Motorola Tech3 Review: Hybrid Earbuds For The Plug-in Crowd
Motorola Tech3 Test: Wireless earphones without range anxiety
"A clever hybrid design takes you from wired to really wireless in seconds if you agree with average sound."
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Clever hybrid design
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Well-designed cable management
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Clear and precise sound
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Good battery life
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IPX5 water resistance
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Not enough bass
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No volume control
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Poor call quality when it is loud
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Massive charging case
Surprisingly, real wireless earphones and electric cars have a lot in common. Both offer unprecedented freedom: electric cars free us from our addiction to oil, and real wireless earphones free us from our addiction to cables. However, both inventions also have inherent limitations: electric cars have a maximum range determined by their battery capacity, and the same applies to the length of time that real wireless earphones can deliver music without interruption.
In both cases, fear of a lack of juice can be described as range anxiety, provided you are willing to equate kilometers driven with hours of playback. It is this range fear that makes the real Motorola Tech3 wireless earphones so interesting for $ 100. With a literal plug-in hybrid design that lets you turn them into wired earbuds, they're the perfect antidote to fear of range.
But do the advantages of Tech3's 3-in-1 design outweigh the disadvantages? Let’s take a closer look.
Wrap your head around this design
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You may find that once you keep an eye on the charging case, the Tech3 is not like other real wireless earbuds. It looks like a really big black yo-yo. This is due in part to the squat, cylindrical shape, but the comparison becomes almost inevitable due to the two sets of braided cords that wrap around the middle section.
The braided cords do not stretch or deform at all and snap into their slots in the same way each time. It just works.
Open the compact makeup style lid and you'll find that the earbuds are neatly tucked away in their own charging corners. If you fold up a second smaller lid in the main compartment, the ends of one of these braided cords become visible. This is the one with which you physically connect the earphones in their "sport loop" configuration.
The second cable – the cable that is magnetically attached to the sports loop for wired use – is accessible from the bottom of the case. The arrangement reminds me of decades of trying to keep wired earbuds neat by wrapping them around all kinds of objects. It was almost always a total mess, but the Tech3 manages to bring order to chaos thanks to one important difference: the braided cords do not stretch or deform at all, which means that they wrap around their housing and snap into their respective slots every time the same way. It just works.
The only problem with this design is its size. Unlike most of today's real wireless earbuds, the Tech3 case cannot be comfortably plugged in. Some people may also be annoyed by the micro USB charging port, a format that has almost disappeared on newer phones (ironically, the latest Motorola models as well). There is a charge indicator on the front, but it is tiny and very difficult to see.
Comfortable buds
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
When I first saw the Tech3 press images, I was concerned that being able to connect the sports loop cable would mean big, bulky earphones. Amazingly, the buds aren't bigger or heavier than non-hybrid models, and they're actually smaller than some others – Amazon's Echo Buds are chunkier.
The plastic plugs at the ends of the cable form a barrier to how deep you can insert the earphones into your ears.
They are also very convenient. I'm very lucky with the standard medium-sized earplugs on most earbuds, and the Tech3 was no exception. I could nestle them firmly and comfortably in my ear and they stayed comfortable for several hours.
Despite the fact that you can connect the sports loop without losing size or comfort, there is a pretty big flaw in the design. The hard plastic plugs on the ends of the cable form a physical barrier to how deep you can insert the earphones into your ears. For me, this meant that the natural resistance that the string exerted over time tended to loosen the buds.
There is a reason why practically all ear loop-based earphones use some kind of ear hook or ear fin – you need to stabilize the earphones against this pulling. Unfortunately, the Tech3 is not equipped with built-in or optional ear plugs, which you can find on some models. This appears to be a strange oversight for earphones that are supposed to be tied up and used during intense physical activity. On a positive note, with IPX5 water resistance, they are able to deal with the type of sweat that normally occurs during vigorous exercises.
Decent sound
At $ 100, the Motorola Tech3 is at the top end of the affordable side of the real wireless earphone market. Given the fancy hybrid design, one can expect some sacrifices to be made in the audio department, and this is true: they don't deliver the same audio quality as the 1More Stylish at a similar price.
