Lenovo company has recently been making a lot of budget-friendly wireless earphones, each one for a different group of people such as gamers, students, and people who simply want to listen to music and consume content, and we have noticed that each new model that comes out, the specification keep getting better and better, the sound quality has been improving, and so does the battery life and the latency, So, today we are reviewing their new model the from XT series under name ThinkPlus XT83 Pro. But different from Lenovo XT88 from the same series we reviewed recently.
These wireless earbuds come in very small sizes and are equipped with a new and improved Bluetooth 5.1 chip that delivers high audio quality with AAC/SBC double decoding and reduced delay, accurate touch control, and an LED panel for battery level on the charging case in, noise reduction for maximum focus and better immersion with the music and a seamless connection with any device that has Bluetooth, check it out in more detail in this review.
ThinkPlus XT83 Pro Features
- Innovative Design & Comfortable Fit
- LED battery level indicator
- 10mm Dual Drivers For High Audio Quality
- AAC/SBC HD Audio Codec
- Noise Reduction
- Touch control, Easy to use
- Ultra-Low Latency
- Bluetooth 5.1 Chip
- 24h Long Playtime
- Voice Assistance
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Build And Design
Charging case of Thinkplus XT83 pro
The charging case of the XT83 pro is one of the smallest and lightest ones Lenovo has ever made, the design is square with nice curves from every side, its made out of glossy plastic that makes it reflect light like a mirror, and has the best grip thanks to its tiny size and material and can be put literally in the small pocket of your jeans so you know carrying it around wouldn’t be a problem at all, the only downside to the choice of the plastic is that it will get visible scratches as time goes by.
On top of the lid there is a different colored piece of plastic that is even more reflective, I was hoping it would have some functionality, but apparently, it was just for looks, when you open the lid you are presented with two small compartments for the headphones themselves to charge by the contact pins on the very bottom, the lid is tightly held to the rest of the case with magnets when closed and it is so firm that it doesn’t open no matter how hard you shake it but in the same time you can open it with one hand and that’s great engineering, but I have noticed that it budges a little bit and that put the durability of the hinge at the question, normally this is nothing to worry about though.
On the front side, there is the Thinkplus logo and an LED that lights up orange when you plug the case to charge and lights green when it’s full, there is also the option to get a case that has an LED indicator of the battery level which is nice to have since there is no way to check the battery otherwise, the charging case comes in three colors to choose from, the blue, the black the white.
From underneath, you will only find the USB C for charging which at this price point is a great deal since most companies decide to cut corners on these things to make their product cheap but not Lenovo I guess.
The overall build quality is quite high for a budget-friendly, even though it is made out of plastic, the casing doesn’t feel cheap or ill-made, it has a nice grip and they have done an amazing job with the hinge and the USB C, even the earbuds are held very tightly inside the case that you don’t have to worry about them falling off when they are inside your pocket or anywhere really.
The ThinkPlus XT83 Pro Earbuds
The earbuds you find inside the charging case are also made of the same plastic as the charging case, they are glossy and reflective, their design is one of the most minimalistic ones with no logo or anything written on them, just unicolor with a piece of metal underneath for charging, and they are also very small with a tail that doesn’t extend lower than the ears themselves, they look almost like the 2019 AirPods from Apple, they don’t have silicone earplugs so it’s just one size fits all piece of plastic, it fit my ear perfectly but so should be the case for most people.
Contrary to all other models, the XT83 pro has no LED light to indicate its connectivity status, which would have been nice to have, nevertheless they still have the control touch panel on top just like the ThinkPlus XT88, with tests I have noticed that the touch panel is optimized to work only when pressed on purpose so it doesn’t pause the music when you were just scratching your ears or adjusting the position of the headphones themselves.
One more thing you’ll love about this pair of earphones is that they are well designed to stick inside your ear and not fall off no matter how hard you shake them, that will come in handy in sports whether you are running, jumping rope, or cycling, these will stick to your ear very well and allow you to listen to music or pass calls thanks to the touch panel.
Waterproof
The Thinkplus XT83 pro is a Life waterproof certified device, which means it can withstand a few water splashes, sweat droplets, and such without receiving damage, this will allow you to take them with you on the go and even listen to music or podcast while practicing sports to make it more enjoyable, but you must never submerge them under water, rinse them with hot water or even put them in contact with salt water, that will almost certainly damage them for good and you will lose your warranty.
Touch Control Panel
The touch control on the XT83 Pro has been tremendously improved from previous models, it is now located at the top of the earbud’s stem and responds only when touched intentionally for the most part which has been a drag to deal with in previous models, you can use the touch panel to reduce the need to pull your phone in order to control music playback, increase or reduce volume, answer and reject a call, and to activate voice assistant and give it commands using the built-in high-quality microphone, all these can be done with few touches.
The commands and their gestures are as follow:
- Simple tap the headphones to stop/start the music
- Long touch to either turn it on or off
- Three taps on the left headphone to play the previous song
- Three taps on the right headphone to play the next song
- short touch for 2 seconds on any earbud to reject the call
- A simple tap on the right earbud to accept the call or end it.
