The Indian company boAt has not only been around for a almost seven years, it has also done remarkably well, coming in seemingly out of nowhere to flood the market with smartphone accessories, specially budget audio wearables.
boAt aims its products at young people, offering them surprisingly low prices while bringing in more-than-basic features. A recent entry, the Rockerz 330 Pro, demonstrates just that. It extends an existing Rockerz line-up from boAt. The Rockerz 330 Pro is a set of earphones worn around the neck, but not quite a full neckband, that’s partly wireless in that it connects to the phone via Bluetooth 5.2 but does still have cables on either side of a slim band that carry the ear-bud. There are four different colours for the cables giving this wearable a dash of personality, and the rubbery flexible neck band is sturdy and well-made. Each side of the band also has a sturdy short arm just before the cables take over. There’s a control unit on the right with just three basic buttons. This also houses the USB-C charging slot, covered with a flap. This device is IPX5 splash resistant.
Try the fit: The earbuds on this neck device can fit comfortably if you experiment with the provided ear-tips to get a good seal and close yourself off from some of the outside sound. While this isn’t active noise cancellation, boAt Rockerz 330 Pro does keep a good amount of noise out since it wedges right into your ear. Though each bud has a small wing for balance, I didn’t find a really perfect fit for me so really, it depends on your ears.
In the box, you get a charging cable, ear-tips and the neck band itself. To pair it with your phone, long press the buttons on the controller and wait for a blue blinking light — as with any Bluetooth earphones. There’s no companion app or special integration with Android, but it pairs easily enough and you’re good to go within seconds.
One of the things the boAt Rockerz 330 Pro boasts of is long battery life of 60 hours — a ten minute charge will give you 20 hours of playing time. It actually supports fast charging, which the company refers to as ‘ASAP charging’. The battery lasts though it’s difficult to say exactly how long because you tend to put them off after a session. It can certainly take you through days.
Casual listening: The boAt Rockerz 330 Pro is strictly for casual listening only. And not much more can be expected for the asking price. The sound quality with 10mm drivers is workable and nothing more. Higher volumes could lead to some distortion and that’s not recommended in any case, specially for in-ear audio. There is a hint of bass and some clarity, though no real detail. There are a bunch of additional features such as support for your Google assistant. The buttons, though minimal, carry out all the basic tasks.
Since these earphones cost as little as they do, one good use for the boAt Rockerz 330 Pro is to carry along on a trip where you will neither have access to charging nor can take care of them too obsessively.
They cost ₹1,499.