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Edifier TWS2 truly wireless stereo earbuds review

REVIEW – TWS (truly wireless stereo) earbuds are the latest advancement in Bluetooth earbuds. With this new feature, you can use either earbud individually or together and with Bluetooth 5.0, they have a longer range with the paired device allowing you to leave your phone in one part of the house while you’re enjoying your favorite tunes in another part. The latest TWS earbuds that I’ll be telling you about today are the Edifier TWS2 earbuds. Let’s check them out.

What is it?

Edifier TWS2 earbuds are earbuds that feature TWS technology and Bluetooth 5.0.

Hardware Specs

Bluetooth version: Bluetooth V5.0
Bluetooth profiles: HSP, HFP, A2DP, AVRCP
Effective distance: 10m
Playback time: Approx. 12 hours (3hrs earbuds + 9hrs charging case)
Charging time: Approx. 1.5 hours
Input: DC5.0V 60mA (earbuds) DC5.0V 500mA (docking case)
Frequency response: 20Hz-20KHz
Sensitivity: 94dB
Impedance: 32Ω

What’s in the box?

  • Edifier TWS2 earbuds
  • 3 sizes of ear tips
  • Charging case
  • micro USB cable for charging
  • Quick start guide

Design and features

Available in black, white, and red, I was obviously sent the red version of the earbuds which as you can see come in a matching charging case. Although it’s tough to see in the image above, there are 3 status LEDs in the black strip below the lid. When you open the lid, the LEDs will light up in white to give you an idea of how much battery life is left in the charging case’s built-in battery.

Unfortunately, the case charges with micro USB instead of USB-C. Come on guys, it’s 2019 for crying out loud!

The lid of the case flips open to reveal the TWS2 earbuds which are held magnetically in individual charging chambers.

Each earbud has a physical button on the outside, a microphone, and a status LED. The buttons function as:

• Single Press (Left/Right) – Play/Pause/Answer/End Calls
• Double Press – Next (Right Button) and Previous (Left Button)
• Triple Press (Left/Right) – Command Siri
• Press-hold 2 Seconds (Left/Right) – Disconnect
• Press-hold 5 Seconds (Left/Right) – Turn off

The status LED is on the side and blue indicates that it’s connected to the paired device, red shows low in battery, blinking blue and red means they are in pairing mode.

The inside surface has two electrical contacts for charging and what I believe is a 2nd microphone which you can barely see to the left of the L mark in the image above.

The earbuds have a hard slick plastic outer shell that makes it a little hard to get them out of the case if you have dry fingers like I do.

Fit and comfort

The Edifier TWS2 earbuds come with 3 different sized pairs of eartips so you can customize the fit. Once inserted into your ears, the earbuds stick out a little bit as you can see above. The red earbuds really stick out as far as the way they look. It looks like I have hearing protection earplugs in my ears.

As far as comfort goes, the TWS2s felt pretty decent. They fit snuggly in my ears and didn’t fall out if I was chewing food, walking, or jumping. Of course, you might not have the same experience as I did because it depends on the shape of your ears as to whether any earbud will fit well for you. But for me personally, the Edifier earbuds were surprisingly comfortable and fit well.

Sound quality listening to music and video

I tested the Edifier TWS2 earbuds with my Pixel 2 XL and with a Dell laptop at my day job. I tested by using Amazon Prime streaming music, Spotify, YouTube, and Netflix.

The TWS2s sounded better than other wireless earbuds that I’ve tested in their same price range. They have surprisingly good bass and crisp highs. I enjoyed all the types of music that I listened to while wearing them.

I was also happy that I could use the earbuds while watching streaming video on YouTube and Netflix. The audio and video synced very well with no noticeable delay which is awesome because my current favorites have a slight audio/video syncing delay problem.

Sound quality in calls

There weren’t any issues using the TWS2 buds for phone calls. Volume on the TWS2 side was ample and the opposite side of the calls said I sounded fine but they could tell that I was using a Bluetooth headset.

