New AirPods rival promises sweet sound — for a much cheaper price

News
By Philip Michaels
published

The MoveAudio S200 wireless earbuds will debut for just €99

TCL MoveAudio S200
(Image credit: TCL)

Going wireless with your earbuds has its costs. On our current list of the 10 best wireless earbuds, all but one pair costs more than $100.

TCL hopes to crash that list, without costing you a pretty penny in the process. The electronics maker just unveiled its MoveAudio S200 true wireless headphones, and the first thing you'll notice about these buds is their low price. TCL plans to sell them for €99 when they ship globally later this month.

TCL told us that it plans to sell the MoveAudio S200 in the U.S. but It's unclear if TCL plans to adjust that cost for the U.S. market to keep the price under $100. (A €99 price tag equals about $117 at the current conversion rate.)

Even if the price is a straight conversion from €99, the MoveAudio S200 earbuds would still be pretty inexpensive relative to the competition. To put the difference in context, a pair of AirPods starts at €179, or $159 in the U.S.

TCL believes there's more to the MoveAudio S200 earbuds than a low price tag. The earbuds feature ENC noise reduction aimed at filtering out background sound. When making phone calls, you'll be able to use four built-in mics that rely on beamforming technology to hone in on your voice. 

Battery life may be one area where the MoveAudio S200 have a hard time matching the higher-priced competition. TCL is promising 3.5 hours of battery life on single use for the MoveAudio S200, which is shy of the 5 hours that the AirPods can provide. The MoveAudio S200's charging case can boost battery life to 23 hours, though.

(Image credit: TCL)

Visually, there's not much separating the MoveAudio S200 from a lot of wireless earbuds, particularly the new OnePlus Buds that came out earlier this summer. You get a round earpiece with a cylinder dangling down. TCL says its earbuds feature an IP54 rating to guard against dust, water and sweat while the super-ellipse design is supposed to provide comfortable fit.

You'll be able to pick up the MoveAudio S200 in black, white and teal — with the latter color looking particularly fetching. We'll see if the sound quality is as sharp as that teal color when we get the chance to test the MoveAudio S200 later this fall.

Philip Michaels
Philip Michaels

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.