Sudio Nio Review (Sudio Sweden)

Preface

The Sudio NIO is Sudio’s latest true wireless earphones that has a rather similar form factor to the Apple AirPods.

Let’s check out the merits and demerits of this new Sudio NIO model. The NIO models in this review are the Sand (New Color), Green and Black colors.

Note: The earphone was tested on the Huawei P30 Pro, P20 Pro, Samsung S11+, Apple iPad Pro 9.7, Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, 11 Pro Max, 6s and Ulephone S7 Plus.

Click HERE to skip to & see the exclusive 15% discount code for all Sudio earphone models!

Notes:

All Sudio Nio will now come with a newly launched leather case made up of Apple Leather (vegan).
For a limited time only, every Sudio purchase will come with an Andrea Maack Sudio Tote Bag.
Remember to remove the protective stickers on the LEFT & RIGHT earphones to start charging before usage.

Packaging & First Impressions

This is what the earphone will come with as shown below.

Sudio Sphere features an extended warranty of 3 years for customers who register their purchased Sudio products.
Earphone’s box packaging comes shrink-wrapped, looks attractive and has a premium feel to it, especially with the slide out feature.
The earphone case (doubles up as its charging case) is sturdy (does not flex) when pressed and should withstand day-to-day abuse without issue.
The magnetic closure of the case ensures that the case remains closed during transport.
The earphone feels rather lightweight and protrude noticeably when worn (due to the extended microphones on both sides).
Wing tips for this earphones are slightly larger than usual from Sudio. A downsize of wing tips may be required to fit snugly.
The Left & Right earphones are clearly marked.
Automatic subsequent pairings between the earphones and connected device (lifting the earphones from the case will automatically switch ON the earphones).
Touch control ‘panels’ on Left & Right earphones are sensitive.

Shipping Packaging:

Note: Above 2 photos shows the complimentary Andrea Maack Sudio Tote Bag (limited time only) and Apple Leather Case which comes with the NIO.

Front:

Back:

Sides:

Bottom:

Box Contents:

Sand color NIO has white wingtips while the Green & Black color NIO has black wingtips.

Quick Overview (Manufacturer Specifications)

Earphones Weight: 10g
Earphones Battery
- Usage Time per charge: 5.5h
- Capacity: 35mAh
Charging Case
- Provides 20h combined play time
- Full Charge: 1h 30min
- Capacity: 400mAh
Microphone: Yes, Built-in mic on LEFT & RIGHT earphones
Bluetooth: 5.0
Bluetooth Range: 10m
Driver Size: 10mm
Sensitivity: 93 dB SPL/mW (TBC)
Impedance: 32 Ohm/mW
Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz (TBC)
Waterproof Rating: IPX4
Accessories Included:
- 4*Wing Tips Sizes
- 1*USB-C Cable
- 1*Carry Charging Case
- 1*Microfiber Cloth
MSRP: $89 (S$129) – Click HERE to see our exclusive 15% discount code (price includes shipping)
Comes with 3 year International Warranty when registered on Sudio Sphere
Colors Available
- Sand (New Color)
- Black
- White
- Aurora
- Green

UI (User Interface)

Both LEFT and RIGHT earphones for the Sudio NIO have a touch button control that makes the operation process rather straightforward.

First Connection/Pairing

The following instructions would guide you through the simple process to connect the Sudio NIO to a Bluetooth-compatible device for the first time.

Switch ON Bluetooth on Bluetooth-compatible device (phone, tablet, computer or etc.).
Lift earphones from case, earphones will automatically switch ON and go into pairing mode. If you are wearing the earphones, “Power On” will be heard on both Left & Right earphones.
Select the name of the earphone (Sudio Nio) on the Bluetooth-compatible device to connect.
The earphone is now connected to the Bluetooth-compatible device & all audio/phone call will now play on the earphone directly. “Pairing Successful” will be heard on both the Left and Right earphones.
Switch OFF Earphone:
1. HOLD either LEFT or RIGHT earphone’s button till the WHITE indicator stop flashing. If you are still wearing the earphone when switching OFF, “Power Off” will be heard.
2. Alternatively, place both LEFT and RIGHT earphones back into the carry charging case and the earphones will automatically switch OFF.

