Buzz
Build Quality and Features
The case of Creative Outlier Air V3 retains the same design as its predecessors – a rectangular rounded shape with a push/pull hinge. Creative Outlier Air V3 comes in a new metallic green color. The build quality is also improved, with the push/pull hinge feeling more sturdy compared to V2. The earbud buttons, magnetically attached to the case, are redesigned to prevent accidental dislodging when the case is shaken.
Comparing the cases side by side, Creative Outlier Air V3 is larger in both length and width. The case now feels more intricate, but it doesn't significantly impact portability as the original case was pocket-sized.
Like the case, the new Creative Outlier Air V3 comes in a metallic green color. The design now features squared edges, and the build quality is enhanced, giving the earphones a tighter feel like a piece of plastic.
Comparing both earphones side by side, the overall shape is nearly identical, but you can say that Creative Outlier Air V3 has a sleeker square edge compared to V2, making it slightly smaller. The touch controls are now more subtle, and the inner borders are less aggressive.
Creative Outlier Air V3 continues to be certified with IPX5 water resistance, so you can use them during your workout. Like Creative Outlier Air V2, Creative Outlier Air V3 utilizes touch controls.
Control
The touch controls on Creative Outlier Air V3 can manage everything from play/pause, volume adjustment, skipping tracks, and handling calls. With V3 introducing ANC & Ambient Mode, playback controls are housed on the right earbud.
They faced challenges in requiring a double-tap to activate play/pause instead of a single tap, which is an excellent choice as it reduces accidental touches on touch controls. The touch controls are usually responsive and easy to use.
Ambient Mode
Ambient Mode allows ambient sounds from the surroundings to enter the earphones, giving the sensation of wearing a perfectly fitted pair. The transparency effect is quite natural – voices sound normal and unprocessed. There isn't too much amplification of any sound. However, wind can be a bit sensitive on the mic, causing slight rustling noise.
Creative App Innovation
Similar to the companion app for the Creative T60 speaker, the new Outlier Air V3 also features a Creative App for additional functionality. It opens the door for Creative to push fundamental software updates to the earphones.
The Creative app provides three main features – EQ, noise control, and customizable buttons. If you don't like how Creative has configured the touch controls, you can tailor the functions to your preference.
For custom EQ, you can adjust various levels of the frequency chart, helping tweak the overall sound signature a bit. It doesn't modify the sound as dramatically as what Jaybird can do, but it enhances specific areas in the sound spectrum according to my liking.
Battery Life
The actual battery life on Creative Outlier Air V3 is slightly shorter than V2 – 10 hours compared to 12 hours. Though 2 hours less, 10 hours is still quite impressive. But when looking at the overall battery life, including the case, Creative Outlier Air V3 actually outlasts V2 by 40 hours vs 34 hours.
Pairing, Connectivity, and Latency
Unlike its predecessors, the new Creative Outlier Air V3 is equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.2, and how it pairs with my phone is also different. Creative Outlier Air V3 pairs as a single unit to my phone instead of separate L and R units, where one acts as the master.
In my testing, the connection was stable with no noticeable latency or audio delay when watching YouTube videos from the YouTube app on iPhone 11. If you only want to use one earbud, you can use either the left or right earbud.
Sound Quality
Before we dive into the sound signature, note that Creative Outlier Air V3 no longer supports the aptX codec found in V2. If you're using an iPhone, this isn't a big issue, but if you're using Android and care about audio codecs, this is something to be aware of.
Creative Outlier Air V3's sound signature aligns with V2 – a V-shaped profile to emphasize bass and brilliance to create a lively, energetic sound. The bass remains robust, clean, and powerful with a supporting echo enhancing the low-end. Compared to V2, V3's bass is slightly elevated.
The midrange is where the distinction between V3 and V2 lies. Creative Outlier Air V3 has a more extensive midrange, especially in the upper midrange, delivering vocals and instruments with stage-like clarity. This addresses one of the complaints about V2, where sometimes the midrange seemed subdued. The treble is also forward-leaning, sounding bright and transparent.
ANC Performance
Creative Outlier Air V3 now features Active Noise Canceling (ANC), a common feature on most top-tier true wireless earbuds. Instead, the creative term is 'Active Noise Reduction,' but fundamentally, it's still the same. ANC is good, at a standard average level. It can effectively eliminate low hums of engine noise, but if the noise volume is too loud, they seem to seep in. For higher-frequency noises like mechanical keyboard clicks or subway screeches, they can still be heard, but overall, the volume is reduced.
Microphone Quality
Instead of a single Qualcomm cVc 8.0 microphone on Creative Outlier Air V2, the new Creative Outlier Air V3 employs a dual-microphone system. It seems not to utilize any Qualcomm technology as Creative has not advertised it.
The voice quality of Creative Outlier Air V3 has seen a slight improvement over V2 – clearer and slightly fuller. The primary enhancement is noise reduction and isolating the voice in noisy environments. The microphone still captures my voice well and eliminates most ambient noise, although high-frequency sounds tend to seep in occasionally.
Final Thoughts
The original Outlier Air made a significant impact by providing a plethora of excellent features at an affordable price. The new Creative Outlier Air V3 continues in that context, allowing wireless earbud users to truly need features like ANC and Ambient Mode to stay relevant in 2021, all while maintaining a low cost. In fact, it's even lower than the original version, currently priced at just 99 Singapore dollars. Nowadays, the competition is fiercer, but Creative Outlier Air V3 still delivers a lot of value for the money you're spending.