What I like

  • Nice price
  • Comfortable
  • Pairs quick when you take them out of the case

What needs to be improved

  • Can’t use each earbud by itself
  • IPX4 is only splash resistant, so not a good choice for people who sweat a lot when they workout
  • 3hr playback time out of the case seems short
  • Can’t adjust volume directly through the earbuds

Final thoughts

The only thing they don’t offer is the ability to pair each earbud individually so that you can use the right earbud without first pulling the left earbud out of the charging case. Also, if you have both earbuds in your ears and put the left earbud back in the charging case, it will cause the right earbud to turn off. If that lack of functionality doesn’t bother you, the TWS2 earbuds from Edifier offer a good audio experience and a good value for shoppers on a budget.

Price: $79.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Edifier.

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Edifier TWS2 truly wireless stereo earbuds review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 4, 2019 at 12:13 pm.

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Grub vs. Systemd-boot: Which One Should You Use as the Bootloader

Systemd-boot, sometimes called “systemd” and previously called “gummiboot,” is Grub’s newer competitor. On compatible EFI systems, systemd-boot can be used in place of Grub to boot the system’s operating system. From a high-level perspective, systemd-boot links to the bootloader already in UEFI, offering the most basic feature set for selecting an operating system. Grub, on the other hand, loads what is sometimes described as “an entire OS” to manage booting the user’s operating system, providing far greater capability. What is a bootloader? A bootloader loads the operating system. It’s copied to memory from a special sector on the boot media and runs before any operating… Read more

FoldiMate aims to takes the drudgery out of folding laundry

NEWS – Are you the type that whips through your laundry chores, only to have fresh, clean clothes sit unfolded until the next time you wear them?  FoldiMate can fold an entire load of laundry in just five minutes, all automatically.

FoldiMate is a smallish refrigerator-sized device that will fold most of your laundry items into perfect, closet-ready piles.

According to their website:

FoldiMate will fold any type of shirt, blouse, or pants from age 6 to adult size XXL. It will also fold standard size towels and pillowcases. FoldiMate works best with average-sized clothing and laundry items. It currently won’t fold very small items like baby clothes, socks or undergarments, very large items such as sheets, or very bulky items such as hoodies.

You feed the items in one at a time. The unit continuously accepts items while folding the previously accepted item, allowing for non-stop folding. This results in their claimed five-minute runtime for an entire load of laundry of about 25 items.

Once the folding is done, a lighted drawer opens automatically, presenting you with your folded stack.

They claim that it will be relatively quiet – about the same as an average clothes dryer.

I hate folding clothes and hang most of my shirts and pants.  If you’re more of a folder, this might be for you, but, it comes at a price.  Right now, their targeted launch price is $980, and that’s not guaranteed. FoldiMate is an in-process project looking to launch late in 2019 in the US and then internationally. FoldiMate released a previous version in 2017. This new model is claimed to be a result of all the feedback they received and a major upgrade in the folding experience.

Interested?  Check out their website at FoldiMate.com to get more details, and to get on the pre-order waitlist.

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FoldiMate aims to takes the drudgery out of folding laundry originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 4, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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Ravean Men’s Down X Heated Jacket review


REVIEW – Perhaps one of the hardest things about living in a northern region like Michigan is the constant battle of staying warm in the winter. The Ravean Men’s Down X Heated Jacket aims to make that a bit easier to handle.

What is it?

The Ravean Men’s Down X Heated Jacket features RDS (certified to the Responsible Down Standard) down fill and a heating system that heats the back, chest, and pockets of the jacket.

What’s in the box?



Design and features

Winter can be tough here, there’s a constant battle to stay warm when you go outside. There’s also the battle of being comfortable at the same time. Often a really warm jacket is great, but after your car warms up, it’s just too much. Taking off your jacket in the car is difficult, and you certainly want to put it back on before getting out of the car.

Winter is starting to wrap up here in Michigan, but there’s still ice on the lake and cool winds despite the sun shining brightly. I’m sure I’ll still have two more months of enjoying this jacket before the warm weather comes.

The Ravean Men’s Down X Heated Jacket is very lightweight (150 grams / 5.3 ounces), and it’s also not bulky at all. This makes leaving it on much more comfortable. The jacket is rated for use down to -10° F (-23° C) when on high mode. The light, breathable, water-resistant material is also soft to the touch. There is a durable water repellant coating added to fabrics at the factory to make them water-resistant (or hydrophobic). The jacket is also 100% washable, making it easy to clean. The fill is 90% hydrophobic duck down and 10% feathers.