- short touch for 2 seconds on the headphones to activate the voice assistant
Voice assistance
The voice assistance feature is also present on the Lenovo XT83 Pro, you only have to tap on either earbud Shortly for 2 seconds, and the voice assistant will be activated, then you can speak directly to the XT83’s microphone to execute a command such as calling a contact or playing music, this feature is handy outside when you don’t want to be taking your smartphone out of your pocket every time you try to execute a simple task such as a phone call
How To Pair Lenovo ThinkPlus XT83 Pro
Thanks to the new and improved Bluetooth 5.1 technology, the ThinkPlus XT83 Pro is capable of pairing with the majority of Bluetooth-enabled devices quite easily, this device also has intelligent compatibility with most modern operating systems, including Android, IOS, Mac Os, and Windows.
In order to connect this wireless earphone with your device, you must first turn on the xt83 pro by touching the multifunction touch area for 5 seconds, which will automatically set it in pairing mode. Next, turn on Bluetooth on your device and place it in discovery mode, you will then see the name Lenovo ThinkPlus XT83 Pro; click on it to enable pairing between the two devices, once the pairing is complete, you can begin playing your favorite music or audiobook and taking calls.
This pairing process is only required once, from that time on, you only need to turn Bluetooth on your smartphone and turn the headphones on and the two connect automatically without your interference, its also advised to play around a little bit with the setting of the audio device, turn on AAC decoding, edit the bass and the equalizer settings to get the best audio quality for your taste
Lenovo XT83 Pro – Audio Quality
Speaking of the audio quality, I must say that these sound really good for the price they cost, it has a 10mm large moving coil custom subwoofer, that does multilayer sound effect superposition to ensure balance, improve clarity and bass effect and bring an unparalleled sound effect, the XT83 Pro also has call noise reduction to improve the clarity of the sound for both ends of the calls and the overall experience of calling people even in crowded spaces or windy days.
The Bluetooth 5.1 technology built-in chip supports AAC and SBC decoding that you can switch between freely to get the best results, especially on Apple devices, with AAC decoding you will get a superior audio quality while still conserving the battery life, but if you use windows or android, I would recommend you stick with SBC for you won’t notice a difference in the sound quality.
It is worth noting that even though I liked the sound quality, I still noticed that when the volume is very high you can hear a tiny little bit of unpleasant distortion, which is very normal for cheap earphones and I would say that it won’t bother you since it is loud and clear anyway without the need to put the volume all the way up, but if you still want to crack the volume all the way up without hearing distortion and that I recommend you check the Lenovo ThinkPlus XT88 with BT5.3 review.
Microphone Quality
The Lenovo Thinkplus XT83 Pro is equipped with two microphones one in each earbud for calls, and one microphone on the right earbud for recording audio, first we’ll talk about the single microphone on the right, the audio quality it provides is actually quite decent, I have tested it multiple times and the recordings were clearly audible, this one microphone can be used to send vocal messages to friends to reduce the typing and to talk to the voice assistant.
Call quality
For calls, the XT83 pro has a double microphone one in each earpiece, I must say that the audio from these is significantly less than the previous one, but it still gets the job done, for instance, I made calls using WhatsApp and the recipient confirmed that my voice was loud and clear, additionally, Lenovo has integrated some algorithms of call noise reduction to allow you to pass calls smoothly even in complex environments, this technology effectively shields external sound, it accurately collects higher closer voice and amplifies it against the background noise and enhances the Bluetooth calling experience.
Low-Latency & Gaming on the Thinkplus XT83 pro
The Lenovo LP5 features low latency technology, so you can watch videos or play online games on both iPhone and Android without noticeable audio delay, even in YouTube or Netflix apps which is always a challenge. Unfortunately, there is a slight delay in audio when playing games of about 300ms, which is, by all means, normal for this price range, and you can find it on most wireless headphones in this price range, but they’re definitely better options for that made specifically for gaming such as the Lenovo XT92 TWS. That we wrote a review about here.
Battery And Charging Time of XT83 pro
Battery life wise, the case has a capacity of 250 mah, and it charges in no more than two hours, as for the earphones, they have a battery of 25mah that charges in an hour, but lasts around 3 hours of continuous usage, the whole package should give above one day of autonomy which can confirm, that means one charge overnight and you won’t have to charge them until the next, assuming you use them all the time which is often not the case, so realistically we talking 2 days of autonomy here, unmatched by any other model.
To charge the case you simply have to plug it in the USB C cable that comes included in the box, the LED will start blinking orange or in the second option, it will display the battery level live, make sure to use a charging brick that is no more than 18 watts to avoid damaging the device, the earpieces charges automatically as you put them inside the case.
Final verdict
In my opinion, I feel like this device combines features from multiple wireless headphone models offered by Lenovo and tops everything with a huge battery for a very affordable price, for that I would recommend it to people who simply want to enjoy their podcast on the way to work or wanna watch a youtube video, especially if you hate silicone earplugs, but for anything else such as gaming, there are definitely better options that we have reviewed on our website.
Price and where to buy
The Lenovo XT83 Pro is available for purchase on the AliExpress Store for a cheap price, click below to check it out and get it.
What’s in The Box?
- Charging case
- ThinkPlus XT83 pro earphones
- USB C to USB A charging cable
- User manual
ThinkPlus XT83 Pro Specifications
| Color | Black, White, Blue |
| Wearing Type | Half-in-ear |
| Material | plastic |
| Microphone | Yes |
| Bluetooth Version | V5.1 |
| Supported decodings | AAC/SBC |
| Transmission Distance | 33 feet (10m) |
| Frequency Response | 20-20kHz |
| Battery Capacity | Earbud: 25mAh*2 Charging Box: 250mAh |
| Charging Time (h) | 1h |
| Music Time | 3h |
| Waterproof | Life waterproof |
| Charging Port | Type-C |
