Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi Review: Pioneering Wi-Fi Audio in True Wireless

Xiaomi makes a bold design statement with the Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi, differentiating them from the standard Bluetooth version through a distinctive semi-translucent case finish. Available exclusively in Translucent Black, the case reveals glimpses of the internal components while maintaining a sleek, premium aesthetic. This design choice positions the Wi-Fi variant as the more sophisticated option in the Buds 5 Pro lineup.

The case itself strikes a practical balance between portability and functionality. Its rounded contours slip easily into pockets, though the glossy finish proves to be a fingerprint magnet. Despite this minor annoyance, the build quality feels solid and premium, befitting the £220 price point.

The earbuds themselves are remarkably compact considering their triple driver configuration. At just 5.6 grams per earbud, they're lightweight enough to wear for extended periods without fatigue. The semi-in-ear design, combined with three sizes of high-quality silicone ear tips, ensures a secure fit that remains comfortable even during vigorous activity.

IP54 certification provides reassurance for everyday use and workouts. While not fully waterproof, the rating offers protection against sweat, rain, and dust—sufficient for most real-world scenarios short of swimming or heavy downpours.

The overall design execution is thoughtful and premium, though perhaps not as distinctive as some competitors when the earbuds are actually in your ears rather than in their translucent case.

Xiaomi implements capacitive touch controls on the earbud stems, a proven approach that works well in practice. The default gesture mapping is intuitive: long press cycles between ANC and transparency mode, double tap controls playback or answers calls, and triple tap skips to the previous track.

What elevates the experience is the comprehensive customization available through the Xiaomi Earbuds app. Users can reassign these gestures to suit personal preferences, providing flexibility that some competitors don't offer. The touch sensors respond accurately without excessive sensitivity, striking a good balance that avoids accidental activations while remaining reliably responsive.

Fit and comfort are excellent thanks to the included variety of ear tip sizes. The semi-in-ear form factor with silicone tips provides both passive isolation and secure retention. Even after several hours of continuous wear, there's no discomfort or pressure buildup. The earbuds stay firmly in place during runs, gym sessions, and daily commutes.

Automatic wear detection works flawlessly, pausing playback when you remove an earbud and resuming when you replace it. This feature enhances the overall user experience, making the earbuds feel intuitive and intelligent in daily use.

The headline feature of the Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi is, unsurprisingly, their Wi-Fi capability. Using Qualcomm's XPAN (Expanded Personal Area Network) technology powered by the Snapdragon Sound S7 Pro chipset, these earbuds can transmit audio at 96kHz/24-bit resolution with bitrates up to 4.2 Mbps. This represents a significant leap over even the best Bluetooth codecs in terms of raw bandwidth and potential audio fidelity.

In practice, the Wi-Fi connection works seamlessly—when you have compatible hardware. Pairing happens automatically with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, and switching between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modes is straightforward through the app. The connection remains stable without dropouts, and the promised lossless audio quality is genuinely delivered.

However, the elephant in the room is compatibility. At launch, Wi-Fi mode works exclusively with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, a £1,500 flagship smartphone. This severely limits the feature's accessibility and appeal. Xiaomi promises future OTA updates to expand compatibility to other devices, but there's no confirmed timeline or device list.

When the Wi-Fi feature isn't available, the Buds 5 Pro fall back to Bluetooth 5.4 with an impressive codec roster: SBC, AAC, LC3, and aptX Lossless. This ensures excellent audio quality even in Bluetooth mode, particularly with Android devices that support aptX Lossless. The earbuds also support multipoint connectivity, allowing simultaneous connection to two Bluetooth devices—essential for users juggling a smartphone and laptop.

The Xiaomi Earbuds app provides comprehensive control over the earbuds' behavior. Beyond gesture customization, users can:

• Switch between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modes (on compatible devices)
• Choose from multiple sound profiles
• Use a detailed graphic equalizer for personalized tuning
• Update firmware
• Toggle ANC and transparency modes
• Adjust voice enhancement settings

The app is well-designed, responsive, and offers more depth than many competitors, making it easy to tailor the earbuds to your preferences.

Xiaomi claims up to 55dB of noise reduction with the Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi, positioning them competitively against flagship models like the Sony WF-1000XM5 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra. In real-world testing, the ANC performs well but doesn't quite reach the summit of the category.

Low-frequency noise suppression is strong. Engine rumble on planes, train noise, and HVAC hums are effectively muted, creating a notably quieter listening environment. In these scenarios, the Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi compete admirably with more expensive alternatives.

Where the performance falters is in the upper midrange and treble frequencies. Conversations, keyboard clatter, and higher-pitched environmental sounds aren't as effectively suppressed. In busy office environments or on crowded public transport, you'll still hear plenty of ambient chatter and activity bleeding through.

Transparency mode suffers from similar issues in the frequency response. The processing struggles with natural reproduction of high-frequency content, making voices sound muffled and slightly artificial. There's a dedicated voice enhancement mode that partially addresses this, boosting speech frequencies to improve intelligibility. While helpful, it doesn't fully compensate for the underlying frequency balance issues.

For calls, Xiaomi employs AI-powered noise suppression to isolate your voice from background noise. In quiet indoor environments, call quality is clear and natural. However, push the system with significant wind or traffic noise, and the AI processing becomes aggressive, degrading voice quality to near-unintelligible levels while attempting to suppress the background sound.

The ANC system is functional and will satisfy casual users, but audiophiles and frequent travelers seeking best-in-class noise cancellation should look to Sony or Bose instead.

The Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi employ a sophisticated triple driver configuration rarely seen in true wireless earbuds. Each earbud houses:

• An 11mm dynamic driver for bass
• A planar magnetic driver for midrange
• A ceramic tweeter for treble

This ambitious setup, tuned in collaboration with Harman AudioEFX, aims to deliver audiophile-level performance in a compact wireless package.

The bass response is a highlight. The 11mm dynamic driver produces deep, powerful low-end extension without bloat or muddiness. Bass notes have satisfying weight and texture, whether you're listening to electronic music with synthesized sub-bass or acoustic jazz with upright bass. The low frequencies remain controlled even at high volumes, avoiding the boomy, one-note character that plagues many consumer earbuds.

Midrange performance through the planar driver is excellent. Vocals are rendered with clarity and presence, sitting prominently in the mix without being overemphasized. Instrumental separation is impressive, allowing individual elements in complex arrangements to remain distinct and well-defined. The stereo imaging is convincing for single-unit earbuds, creating a sense of space and positioning.

Where the tuning stumbles is in the treble region and its integration with the rest of the frequency spectrum. The ceramic tweeter produces clean, detailed highs, but they feel somewhat detached from the midrange. There's a noticeable dip in the upper midrange that creates a gap between the two frequency ranges, making cymbals, hi-hats, and vocal sibilants sound like they're coming from a separate source.

This tuning quirk is likely a consequence of the multi-driver design. Achieving perfect coherence across three different transducer types is challenging, and Xiaomi hasn't fully solved the crossover integration. The result is technically impressive but not entirely natural-sounding.

When using Wi-Fi mode with lossless Apple Music tracks on the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, there's a subtle improvement in detail retrieval and dynamic range compared to aptX Lossless over Bluetooth. High-resolution source material reveals slightly more nuance in complex passages. However, the difference is marginal rather than transformative—these earbuds aren't true high-fidelity transducers capable of fully exploiting lossless formats. The treble integration issues persist regardless of connection method.

At £220, the audio quality is competitive but not segment-leading. The bass and midrange excellence partially compensates for the treble concerns, but audiophiles may find the overall presentation less coherent than simpler, well-tuned dual-driver alternatives.

Battery performance is a clear strength of the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi. The manufacturer's claims prove accurate and even conservative in our testing.

In Bluetooth mode without ANC, we achieved over 11 hours of continuous playback at moderate volume levels using the AAC codec—exceeding Xiaomi's 10-hour claim. With ANC enabled over Bluetooth, battery life remained close to 9 hours, again matching official specifications.

Switching to Wi-Fi mode with ANC active naturally consumes more power due to the higher bandwidth and processing requirements. In this configuration, battery life drops to approximately 5 hours. While significantly shorter, this is still respectable for a power-intensive wireless audio mode and sufficient for most use cases.

The charging case extends total listening time to up to 38 hours across multiple charge cycles. This provides several days of normal use without needing to recharge the case.

Fast charging is genuinely useful: just 10 minutes in the case provides approximately 4.5 hours of listening time. This means a quick top-up while getting ready in the morning can power the earbuds through a full workday.

The case supports both USB-C wired charging and Qi wireless charging. The wireless charging capability is a welcome convenience, allowing you to simply drop the case on a charging pad without fumbling with cables.

Battery life easily matches or exceeds flagship competitors, making the Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi suitable for travelers and heavy users who need reliable all-day performance.

At £219.99 (frequently discounted to £199), the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi sit in the premium tier of true wireless earbuds but below the absolute flagship models from Sony, Bose, and Apple.

The value equation is complex. If you own a Xiaomi 15 Ultra and want access to cutting-edge Wi-Fi audio technology, the premium over the standard Bluetooth version (£199) is minimal—just £20. In this specific scenario, the Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi represent excellent value, offering genuine innovation and future-proofing as Xiaomi expands Wi-Fi compatibility to more devices.

For everyone else, the value proposition is shakier. You're paying for a headline feature you can't use, and the £20 savings by opting for the standard Bluetooth version seems like the smarter choice. The Bluetooth-only Buds 5 Pro offer identical audio quality, ANC performance, battery life, and features—just without the Wi-Fi capability that doesn't work with your device anyway.

Comparing to the broader market, the Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi compete well on features and battery life. However, the ANC lags behind Sony and Bose flagships, and the audio quality tuning quirks prevent them from being an unqualified recommendation for audiophiles.

The translucent design, comprehensive app, and exceptional battery life add value. The triple driver configuration is rare and ambitious, even if the execution isn't perfect. For Xiaomi ecosystem users, these earbuds make sense. For others, the value depends on whether Xiaomi follows through on expanding Wi-Fi compatibility—and how long that takes.

The Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi are simultaneously groundbreaking and frustrating. The Wi-Fi audio implementation is genuinely innovative, successfully delivering lossless audio transmission that works as promised. The problem is accessibility: locking this headline feature to a single £1,500 smartphone severely limits its appeal and value.

Strip away the Wi-Fi capability, and you're left with very good but not exceptional true wireless earbuds. The triple driver audio is impressive in the bass and midrange but exhibits treble integration issues. ANC is solid but not best-in-class. Battery life is outstanding. The app is comprehensive. Build quality is premium.

For Xiaomi 15 Ultra owners, these are an easy recommendation—cutting-edge technology at a reasonable price within your ecosystem. For everyone else, the calculation is different. If you're confident Xiaomi will expand Wi-Fi compatibility to your next smartphone, the £20 premium over the Bluetooth version might be worthwhile future-proofing. If not, save your money and get the standard version.

The Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi prove that Wi-Fi audio in true wireless earbuds is technically feasible and practically useful. Now Xiaomi needs to prove they can open this innovation to more than a tiny fraction of users. Until then, these remain an impressive but niche product.