Subsequent Connection/Pairing

The following instruction would guide you through the simple process to connect the Sudio NIO to the Bluetooth-compatible device after the first pairing.

Switch ON Bluetooth on Bluetooth-compatible device.
Lift earphones from case, earphones will automatically switch ON and go into pairing mode. If you are wearing the earphone, the earphones will sound out “Power On” on both Left & Right earphones.
The earphone should connect with the Bluetooth-compatible device almost immediately. If you are wearing the earphone, “Pairing Successful” will be heard on both the Left and Right earphones.
If Step 3 does not occur, manually tap to connect on the device’s Bluetooth menu.
The earphone is now connected to the Bluetooth-compatible device & all audio/phone call will now play on the earphone directly.
Switch OFF Earphone:
1. HOLD either LEFT or RIGHT earphone’s button till the WHITE indicator stop flashing. If you are still wearing the earphone when switching OFF, “Power Off” will be heard.
2. Alternatively, place both LEFT and RIGHT earphones back into the carry charging case and the earphones will automatically switch OFF.

Normal Operation

The following instruction would guide you through the simple process of operating the Sudio Nio after being paired to the Bluetooth-compatible device.

Play/Pause OR Accept/End Calls

Play: Tap the LEFT or RIGHT earphone’s button once.
Pause: Tap the LEFT or RIGHT earphone’s button once.
Accept Calls: Tap the LEFT or RIGHT earphone’s button once.
End Calls: Tap & Hold the LEFT or RIGHT earphone’s button for ~3 secs.
Reject Calls: Tap & Hold the LEFT or RIGHT earphone’s button for ~2 secs.

Previous/Next Track

Next Track: Tap 2 times the RIGHT earphone’s button.
Previous Track: Tap 2 times the LEFT earphone’s button.
- If the current track is already playing for a few seconds or more, tapping 2 times of the LEFT earphone’s button will restart the same track only.
- Immediately press 3 times the LEFT or RIGHT earphone’s button again, to get to Previous Track.

Changing Volume

Increase Volume: Tap 3 times the RIGHT earphone’s button.
Decrease Volume: Tap 3 times the LEFT earphone’s button.

Connectivity

The Sudio NIO uses the Bluetooth 5.0 version. Interestingly, Sudio did not bring over the aptX codex they had in their Tre Black & Vasa Blå models in the latest true wireless earphone still.

After the first pairing/connection, the earphone would connect to the Bluetooth-compatible device almost instantly through our tests.
No disconnection occurred when placing the Bluetooth-compatible device in the pocket or bag.

The claimed Bluetooth range is 10m and the earphone is still connected to the Bluetooth-compatible devices up to the ~11m mark, beyond that the earphone will suffer from intermittent drop outs (if music is playing, it will pause the music). The earphones will still remain connected even in an adjourning room (separated by a concrete wall), although this decreases the Bluetooth range to about half. There is a noticeable improvement in connectivity range with the Bluetooth 5.0 used.

Wearing Comfort/Form Factor

The design of the NIO is rather good for those looking for a true wireless earphone option. In fact, a white Sudio NIO earphones from a distance, could possibly be mistaken for an Apple Airpods earphones.

When worn, the NIO protrudes from the ears. With the correct-sized wing tips fitted, the earphones held sturdily even when doing more vigorous activity (eg jogging/running); at no time did the earphones feel like it was about to fall off. Wing tips do seem to run bigger for the Sudio NIO so trying out a smaller size might help to get the perfect fit.

Comfort-wise, the earphone felt comfortable in almost every position when worn. We had no issues wearing the earphones for ~4 hours on one sitting and experienced no discomfort throughout. That said, the Sudio FEM still wins in terms of outright wearing comfort for extended periods.

Since there is a battery pack on both the LEFT and RIGHT earphones respectively, the earphones feel well balanced when worn.

The inclusion of the microfiber cloth helps to ensure the fingerprint-magnet case stays clean.

The following pictures shows one of our team members wearing the Sudio NIO model.

Pictures of the Sudio NIO and the carry charging case can be seen below:

Battery Runtime

There are a lot of factors that affect an earphone’s battery runtime – distance of earphone from Bluetooth-compatible device, Bluetooth-compatible device’s Bluetooth version, volume of audio, genre of music and more. Hence, we try to make as much as the above variables, as constants instead.

