Mpow Magneto Bluetooth 4.1 In-ear aptX Stereo Sports Headphones with 8-Hour Mic Talking Time

First off, I bought these headphones. I see many, many reviews on here are from people that were given these at a discount or for free. I'm sure most to all are still honest reviews, but it gives me pause when I see that kind of thing. I'm probably just jealous that they got to save $30.On to the review itself. I purchased the silver ones. They are very sharp looking and the flat cable, along with the magnet, tells me that, unlike my Apple EarPods, these won't be getting all tangled up in my work bag (which seems to happen no matter how carefully i coil them up and put them away).The packaging was good. I didn't get the nice magnetic lid box like some mentioned in other reviews. What the product came in was a simple and small cardboard box containing the wireless headphones, a USB cable for charging, a bag of 6 eartips (3 pairs) / stabilizers (3 pairs), and a manual.Pairing was easy. It's not rocket science. Unless you've never used a bluetooth device before, you will already know what to do. My iPhone 6s did not prompt me for the standard security passcode of the device, so entering '0000' was not necessary.Once paired I listened to a handful of songs to see if they can at least match the quality of my Apple headphones, which aren't the best, but better than most in the 20-40 dollar price range that I've tried. I was a bit disappointed with these at first. The reviews indicating that there's a major lack of bass appeared to be right. I played some Bruno Mars, Counting Crows, Stevie Wonder, B.B. King and all had the same issue. If I crammed the eartip in to my ear it was better, so I did what I should have done prior to the sound quality... I found the right eartips (smallest ones for me) and stabilizers (also the smallest pair) and got those installed. If anyone is struggling with the installation of the eartips, just flip the outer part inside-out and then work the stem in to that red rubber part and flip it back right-side-out. Of course, now that these were properly setup comfortably in my ear, the sound was much better and there wasn't the constant feeling like they were going to fall out. Now, the sound wasn't near perfect, but a definite improvement to bass and the overall sound. I still experimented with the iPhone EQ by turning the bass booster on, but that just sounded too muddy, as it seriously cuts the highs. I'll try a few more EQ settings, but I'm pretty happy with the EQ off.I noticed a few people had an issue with a lack of volume. I'm the son of a rock musician and a musician, as well, so I like my music/movies/TV LOUD! I have these headphone about 2 or 3 notches below max and I can't imagine turning them up any more. At max the high end was kind of shrill, also.One thing that may be an issue as I am bicycling around is that because I am covering my ear canal pretty well with the eartips, outside noise is cut drastically. I know this is a big plus to most, but not as much to me from a cycling perspective, which was the primary reason that I bought these.The reach of the bluetooth seems great. I had the phone charging in one room, walked down the hallway a short ways to another room, went inside, came back, and there was never a single drop.I haven't had these for long, so if anything else comes up with them, I will update the post.**1/26/16 Update**:So now that I've had these for a little while, I thought I'd add some more details, since I use them on a daily basis for many hours. For the most part, they still stay in my ears pretty well, as long as I don't have to fumble with the in-line controls. I'm still getting use to them and I have to trace my fingers from the top or bottom to figure out which button I have my finger on. Speaking of the buttons, the way that they are configured seems odd for skipping tracks, which is one of the main things I use them for. If I want to skip a song, I have to hold down the "volume down" button for a couple of seconds. It's probably just my personal preference, but I really expected the "volume up" button to hold that function. I guess because the "volume down" button is technically closer to your hands? Also, I'd prefer to double-click the button to have it skip the track. I know that is how my EarPods worked, so that's just what I am used to, but that seems like a better way to do it, so that they can also be tapped 3 times to go backwards. Oh well. I'm getting used to the way this one does things, so maybe I'll prefer the way Mpow has them setup at some point down the line.I've actually gotten accustom to using the magnets to pause my music. Didn't think that was a feature I would ever use, but when a colleague comes to my desk to talk to me, I find it much quicker to take the headphones out and connect them then to scramble for the button on the control, plus I have them crammed in so far in to my ear that there's no way I could hear the person with the headphones in my ear and not playing any music.My only other issue is the battery life doesn't seem great. I haven't timed them to see if they get through the whole 8-hour workday, but it doesn't seem like it does. Not a huge deal. I just keep my EarPods in my bag, just in case.

