F9 TWS review: best-selling earbuds ever on Aliexpress
Wow, these F9 TWS earbuds sold 120,000 times on Aliexpress! That's a record. But what makes these earbuds so popular? Eardopes puts them to the test. This review of the F9 TWS Bluetooth earbuds gives you the answer.
In this article
Buying earbuds on Aliexpress
Aliexpress gives people worldwide access to much of what's made in China. That can be quite an adventure, but it also comes with plenty of downsides. Many people think Aliexpress is a Chinese online store. That's not correct. Aliexpress is Chinese, but it isn't an online store.
It's a platform. Any Chinese seller can sell products through Aliexpress. It completely bypasses European law, including Dutch law. So here's a small disclaimer: buying through Aliexpress isn't always risk-free. Still, we don't want to overdramatize things. If you do your research, you can find decent products on Aliexpress.
Before we review the best-selling earbuds on Aliexpress, we'd also like to share a small frustration about an uneven playing field from our perspective as a Dutch online store: sellers on Aliexpress don't pay VAT. That's 21% of the purchase price that we pay here in the Netherlands and Belgium. Aliexpress doesn't pay shipping costs either. We pay PostNL for every shipment because, in our experience, PostNL offers the best and fastest delivery of all carriers.
F9 TWS: best-selling earbuds ever on Aliexpress
The F9 TWS are the best-selling earbuds on Aliexpress. They've sold no fewer than 169,293 times! That's a huge number.
So it's high time we took a closer look at these earbuds.
Pros and cons
Here are the pros and cons of the F9 TWS.
| Pros | Cons |
| ✔️Very cheap ✔️Decent sound |
❌Feel a bit cheap ❌No CE certification |
F9 TWS specifications
- Price: €7
- Chipset: BT8832A
- Bluetooth: 5.1
- Range: 10m
- Case battery: 1200 mAh
- Earbud battery: 50 mAh
- Cable: micro USB
- Waterproof: don't count on it.
A lot of information isn't even listed in the manual or on the packaging. For example, we can't say for sure how many mAh of battery capacity these earbuds have. It's not on the packaging, only on the product page. There's no mention of CE certification anywhere, either. That may not mean you're in immediate danger, but Europe has rules for these products for a reason.
We found two different sellers on Aliexpress offering what appeared to be the same F9 TWS. We went ahead and bought both for this review.
Fit: how do the F9 TWS feel?
The F9 earbuds fit fairly well. They're reasonably light, which helps with comfort at first. But they don't sit all that comfortably in your outer ear. You have to wedge them in a little.
Fit score: 6
The low weight is a big plus. We weighed the earbuds at 3 grams each! 3 grams is a new record. We've never weighed a lighter pair. Do keep the missing approval marks and certifications in mind. Under European rules, earbuds have to meet all kinds of requirements. That often makes the housing a little heavier. Coming from China, these earbuds can completely ignore those rules.
F9 TWS sound
Sound quality score: 7
This seems to be why these earbuds are so popular. They may feel plasticky, but they sound good. That only applies to 1 of the 2 pairs we bought, though. The affiliate link in this article takes you to the better version.
Highs, mids and lows: they're all there. We almost always find that at least 1 of the three is lacking. But here, every part sounds decent, from low to high.
And that's from earbuds this light. We weighed them at 3 grams per earbud. 3 grams! Getting sound of this quality from something so light is quite an achievement.
Microphone: are the F9 TWS good for calls?
Microphone score: 4
The microphone quality itself is decent. You can hear that in the recording below. It's definitely better than the average budget earbud.
So why did we give these earbuds such a low score? Because the recording volume is very low. People can barely hear you. Listen to this clip:
You can hear it. Decent quality, but the volume is far too low. That makes these earbuds less suitable for calls. We also tested them on an actual phone call. After all, our laptop might have suddenly recorded at a very low volume, unlike all our other recordings. But during the call, the person on the other end also asked me to "speak a little closer to the receiver." So the F9 microphone fails the test.
Here's an example of earbuds with a good microphone: (Eardopes B6 Pro)
Connecting to a laptop went fairly well, by the way. That stood out to us. Budget earbuds in particular often struggle to connect to anything other than a phone. These handled it quite well.
Want to know which earbuds have the best microphone? We put together a comparison with all the audio clips.
Earbud controls
The worse version of the F9 TWS has touch controls. The better version, which we focused on for the rest of this review, has buttons.
Controls: 5
But the buttons are very uncomfortable.
There are 2 problems:
- The buttons make a clicking sound.
When you press a button, you hear a sharp click in your ear. It's loud enough to be uncomfortable. Combined with the problem below, it's especially unpleasant. - The buttons are stiff.
The earbuds sit in your ear canal, so you shouldn't have to press the buttons too hard. Unfortunately, you do here. Once you press hard enough and the button finally gives, you hear that sharp click in your ear. Not pleasant.
A big plus is that you can turn up the volume by pressing the right button 3 times. That's a nice extra you don't often get with earbuds at this price. Press the left earbud 3 times to turn the volume down a notch.
Charging case
The charging case has a battery capacity of 1200 mAh. That's a lot compared with other earbuds at this price. It lets you recharge your earbuds many times. And not just your earbuds... The charging case also works as a power bank.
Battery: how long can you use the earbuds?
Each earbud has a 50 mAh battery. As mentioned, the case has 1200 mAh. That means you can run the earbuds from full to empty 12 times. A fully charged earbud gives you about 3 hours of use. In short, you can use these earbuds for quite a while before they run out.
Battery score: 7
Conclusion: are the F9 TWS any good?
| Rating | |
| Sound | 7 |
| Microphone | 4 |
| Fit | 6 |
| Battery | 7 |
| Controls | 5 |
| Stability | 6 |
Buying these earbuds just for fun, or only planning to use them occasionally? Then they're a nice choice.
The sound is better than many other budget earbuds.
Planning to use your earbuds a lot, for work, for example? Invest in a slightly more expensive pair. In that case, buying cheap can cost you more in the long run.
Want earbuds with a good microphone? Definitely skip these and check out our article on earbuds with the best microphone.
Alternatives
F9 vs. QCY
QCY is a well-known Chinese brand that sells huge numbers of earbuds worldwide, including in the Netherlands. QCY earbuds are often a little better, especially when it comes to the microphone.
- Browse all our blog posts about wireless earbuds
Others also viewed:
- These are the best earbuds under €50
- Check out our in-depth blog post about QCY earbuds
- And take a look at our blog post about alternatives to AirPods
- Also check out the 3 best earbuds for running
- Also check out our hands-on review of the Eardopes B6 pro. They cost a little more, but the quality is worth it.
