JBL Tune 225tws Review: Truly portable and sturdy wireless earbuds

The JBL 225TWS is a mid-range wireless earbud from JBL. It has stylish aesthetics and is available in different colors. It's crafted to be easy to carry feat, and its sturdy design has captured the interest of most. These earbuds are not your high-end standard but are not cheap either. In this article, we test the JBL Tune 225TWS Snow-White edition, and we layout if these earbuds are worth it or not.

Pros and Cons

These are the advantages and disadvantages of the JBL Tune 225TWS. This way you can immediately see whether these earbuds are suitable for you.

Benefits	Cons
✔️ Good full sound	❌ Fragile buttons

Specifications: Eardopes B6 Pro

• Price: US$$99.95
• Driver: 12mm Dynamic Driver
• Frequency response: 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz +
• Sensitivity: 105 dB SPL
• Mic. Sensitivity: -30dBV @ 1 kHz / PA
• Bluetooth: 5.0
• Range: 10m
• Battery box: 410mAh
• Earbud battery: 22mAh
• Cable: usb C

Sound quality of the JBL Tune 225TWS

In terms of sound quality, the JBL Tune 22TWS is excellent overall. This is despite its half in-ear earbuds design which usually suffers from weak low-tones. In this case, the Tune 22TWS is not excluded.

Out of the box, the JBL Tune 225TWS provides excellent sound quality despite the caveats of using a half in-ear design. The tones are clear and it doesn't sound muddy. Unfortunately, the bass is weak and this is somewhat within our expectation.

Sound quality score: 8.5/10

Considering its performance, the Tune 225TWS is still decent performing earbuds.

Is JBL Tune 225TWS a good alternative to AirPods?

Most would instantly assume that the AirPods are the pinnacle of earbuds. However, that's not the case. Despite its good performance, the AirPods are simply an overstatement where the price to performance ratio is not justified. A perfect example is the JBL Tune 225TWS where if compared side by side, you will find it difficult to tell the difference in sound quality.

Microphone: Phone calls with the JBL Tune 225TWS

Before anything else, consumers need to understand the design of the JBL Tune 225TWS. In this department, its long stem should give the earbuds the advantage of easily picking up your voice.

Microphone score: 8/10

To fully test the microphone performance of the earbuds, we made a short recorded voice using the built-in microphone of the Tune 225TWS. By doing so, we are able to fully test the performance and quality of the microphone.

If you listened to our voice recording, you will noticed that our voice was clear and distinct. However, the quality is considerably subpar and there are some noticeable stuttering of the letter 'S' as we speak.

If you're looking for an earbuds that comes with excellent microphone quality for phone calls and online conferences, then you better steer clear away from this earbud. For cases as such, we recommend checking out the JBL Elite 85t.

Fit: How does the JBL Tune 225TWS fit?

Due to its half in-ear or semi in-ear design, the Tune 225TWS a bit loose when it comes to comfort and fit.

Thanks to its Matte plastic material, the earbuds are capable of holding itself well once placed on your ears. However, they're not ideal for moving activities such as working on the gym or running.

Fit score: 6.5/10

The overall dimensions of the JBL Tune 225TWS is considerably large. The ear tip section, the stems, and the case, they're all quite large compared to the ones that we have already seen before.

Operation and controls of the JBL Tune 225TWS

In the market right now, there are almost only two kinds of function control for earbuds and they are the physical button and the touch panel control. For the JBL Tune 225TWS, it comes with physical buttons to navigate and controls its overall functionality.

As for our personal experience, we prefer having physical buttons since touch controls are a bit shaky in terms of implementation. For the JBL Tune 225TWS, its physical buttons are quite narrow and somewhat stings as we press it. Additionally, they're quite shaky and fragile.

Operation: 6/10

In our own personal experience, we admit that touch controls are fancy and cooler than physical buttons. However, after using a number of earbuds, touch controls tend to get the wrong command more often compared to physical buttons.

Controls of JBL Tune 225TWS

	Left	Right
1x	Next song	Pause
2x	Voice assist / Siri Call: record / hang up	Voice assist / Siri Call: record / hang up
4+ sec.	Disable / enable	Disable / enable

Unfortunately, these earbuds doesn't come with pre-built volume control functionality. Considering its price, the lack of volume control at this age is a bummer. It could be the brands way to cut cost but we find it absurd if that's the case.

Battery: How long can you use the JBL Tune 225TWS?

Each earpiece of the JBL Tune 225TWS comes with 22mAh of battery which is lower than the average battery we have seen so far on earbuds. Furthermore, these earbuds are rated to last up to 5 hours of continuous listening on a single full charge.

Battery score: 6.5/10

In our personal test, the Tune 225TWS only lasted for 4 hours at medium volume and listening to classic songs. Considering the price of this earbud, we we're expecting more from it as most earbuds on the market right now have larger and longer capacity. A perfect example is the Eardopes B6 Pro that can last up to 8 hours on a single full charge.

The Charging Box

The charging case of the JBL Tune225TWS do come with 410mAh that adds up an additional 20 hours of listening. It is also made from matte plastic material that gives its premium feeling when touched. The case is quite sturdy and robust overall and the finish is elegant.

Unfortunately, the case doesn't support wireless charging. We're not sure what to feel at this point since given its price, one would assume that it supports wireless charging or it comes with a feature to compensate its flaws in some department.

Conclusion: Are the JBL Tune 22TWS worth it?

All in all, the JBL Tune 225TWS is an excellent earbuds. Despite its flaws and the brands decision to go with half in-ear design, it still provides a rich detailed sound quality. It's almost difficult to tell which is which if you close your eyes and compare this earbud to AirPods via sound quality only.

	Review
Sound	8.5
Microphone	8
Fit	6.5
Battery	6.5
Service	6
Stability	7

Unfortunately, it's far from perfect. Also, one should consider its price carefully. It feels like JBL is cutting too much while charging for the same degree for the 225TWs. Other than that, microphone is also approved by the approval of our strict editor. You can be clearly understood by people on the other end of the line or by your colleagues during an online meeting. The fit is excellent due to the matte material that JBL chose for the earplug. The operation is a bit weak. The buttons are fragile and not easy to find. You get used to it very quickly. The battery is normal. Not bad. But not excellent either.

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Alternatives

JBL Tune 225TWS vs AirPods 2

In this comparison, it's definitely not a competition. The JBL beats Airpods by a mile when it comes to price to performance value. The quality is roughly the same. In some areas, we even prefer the JBL over the Airpods. Both earplugs are semi-in ear earplugs. In terms of sound, the Airpods and the JBL are about the same, although the JBL Tube 225tws has just a little more depth than the Airpods. The operation of both earbuds did not convince us. 

With the Airpods, there is not a nice place to put your finger on it. With the JBL, the button is too fragile. But in either case, they are not breaking points to buy the earplugs. If we have to choose between the two earplugs, we go for the JBL.

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