Update: after some 'tweaks' (I believe I did reset the headset), the Voice Dial feature is now working. So it seems there are some flaws with the firmware of the device, because I read many negative reviews talking about pairing issues. That's a hit or miss kind of thing. I guess people that give them high reviews didn't have the problem, but I'm pretty sure I did the process the right way. So, as a result, I upped their score to 3 stars, from 2. But I'll leave the review as it was originally.I had high hopes for these ones, as most of the reviews are very positive. Although I wanted to like them, because they look decidedly better than almost all of the pack, [edit: read the update above] they have a *GIGANTIC* flaw for me: no Siri support for iOS. That means that I can't ask anything to Siri while on the go, because the "Voice Dial" —as they call the voice-prompt feature on that very bad written and incomplete *manual*— does nothing on the iPhone (using an awkward combination: simultaneous pressing the central and volume-up buttons).Besides that, the sound is just ok. Last month I bought a pair of  SoundPEATS Q9A Wireless Bluetooth Sweatproof Secure Fit Earbuds (Black)  —absolutely not recommended, also; keep away from them— for $25 (later they went as low as $16), and the sound of those was way better even when they —apparently— lack "Apt-X" codec that supposedly enhances sound quality.I'm not giving these headset a 1-star rating, because there are some very good things about them:– Looks. They look very good.– Buttons. The look and feel of the buttons on the remote control is precise, unlike those Soundpeats I mentioned earlier.– Weight. The weight is just fine for this kind of earbuds.– Very good mic, but what good is it if I can't dial to anyone while it really matters?????But the cons far outweigh the pros:– [edit: read the update at the beginning] Completely incompatible with iPhone. If your last call was on FaceTime Audio, the headphones will simply not redial at two central key presses.– [edit: read the update at the beginning] No Siri support, as the awkward button combination for "Voice Dial" does nothing on iPhone. I don't have a mediocre Android phone to test these mediocre headset.– Sound is not good enough —specially if you take into account all the other ***dubious*** 5-star reviews. To get any bass from your music it's imperative to have a very good seal using the right ear-tip for your ear canal, but there are only three sizes provided, so that will be imposible for many people (you need to know that the Music app of the iPhone does fade the music to lower levels than the music can be heard through other apps —just send yourself a song through iMessage from a Mac and test for yourself—, but these is a 'feature' Apple uses to protect ourselves from getting deaf).– Although I actually see as a good thing that there be no accessories on a pair of cheap headphones (as a carrying bag), because all the money should go into better designs, this is not such a case. Given design is not as good (and I'm not referring to aesthetics, but to functionality), there, at least, should be more ear-tips, a carrying case, a clip, and whatever else other manufacturers attach to these kind of products.– Did I mention no handsfree functionality for iPhone? (I know I sound repetitive, but why would these gang leave iPhones out of their target customers?)– [Edit: updated] Pairing difficulties. At first, the headset pairing was immediate, but as I would learn a couple of days later, it wasn't working as they should, what led me to conclude that these headphones were incompatible with iPhones. Then, after having all three buttons pressed for like 20s, forgetting the device in the bluetooth section of the iOS Settings, and pairing again, the Voice Dial suddenly started working again. Before that, the headset would pair apparently normal, letting me hear the music and receive calls, place them (not through Siri) and everything else, with the lone exception of Voice Dial. That alone would have made merits to a 0-star rating, but there are many pros, specially considering what the competition offers.Other comments:– I haven't tested battery life, but cares for that nowadays, when they tend to last way more than the phone's?– That magnetic "Special Functions", as they call them. It's nice in some way to be able to pause your music when the to earbuds come together, but if time passes and you forget what where you listening to, or even that you were listening something, it can scare you when you start hearing some noise come out of those "things". It's just not that useful.– Given that the plus-center button combination supposedly invokes the voice prompt, what does the minus-center combination do??? (it emits two sounds after a while... I guess is to change to the second handset you can pair it to? The manual would not say.I think I'm getting these headphones back for a refund [edit: I'm keeping them now, read the update] and just go for a pair of corded ones, or maybe I'll go for the  Jaybird Bluebuds X Bluetooth Headphones (Midnight Black) , but I'm not ready to spend that kind of money for a technology that just isn't there yet. Maybe with the iPhone 7 (http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/iphone-7/#wireless_earphones)? Who knows...

Good product that lasts about 8-10 hours on full charge. Bluetooth sometimes cuts in/out on the sound, but not enough to annoy me - maybe occurs once or twice a day. Great for working out at the gym, walking, or jogging. Haven't got hit by the rain while out running so I'm not sure how the water resistance is. Great to wear in the office incognito as its low-profile - when someone walks up I just pull them out and snap the magnetic ear pieces together to stop playing music. Once done with conversation I pop them back in and continue listening to my tunes or podcast.