Creative Outlier Air V3 True Wireless Headphones Review

I'm a big fan of Creative, and have been since my first Creative soundcard and speakers back in the 90s! Even today, my desktop speakers are Creative, and my personal headphones are Creative... more so, my mobile headphones are the Creative Outlier Air Gold (V1), but they're a couple of years old now, and True Wireless Headphones technology has moved on quite a bit since their release. With that in mind, it's no wonder we're now up to version 3 of these amazing headphones, and from a quick glance, it looks like a LOT of things have been changed this time around. It may even be time for me to upgrade my own set! Creative Outlier Air V3 My V1's had a 14-hour battery life between charges, but that's dropped to 10 hours now. Why? Well, the addition of more microphones, a new driver design, Bluetooth 5.2 vs 5.0, and most importantly Active Noise Reduction and Ambient listening modes. The older models had no noise-cancelling technology, so this seems like a great trade-off. However, with the charging dock, you can get a total of 40 hours of playtime, and it comes with fast charging, and even Qi charging on the dock too. Of course, like all the latest Creative products, it comes with their sublime SXFI audio processing technology. What Creative Had to Say "Our crowd-favorite—the Creative Outlier TWS series—now comes with Ambient Mode and Active Noise Reduction! Boosted to power up to 40 hours of total playtime with 10 hours of battery life per charge, Creative Outlier Air V3 tops the series in its battery performance. We've raised the stakes with our newest Noise Control features, customizable touch control buttons, and quad mics for calls clarity, all engineered for the best true wireless experience. Powered by 6 mm Bio-cellulose drivers and upgraded with Bluetooth® 5.2 technology, the Creative Outlier Air V3 is certified water-resistant with an IPX5 rating, so you can enjoy immersive audio wherever life takes you." - Creative Launch Trailer Packaging & Accessories The box is nice and compact, but it feels very durable too. There's a clear photo of the headphones on the front, as well as the dock, and we can see that it has Super X-Fi processing too. Around the back, every feature is nicely displayed, giving you a solid overview of what the V3 are capable of. The front of the box has a magnetic catch, which opens out to display a quick setup guide on the interior cover, as well as a plastic cover that allows you to get a quick glance at the headphones and dock. In the box, you'll find the headphones and dock, obviously. However, there's also a few bits of documentation, a USB C charging cable and some silicone earbuds. A Closer Look & Performance The charging dock doesn't appear to have been changed much since the first gen, with the same basic shape. It's a bit chunky, but at the same time, the trade-off is larger battery life. Sure, slim models are nice, but for those long journeys, sometimes capacity is king. It features a 450 mAh battery, which can provide you with a total of 40 hours of playtime between recharges. There's a power level and charging indicator on the side, so you can see if the dock needs charging or if the headphones themselves are charging or charged. When you do need to charge it up, there's a Type-C port on the side, and it'll take 2-3 hours to fully charge the dock. However, one nice addition is that the dock can also be put on a wireless Qi charger, which is certainly convenient. It slides out from one side, revealing the headphones mounts. There are some magnetic locks too, so the headphones quickly snap into place when placed in the tray. Overall, it's a really nice design, albeit one that hasn't really been changed much. I love the new colour those, it's a gun metal style finish, but with a hint of green. It just looks nice, and a welcome break from the black, silver or grey stuff I mostly see. As for the headphones themselves, they have a matching metal/green finish on the housing, as well as a ring of LED lighting around the edges. However, that light is purely there to indicate power levels, pairing, mode changes, etc. It does not stay lit while they're being used for listening to music or provide any aesthetic customisation. They look absolutely gorgeous though. They're a lot more refined than the first-gen, which had more aggressive edges and slightly larger housing. They're still larger style earbuds, but it reminds me of a rock in the ocean that's been warn down and smoothed over the years, leaving you with something softer and less aggressive looking. However, despite having a more compact look, they even feature larger drivers. The old ones have a powerful 5.6mm Graphene Coated Driver Diaphragm design. However, the new ones have their latest 6mm Bio-Cellulose Drivers. That's not