The Value Torchbearer

Creative Outlier Air V2

Raymond Lau

AT A GLANCE

DRIVERS 5.6mm Graphene-coated

AUDIO CODEC aptX, AAC, SBC

CONNECTIVITY Bluetooth 5.0

BATTERY 12hrs (earbuds) / 34hrs (with case)

WATER RESISTANCE IPX5

PRICE $119

We gave Creative’s previous true wireless earbuds, the Outlier Gold (an updated edition of the Outlier Air), decent marks for its fashionable looks, good sound quality, and comfortable fit. However, it was set back by some negatives like poor controls and connectivity.

With the Outlier Air V2, Creative kept all of the good stuff while directly addressing some of our complaints. At the same time, pricing is kept low.

At a glance, there’s barely any difference between the Outlier Air V1 and V2, which is not quite a good thing.

For one, the case is very bulky, looking more like a mini power bank. Unless cargo pants are your style, there’s no comfortable way of stuffing the Outlier Air V2 into jeans.

The saving grace of that bulk is its battery life. The Outlier Air V2 is rated for 12 hours of listening per charge, and up to 34 hours total with the charging case. In all my daily normal use, I’ve never come close to depleting its juice.

The case has very clear LED indicators (simplified from earlier models) for the rough level of charge left in the case and each individual earbud. The latter will prove to be rather important because the earbuds don’t dock that well in the case. There were several times when I popped them into the case and one side ended up not charging because the pins weren’t aligned.