Nevertheless, they deliver very good clarity and precision with a surprisingly neutral EQ. In this price range, earphones tend to overcompensate for the bass, or they don't provide a satisfactorily full midrange. The Tech3 don't suffer from these drawbacks, making it a better choice for those who like their music with a minimum of tonal changes. Vocals are particularly well represented, and although bass heads want more low-end pomp, most genres actually benefit from the Tech3's sound signature.
Light on functions
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Another area where the Tech3 cuts off some corners is its features. You get the standard controls: play / pause, skip tracks forward / backward and answer / end call. You can also access your phone's personal assistant or speak to Alexa by installing Hubble's free Verve Life app. With this app you can also track the last known location of the earphones in case you lose them.
However, there is no volume control, no listening mode (sometimes called transparency mode) to let outside noise in, and no ear sensor. So if you remove one or both buds, the music will continue to play instead of automatically stopping. And considering that there is a companion app, it's a shame that you don't get an equalizer function either. The controls themselves react very quickly to typing. However, as we've seen with other touch-sensitive earbuds, you may accidentally type (and stop playback) or type twice and the bud may not register the second typing.
Not built for noise
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
The call quality with the Tech3 is a hit or miss. The overall voice quality is very good, but your callers will not appreciate it if you are in a busy environment. There is practically no noise cancellation. A light breeze sounded like a wind storm, and a dog that barked more than 50 feet away sounded like it was right next to me. It's a subtle reminder that the Tech3 is part of a portfolio of Motorola-branded products, but not manufactured by Motorola Solutions (the original Motorola company) or the Lenovo subsidiary that controls the mobile phone business. Instead, these earphones are manufactured by Binatone, a Hong Kong-based electronics manufacturer, under license from Lenovo.
Good battery life
Designed for seven hours between charges, you may never need to use this patch cord.
Yes, the Tech3 has been designed to offer unlimited playtime through its hybrid design. However, this does not mean that the battery life is not adequate. Rated seven hours between charges, I actually got more than 7.5 hours out of my right earphone, while the left gave up after almost seven hours.
Even the quick charge function is better than expected with three hours of play after 15 minutes. With only about 1.5 charges in the case (18 hours in total), you may never need to use this connector cable.
Plug-in hybrid
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Using the two cables to switch from completely wireless to fully wired takes only a few seconds. The hardest part is aligning the three-pronged gold contacts on the ends of the sports loop with the corresponding connectors on each earphone. There are a number of white markings that help, but it requires some precision, not to mention good eyesight.
An obvious problem with this arrangement is that these contacts can come loose over time, much like headphone jacks do. It's certainly a risk, but I can tell you that the fit is tight and very secure, at least when new. No gentle pull can move them.
When the earphones are connected via the magnetic headphone cable, they are automatically switched off and sound just as good, if not better, than in wireless mode.
Our opinion
The Motorola Tech3 concept offers a unique solution to a problem that we are not convinced that many people have: how to use your real wireless earphones with a headphone jack. At $ 100, this isn't an expensive solution, but you have to give up a lot to take advantage of its flexibility.
Is there a better alternative?
If great sound is important to you and your budget can stretch a bit, you can actually get a very similar solution with the Shure Aonic 215. They're not as elegantly packaged as the Tech3 and have their own drawbacks, but they're much more flexible.
If great sound is important to you, but $ 100 is your limit, check out our list of the best cheap real wireless earbuds. None of them have the Tech3's clever hybrid trick, but many offer more features and better sound. If battery life is your biggest concern, you can't go wrong for an additional $ 29 with Samsung's amazing 11-hour Galaxy Buds + for $ 129.
How long it will take?
The construction of the Tech3 earphones and their charging case is good, but not great. You will probably survive for several years if you don't abuse them. The two cables are very well made, but it is impossible to say how many times you can connect them to the earphones before this connection fails.
Should you buy it
If you don't necessarily need to be able to connect your real wireless earbuds to a phone or computer, or if you're constantly worried that your battery will run out, skip the Tech3. However, if you appreciate its main function, it is not a real set of real wireless earbuds.
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