all that's been upgraded, as the rear sections are actually touch panels. On the outlier Gold headphones, this is a physical button and you have to press it a little harder than I like. The Air V2 had touch panels though, but in the V3, you can customise the functions via their app, which is awesome. It's simple to use too, tap to play/pause, double-tap to change ANC mode, etc. Another big upgrade is the introduction of ANC, a first this range. It features Ambient Mode so you can listen through to your surroundings while still enjoying your media, or Active Noise Reduction mode to filter out the outside world. It's not the most powerful ANC ever, but it's more than good enough to remove most traffic noise and background chatter. Of course, compared to the Outlier Gold I use daily, it's a massive upgrade. The ANC and your phone calls all benefit from this too, as each earbud now has a dual microphone design. A lot more of the weight is lower down and sits inside your ear too. While the headphones do look big, as you can see, they're more compact than you might think. Their design means they sit deep down into your ear, and lock themselves in place really well. I can actually go for a jog with them in and they stay put. However, star jumps and squats at the gym would be a bit much for them... and me actually. They stick out a little less than the old models too. All those tiny little nips and tucks to their design just make them a much more refined and better fitting headphone overall. They're still just as comfortable though, I never found the older models to be uncomfortable in any way, and while they look different, they do feel about the same to me. Creative really shines when it comes to audio, and well... that's a good thing for a set of headphones. The new drivers pack a nice punch to them and offer plenty of high-end volume, and a powerful range too. The bass levels are exceptionally good, there's a lot of detail in the mids and the treble is crystal clear. Honestly, I would not have expected anything else really. However, the SXFI processing pushes things to the next level as it creates a hyper-realistic sound stage for everything from mono to 7.1 surround. Honestly, I've used SXFI for years now, and I'm in no rush to stop using it either. Creative has tinkered with the original formula quite a lot here, but while they still sound just as great as the older models, the quality of life improvements add up to a worthy upgrade. How Much Does it Cost? The Creative Outlier Air V3 TWS True Wireless In-ear Headphones are available right now with an MSRP of £64.99. However, they appear to be just £54.99 right now, but that may only be because of Black Friday, so if you want a set, I'd strike while the iron is hot. That being said, I can't think of a single set of headphones that comes remotely close to this level of features and performance for a similar price. I have reviewed some properly good headphones this year too, but these will be hard to beat. I guess I've been using the first-gen models for a few years now for good reason. Overview There's no doubt about it, I absolutely love these headphones. Creative already had a strong starting point though, as the first-gen of these headphones were a solid award winner, both in terms of professional reviews and with their customers. I have the slightly more premium Outlier Gold edition, which boasted a unique design and more battery life. The V2 was OK, a minor upgrade but nothing that really stood out. However, the V3 really take things to the next level, and these feel like the ones I will be upgrading to myself. One of the biggest advantages for the V3 is the battery life, and getting 10 hours of usage from headphones with powerful drivers and ANC is impressive. Some rival models can barely do half that, despite costing twice the price. The powerful charging dock, with Type-C and Qi charging, is a huge benefit too. The ANC is powerful, not the most advanced, but keep in mind that these headphones are priced very reasonably. I love that it has an ambient mode too, which is great for when I'm out for a walk, as I can hear traffic around me. It's certainly a set of features I've desired in my Outlier Gold headphones. There's now a dual microphone design (four in total), the customisable touch controls vs the old clicky button, and Bluetooth 5.2 vs 5.0 on the old ones. Everything is the same, but a better version of its self. Even the drivers are bigger, giving a fuller sound overall, and the Super X-Fi processing is still the best innovation in audio for years. If you're looking to upgrade your older or warn out Creative headphones, this is a perfect upgrade for you (and for me). The Creative headphones don't cost the earth, but they give a level of performance that is hard to match, even on much more expensive models.