluetooth Chip: | QCC3020 |
| Protection: | IPX5 |
| Bluetooth: | 5.0 |
| Codec: | SBC, AptX |
| Frequency Response: | 20-20000Hz |
| Range: | 15m |
| Profile: | BT5.0, HSP, HFP, A2DP, AVRCP |
| Battery | 350mAh(Case), 55mAh(Earbuds) |
| Full Charge: | 2 hours |
| Playtime: | 5 hours |
| Mode: | TWS Plus & Seamless Switch |
| Dimension: | 0.8 * 0.84 * 1.03 inches |
| Weight: | 4g |
| Accessories: | Cable, 6x Ear Tips |
| Port: | USB Type-C |
| Driver: | 13mm Large Dynamic Driver |
| Controls: | Touch Panel |
| Color: | White, Black |
Where to buy
To be updated…
Unboxing – Naenka Lite TWS Wireless Gaming Earbuds
The Naenka Lite comes in two different colors, White and Black. Respectively, each color also comes with its own color packaging. The White one has a pink pastel color product packaging while the Black one comes in darkish blue color. Both packagings is quite sturdy and solid but there’s nothing much to highlight on the front side of the packaging.
Looking at the backside of the packaging reveals the product itself and some features. It also highlights the product serial number code, country of origin, certifications, model, and functionalities.
Popping the hood after removing the cover holder shows the inner content of the packaging which reveals a white foam cushioning and a compartment holding the included accessories.
Removing the compartment to reveals the accessories, the Naenka Lite comes with one user manual and a free Type-C USB cable. The manual is written in both English and Chinese languages. Other than that, there’s not much else to highlight.
Closer-Look – Naenka Lite
Taking the earbuds out is fairly easy and we’re kinda surprised that it doesn’t come with any form of plastic covering that we usually find in most earbuds in this price range. Its form and size are quite similar to a well know earbuds brand.
The case comes in this oval shape and glossy surface. The front side of the case features an LED notifier that indicates the battery capacity of the case as well as the earbuds.
One of the things that we find difficult to appreciate or find a perfect spot is the USB port on the case. Most earbuds on the market have either the USB port at the back or at the bottom of the case, for Naenka Lite’s it’s located at the bottom. The Type-C USB port that came with the case appears to have a bigger and thicker frame than most. We also find the chrome effect around the port adds to its overall aesthetics.
One of the things that we usually find inside the case is the information indicating the component, input/output capacity, and the battery capacity of the case. Unfortunately, there’s no such information for this earbud case. The cover, however, is a magnetic cover that keeps the cover intact and it doesn’t open up easily. At the inner part of the case, you will find the gold pins used for charging the earbuds. Other than that, there’s not much else worth noting.
Speaking of gold pins, the gold-plated plate that charges the earbuds is also located at the bottom section of the earbud. Along with it is the front microphone and the line that’s on the outer surface of the earbud is an LED indicator.
Looking at the inner side of the earbud reveals a quite familiar design but we won’t be naming it here. You will also find a marker that indicates which earbuds go to which ear.
The top section of the earbud reveals the secondary microphone that’s designed to identify and filter environmental noise. This means that the Naenka Lite is capable of noise reduction technology that’s designed to improve the quality of voices.
Now in terms of weight, the case weighs about 3.6 grams while a single earbud weighs about 4 milligrams. Lastly, a closer look at the inner front lobe of the earbud reveals a mesh filter that appears to be quite wide for our liking.
This means that earwax and other forms of debris can easily penetrate the holes of the earbuds. This can then ultimately result in poorer audio quality to no audio quality in a worst-case scenario.
Performance – Naenka Lite
Sound Quality and Performance
Out of the box, the sound quality is surprisingly good. Given that it’s a semi-in ear earbud, the audio pushes through and it doesn’t sound like the driver is at a distance. However, it’s far from perfect. The audio is decent and good but that’s considering the price. The bass is a bit low and weak despite that audio trying to ruffle it. Pairing, on the other hand, was a breeze. Once you pop the earbuds out, they are ready for pairing. In terms of notes and tones, mid and highs are there but I highly recommend lowering your expectation for the low tones and bass. Fortunately, earbuds have no issue when playing different kinds of music at maximum volume. There’s no rattle or canned sound at all which is great. On the other hand, the earbuds are not for the audiophile and are picky. As we mentioned, the audio is good but the longer you listen the more flaws you noticed. For one, the audio sounds a bit like it’s coming from an isolated tube and slightly muddy. Although, the audio is clear overall and we can give that to Naenka Lite.
