Here’s the deal: Putting a touchscreen interface on wireless over-ear headphones is neither a good nor a bad idea. It’s just different from what most companies are doing — putting out iterations of the same product. The idea is simple: You just want your music on your headphones, but at the same time, be able to control what’s playing without having to look at the phone. Bam: You get Promate VuTune headphones.
Feels comfortable
Here’s what you get: A clean sound profile on a product that costs less than seven thousand bucks. If anything, these headphones are a head-turner.
If Dyson can get away with an absurd wearable air purifier that doubles as headphones, there is nothing ridiculous about the Promate product. Not everyone can or wants to spend a lot of money on headphones, but Promate proves you can get a product that sounds more than decent without flattening your bank balance.
The headphone is predominantly plastic but feels sturdy. There is metal hiding in the adjustable headband while the ear cups rotate 180 degrees, making it easy to carry in the case that comes with the product. The ear cups are comfortable enough to sustain long hours of usage. The surface area of the ear cups could have been more, but that would have added heft to the price tag. The leather ear pads are good enough even for Calcutta summers — there is zero irritation around the ears.
Let’s talk about the screen
Touch controls on headphones have improved drastically over the years and you can make broad gestures that are easy to pull off.
So why a screen? The screen is detachable and can be used to adjust volume, skip tracks, act as a camera shutter, adjust the equaliser and even control the level of noise (for example, turn on ANC).
There is limited functionality offered by the touchscreen. Picture: Mathures Paul
Since it attaches to the headphones via a set of magnetic pins, you won’t have trouble with the placement. Further, the magnets are pretty strong, so if you go on a jog, there is no chance of it falling off.
The screen may not add anything drastic to the way you use the headphones but like we said, it’s a distinguishing element. What would have been great was the presence of FM radio without having to use a smartphone at all.
What VuTune is doing with the touchscreen is what JBL has done with a similar technology on the earbuds case.
The headphones also come with some controls — the right ear cup has playback controls, accompanied by a volume rocker. It also houses the battery gauge, a power button, an ANC button, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The left ear cup has a USB-C port. What’s missing is a “wear sensor”, which automatically pauses the music when headphones are taken off.
Does the touchscreen add anything extra to the usage experience? Not much because you need to have the phone on you to stream music. The features are basic. What if the screen allowed one to view incoming texts or notifications from the smartphone?
Thump-y sounds
The department in which VuTune impresses is sound. The sweetly melodic trumpet tone on Chet Baker’s latest edition of Blue Note’s Re:imagined series gets a surprising output on the headphones and so does Selena Gomez’s voice on her latest album, I Said I Love You First.
The headphones fold up for carrying and the USB-C port is exclusively for charging; you can’t use it as a wired audio connection. Picture: Mathures Paul
Though the sound is nowhere close to what Sony WH-1000XM4 can produce, the 40mm drivers do justice to popular music. Whether streaming over YouTube or Apple Music, there is a noticeable beat to the music. You won’t get the widest soundstage but the sound is consistently enjoyable. The bass was thump-y without entering bloated territory and the high end is well represented without turning shrill.
Adaptive noise cancellation on VuTune is respectable but don’t expect a Beats- or Bose-level performance here. It can tackle sound rumbles or traffic noise, and that’s what most people look for. Call quality, too, is respectable, especially in loud surroundings.
Make the call
Since there is a 600mAh battery in the headphones, you will get around 50 hours of music playtime, depending on the loudness.
The headphones make a strong case for touchscreen but Promate needs to come up with options that offer more functions on this front.
Promate VuTune offers all-round value, and noise cancellation is up to scratch for most users. If you don’t demand the utmost superlative sound, this pair will not disappoint.
At a glance
Device: Promate VuTune headphones
Price: ₹6,999
High notes
Comfortable ear cups
Having a touchscreen makes it different
Respectable soundstage and ANC
Good battery life
Comes with a carry case
Muffled notes
Microphone quality could have been better
More usage scenarios for the touchscreen are required