Skullcandy Indy review: Wireless earbuds at half the price of Apple Airpods

The Skullcandy Indy can be an affordable alternative to Apple Airpods if you are willing to settle for an inferior audio quality

American audio accessory brand Skullcandy recently launched in India the Indy wireless earbuds, inspired by the Apple Airpods (review) in its tail-hanging design but costing only half as much. Indeed, the Skullcandy Indy could be a more affordable alternative to the premium Apple Airpods, but does it match the latter in looks and audio quality? Let’s find out:

Design (4/5)

The Skullcandy Indy boasts an in-ear design with soft gel tips and removable stability gels for a comfortable and secure fit. Made of plastic, these earbuds have a lightweight build, which makes it easier to wear for extended hours without any discomfort. Both the earbuds have capacitive touch controllers to change tracks, attend calls, adjust volume, and wake up the phone’s digital assistant for running tasks via voice command.

A pair of true wireless earbuds, the Indy comes with a tiny charging case, similar to the Apple Airpods’. The case has a flip cover on top covering the storage and charging space of the earbuds. It has three LEDs on the front to show the case’s battery capacity, and a microUSB charging port on the back. The charging case, with earbuds stored, weighs around 70g — light enough to carry in your pocket.

Performance (3/5)

The Skullcandy Indy boasts Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, which makes it easy to discover and pair with a compatible device. Once paired, the earbuds connect with the device instantly — as soon as they are taken out of the charging case. For flexibility, there is also the provision to use just one earbud with mono output, but the two earbuds are best used together.

The audio output of the Skullcandy Indy is satisfactory at best, given its price segment, but nowhere close to the Apple Airpods. They have average loudness, minimal bass and rich treble that might not impress audiophiles.

For calls, both earbuds have dedicated microphones that work well but struggle in loud outdoor environments. The earbuds are water-, dust- and sweat-resistant and carry an IP55 protection rating. The earbuds have an average on-battery time of around three hours. Thankfully, the charging case has a built-in battery that can charge the earbuds thrice. It also supports rapid charging for one-hour runtime in 10 minutes.

Verdict (3.5/5)

Priced at Rs 7,499, the Skullcandy Indy covers a wide spectrum of features and utility, such as an IP55 protection rating for resistance to water, sweat and dust, a sturdy and lightweight design, microphones for calling, capacitive touch controllers, etc. It has everything that makes it an affordable substitute for Apple Airpods, only if you are willing to compromise on audio quality.