In terms of pairing, the earbud is using a dual host technology. Meaning, each earbud can be used solo or together. Additionally, it features a game mode that cuts the latency by a significant margin thanks to its Qualcomm chip. However, the game mode appears to be set at all times since there’s no command to turn it on.
Microphone Quality and Performance
To test the microphone quality, we made a recording of our voice. The quality that you will hear from our recording is a good benchmark for the microphone. What this means is that the quality that you will hear from listening to our recording is the quality that you can expect if you use this earbud for phone calls, video chat, and any form of voice communication.
If you listen to our recording, our voice was clear and understandable however, you’ll definitely know that I’m speaking from an earphone due to the audio sound quality. Overall, it gets the job done and this is still a margin better than the ones we’ve tested before where speaking through the earbud produces muddy and poor sound quality.
To test the earbud’s advanced ENC Noise Cancelling Technology, we made a short recording involving everyday environmental noises such as fans, animal noise, vehicular noise, and such.
We made this recording while inside a coffee shop. We chose this scenario to test the capability of the END technology of the Naenka Lite. If you listen to our recording, you will hear the noise all over. From the human conversation to machinery, and vehicle noise. Unfortunately, the noise-canceling technology of the Naenka Lite did poorly on our test.
Comfort & Fitting: Is it good for Sports?
Being a semi in-ear earbud, the Naenka Lite is not ideal for sports. It can easily fall off and any fast movement can generate enough force to accidentally throw the earbuds off.
On the brighter side of things, the fitting is great and it doesn’t fall off easily. The earbuds are quite light which greatly lessens the fatigue of using them for long durations. The touch panel is quite easy to reach making commands a breeze with these earbuds.
For sports and outdoor activities, we do not recommend using the Naenka Lite while doing such activities. With the exception of certain activities such as casual biking, walking, and slow-moving phase activities.
Ease of Use: Functions of the Earbuds
One functionality that most prefers to have is the ability to adjust the volume. Fortunately, the Naenka Lite comes with volume control.
For more functionality control, refer to the table below.
| Action | Function |
|---|---|
| Tap x1 | Volume Increase (R) / Decrease (L) |
| Tap x2 | Play / Pause / Answer / End Call |
| Tap x3 | Voice Assistant |
| Tap & Hold (2s) | Next / Previous Track / Reject Call |
If there’s one function that this earbud is missing, it would be the equalizer. We’ve tested a number of earbuds in the past for the same price range and some of those have a functionality set for an equalizer through an app.
Battery: Playtime & Charging
The Naenka Lite comes with an overall battery capacity of 480mAh, the case has a built-in battery with a capacity of 400mAh while each earbud comes with 40mAh. At 0% battery, it takes about 1.5 hours to fully charge the device from a 5V/5A charger brick. Theoretically, this gives you up to 5 hours of music playtime.
On our simple test, the Naenka Lite lasted us about 4 hours and 10 minutes in one single full charge. This includes recharging the earbuds by using the case and we were able to do so about 10 times.
Naenka Lite for Gaming
As we already mentioned above, the Naenka Lite is equipped with Qualcomm QCC 3020 Low Power Consumption Solution technology. This means that the earbuds are already on low latency mode out of the box. We tested the earbuds on gaming and surprisingly, it gets the job done. On pairing of Bluetooth 5.0, there’s still a noticeable delay but it’s negligible in most types of video games. However, for competitive gaming and fast phase types, the delay in audio can be a crucial factor in determining the victors of the game. That’s why it’s best to consider other models if fast phase competitive gaming is your sole reason for purchasing an earbud. Otherwise, it gets the job done at an affordable price rate.
Final Thoughts
The Naenka Lite is a kind of earbuds that aims to bring the best features at an affordable price range. As of this writing, the Naenka Lite is retailed at US$69.9 but can be purchased on Amazon for less. Its design and performance give a surprising definition that is quite the opposite of what one would expect. Its lightweight design heavily contributes to its longevity use that eliminates fatigue for the user. The performance is quite decent considering its price but it has a lot of improvements needed. The bass is weak and the audio tone is quite muddy but can be negligible given how clear the audio gets at maximum volume. In most earbuds, audio quality is drastically affected by the level of volume. For the Naenka Lite, that will not be the case.
All in all, the Naenka Lite is a great earbud to consider for those that are on a budget and desires something that looks quite similar to a popular brand and model. However, the lack of extra functionality, equalizer, and the quality of its audio overall make the Naenka Lite a hard to recommend earbud for those that want quality for their money and for those that are looking for an immersive gaming experience. If you’re really on a tight budget and can live with a couple of cut downs in performance, then the Naenka Lite is an earbud worth considering.