Here are the parameters for our unofficial runtime test:

Bluetooth-compatible device used: Apple iPhone 6S, Airplane Mode activated, all background applications closed
Distance of Earphone from Bluetooth-compatible device: Placed next to each other
Bluetooth Version: 4.2
Music Player used: Spotify (no Equalizer activated)
Audio used: Royals by Lorde (in Repeat mode)
Volume of Audio: ~50%

With the above parameters in place, the earphone lasted ~50 minutes shorter than the 5.5 hours claimed by Sudio. However, the earphone managed a combined 21.5 hours of playtime, more than the estimate 20 hours by Sudio.

The 40% battery percentage might last fairly long. However, once the drop from 40% to 30% starts, it will drop to 20%, 10% and 0% rather quickly – leaving the user without any audio. Hence, we recommend charging the earphones in the carry case once it is 40%.

Sound Quality

There are many components to evaluate an earphone’s sound quality. We do not pretend to be true hardcore audiophiles but we will look into 4 of the more common characteristics that most audiophiles tend to look for. The following unofficial tests are made without an equalizer.

There is a split second audio delay with videos on both earphones – it is not exactly noticeable till you actually look for it. Hence, video editing is definitely not recommended with these earphones.

Soundstage: The soundstage is fairly narrow and is probably due to the adjusted bass.
Treble: The treble is mildly boosted.
Mids: The mids is slightly recessed.
Bass: The bass is boosted and may sound slightly muddy at times.

Due to the lack of graphene drivers, these 10mm drivers tend to have a little more focus on bass.

Microphone Sound Quality

Both earphones have in-built microphones and when taking a call, both earphones can be used (sound/voice can be heard on both earphones).

The parties on the other side of the line were able to hear our voices fairly clearly, despite being in a noisier environment.

Battery Indicator

There is a single LED indicator on the battery case exterior.

The LED indicators will show the approximate battery capacity:

White LED – 26% to 100% of Battery Capacity
Yellow LED – 0% to 25% of Battery Capacity
The LEFT & RIGHT earphones’ LED indicator will display the above colors for their respective battery capacity

The LED indicator will switch ON during the following circumstances:

When the earphones are replaced in the Case
When charging the Case

Charging Process

With the provided USB-C Cable, the carry charging case was charging at ~0.33A.

The blinking WHITE LED depicts charging in progress and solid WHITE LED lit depicts charging has completed.

Waterproofness

For the Sudio NIO, Sudio has received an official IP rating of IPX4 for the NIO earphones.

Hence, the earphones were subjected to being lightly splashed with room temperature water (to best mimic light showers and sweat) whilst switched ON.

No signs of water intrusion in the earphones was seen. Nonetheless, the wing tips have to be removed to dry out the water (the basic post-water maintenance procedures are still required).

Size Comparison with Apple AirPods

A quick size comparison of the Sudio NIO and Apple AirPods.

Scale Comparison (Ruler)

Summary

To sum up, we believe that the most important part of any review is if given the chance to purchase the same earphone for our own usage or to gift to our loved ones out from one’s pocket (wallet), would we still do it?
For this true wireless earphones, it is a definite YES if the sound quality/signature is what you are looking for.

The IPX4-rating, relatively affordable pricing (especially with the 15% discount), ear comfort when wearing them, USB-C fast charging rate for the charging case, automatic switch ON & OFF with pairing function and inclusion of the NIO Apple Leather case accessory & microfiber cloth – are all positive points for this earphone.

However, it would be nice if Sudio is able to incorporate aptX with their latest earphones as they did for the Tre Black & Vasa Blå models.

Here is a bonus size comparison of the Sudio ETT charging case.

As with all gears, two is one and one is none.

Stay safe,
The Lite Review

Disclaimer: Earphone and Tote Bag were provided for by Sudio (manufacturer) for this review. No other compensation was provided.

Where to Buy Links

Sudio Sweden has very kindly provided us with an exclusive 15% discount code! Simply enter the discount code “thelitereview” to enjoy this special promotion.
**This Sudio discount code should work worldwide and applies for all models in Sudio Sweden range – Contact Us if there is any issues with the discount code.**