Baseus Bowie MA10 Wireless Earbuds review: Affordable ANC with compromise

The third-party market for wireless earbuds has been constantly shifting post-AirPods release, with new iterations and alternatives being made constantly. Manufacturers strive to enhance convenience, affordability, and features to compete against the leading earbuds from tech giants.

The Bowie MA10 checks off many of these marks, balancing its price point and quality features.

Baseus Bowie MA10 Wireless Earbuds - Design & specs

The main features of the MA10s are their active noise cancellation (ANC), over a hundred hours of playtime with the charging case, and IPX6 water rating.

The MA10s have up to 58 decibels of noise canceling and three settings to switch between. There's ANC off, ANC on, and transparent, accessible with a held tap on the front of the earbuds.

There's a claimed 140 hours of listening time with a fully charged case, and 10 minutes of charge gives 2 hours of listening time. 1.5 hours charges the case to full, so keeping the case charged every few days makes listening convenient.

IPX6 water rating makes listening in the rain or at the gym worry-free, and around 8 hours of listening time on fully charged earbuds makes it easy to wear throughout your work day.

The size of the MA10s stands out, though, being around twice the size of 1st/2nd Generation AirPods. They can still fit in the pocket but take up much more room.

Unlike the first- and second-generation AirPods, the MA10s have a USB-C charging cable, different earbud sizes (S, M, L), and wings to fit a wearer's needs.

Baseus Bowie MA10 Wireless Earbuds - Audio & use

The Bowie MA10 has an ergonomic fit in the ear, making it difficult for them to fall out. However, having them on for several hours can become uncomfortable, depending on your ear shape and the accessories you use.

The Bluetooth connection process is easy; all you have to do is hold the button on the back and connect. However, it's difficult to unpair and repair across devices, contrary to the "multipoint connection" claim on the product page.

Overall, the audio is good for the price point and on-the-go use. We had no problems with music or video, and the ANC does a good job when you need to drown out distractions.

They also deliver clear audio over calls, but we were annoyed at the built-in one-second tap on the side of the earpiece being programmed to end the call immediately. Adjusting an earbud or taking it out could accidentally trigger this.

Baseus Bowie MA10 Wireless Earbuds - App

The Baseus App helps you further fine-tune your listening experience by adjusting EQ, ANC, and gesture settings and having a Find My-equivalent feature if you have a Baseus account.

The EQ modes are mostly self-explanatory and can help you tweak your listening based on your music genre or the type of TV/movie you're watching. Mega bass is great for techno like Escape by Susumu Yokota, while we found HiFi was better for ambient tracks like Xtal by Aphex Twin.

You can manually set the type of ANC in the app as well, choosing from "commuting," "indoor," "outdoor," and "custom." After using all in different scenarios, "commuting" does tend to make a difference, drowning out outside car noises if you're on a bus or subway train.

The GPS finding is convenient if you want to give Baseus your email, but they also have a feature where you can individually call your left and right earbuds if you lose them in a room.

Baseus Bowie MA10 Wireless Earbuds - Affordability and functionality

Overall, the Bowie MA10s have features that add up to be similar to modern AirPods, but at just a fraction of the cost. Of course, there's the compromise of not having the same level of seamless connectivity between devices or relying on a third-party app for setting adjustments.

Still, it's decent for what you pay and can make a good addition to your everyday carry if you enjoy earbuds.

Baseus Bowie MA10 Wireless Earbuds Pros

• Cost-effective ANC
• IPX6 waterproof rating
• Impressive battery and playtime

Baseus Bowie MA10 Wireless Earbuds Cons

• Bulky in pockets
• Difficulty pairing across devices
• Annoying one-second tap to end calls

Rating: 3 out of 5

Where to buy the Baseus Bowie MA10 Wireless Earbuds

The Baseus Bowie MA10 Wireless Earbuds are available on the Baseus store for $39.99 and on Amazon for $34.99, currently with a 30% coupon on publication.