The signature feature of the jacket is its built-in heating system. Powered by a 10,050mAh 12 volt battery, the jacket provides up to 6.5 hours of heating in the back, chest, and pocket areas. (High 2.4 hours, Medium 3.5 hours, Low 6.5 hours)



A push button switch on the inside near the left collar allows you to turn it on and off, as well as set the high/medium/low heat setting. The switch also lights up indicating pre-heat (pulsing red LED), high (red LED), medium (white LED), or low (blue LED). Pressing the button cycles through the different heat levels, and pressing and holding it for 1-2 seconds will turn it on or off.

Convenient on/off switch

The battery also features a 5v/2A USB charging port that can be used to charge your mobile devices. The battery also has a flashlight built into the end which could be useful in an emergency, but probably wouldn’t be something you would regularly use. The battery is also curved, so it fits snugly alongside the body. The battery charges in 90 minutes and has five LED’s that indicate its charge level.

The jacket itself is fairly warm on its own, with a fill power rating of 750, I found the jacket to be surprisingly warm even without the warming feature turned on. The hood is removable via zipper and has drawstrings for both the front and the back of the hood to adjust it just the way you like. I really like how the hood attaches to the front of the collar, with the hook and loop (aka velcro) attaching under a flap.

The collar was very impressive. I know, it sounds corny, but many of the jackets I have seem to strangle me when they are zipped all the way up. This jacket not only does not strangle me but has plenty of room for a scarf or facemask.

Zipped all the way up, no choking!

Pockets on the sides, chest, and right arm provide ample space for storing whatever you choose. The arm pocket measures about 8″x5.5″ – plenty large enough for an iPhone 7 plus. The side pockets are approximately 7.5″x12″ with a 6″ zipper opening. The chest pocket is about 6″x9″ with a 6.5″ zipper opening, and it almost disappears when zipped.

On the inside, there is a pocket for the battery that includes a cord passthrough to the side pocket for charging your mobile device. There’s also a similar pocket on the right side for another charger (not included) that features a passthrough also. There are also two mesh pockets on the inside that aren’t zippered.



The jacket also has an armpit gusset of stretch material that helps with arm mobility without any extra bulk. That’s one of the things I noticed when I first put it on and outstretched my arms.

When given the opportunity to review this product, I consulted the sizing guide on the Ravean website and chose the XL which was specified for a 38-40 inch waist since I wear a size 38 pant (loosely). I found that the jack was a bit smaller in girth than I expected, but it does still fit nicely. If you’re the type like me that has a little bit of extra “winter weight”, you might want to go up one size.

The arm length was fantastic, and the jacket includes cuffs with thumbholes to keep the arms down and to fill that space between the jacket and a glove.

I quite liked the length of the jacket. It’s a little longer than some of the other jackets I have, which helps to keep it from riding up when squatting or bending over.



I found the heating system to be outstanding. Even on the high setting, the jacket provided a nice warmth without feeling hot. The switch for changing modes was easy to operate and the curved battery really made a difference in the way the jack fits.

What I like

  • Zips all the way up without choking you
  • Additional battery pocket with passthrough
  • Just the right amount of heating

What needs to be improved

  • Sizing is slightly small

Final thoughts

I found the jacket to be warm even when not using the heating system and the lightweight construction also made for a great under-layer when pairing it up with another outer layer during heavy wind conditions down at the lake. The ability to charge my mobile device is quite nice. Overall, I’m very pleased with this jacket.

Price: $199.99
Where to buy: Ravean
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Ravean.

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Ravean Men’s Down X Heated Jacket review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 4, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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Strap this gauge on your wrist to tell time, instead of pressure

NEWS – Here’s a unique watch to add to your timepiece collection, it’s the PSI watch from Tokyoflash Japan, and it’s designed to look like mechanical pressure gauge. Available with a black or white dial and a black or silver stainless steel case, the PSI watch is a fun way to tell time because it has a needle that jumps to the hour, then two more jumps to show the minutes. Take a look at the video below to see how it works.

The watch charges via USB and a full charge will let you enjoy the watch for up to 2 months before you need to charge it again. You can buy the PSI watch for $189.00 from Tokyoflash Japan

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Strap this gauge on your wrist to tell time, instead of pressure originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 4, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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