Skullcandy Push Active review

These budget wireless earbuds offer long battery life, fast charging, and a secure fit, and are perfect for wearing while running or working out. However, don't expect touch controls, wireless charging, or audiophile sound quality at this low price.

There aren’t many things I enjoy more than a solid set of earbuds with good sound and a secure fit. The new Push Active earbuds from Skullcandy earbuds are just that active and they’re also made to stay in place all day, making them a real asset for sports. The Push Active earphones live up to their name in that they are equipped to handle a variety of activities, including long commutes and strenuous exercises in the gym or outdoors.

They are dust-protected and impervious to low-pressure liquids like perspiration or light rain thanks to their impressive IP55 rating. They should last up to 44 hours on a single charge in terms of battery life. And no matter how you run, leap, twist, or move, the considerate ear hangers maintain the buds’ position.

But the Push Actives’ incredible sub-$100 price tag is what actually sets them apart. Skullcandy sweetens the deal by not charging you an arm and a leg for these buds, which have a tonne of wonderful features, damn decent audio quality, a comfortable fit, and a lot to offer.

With significant releases from Samsung true wireless earbuds, Apple, and numerous other firms, this year has been significant for true wireless headphones. Other notable product debuts in India include those from Sennheiser, Nokia, and Blaupunkt, to name a few. Today, a company known for its cutting-edge, fashionable designs and bass-focused sound, Skullcandy, has decided to go on board.

Skullcandy Push Active review: Design

The Push Active earphones are made to be worn while working out. They are IP55-certified to be perspiration, dust, and weather resistant, and the design is obviously made to keep them in place. Each earphone has a reasonably broad, flexible hook to hold it over the ear, and in our tests, this feature functioned exceptionally well despite the fact that they were larger than the competitors.

Each pair of headphones features a tiny coloured button that may be used to pause the music or modified to control another function, but because it is placed slightly within the outer ear while worn, it is difficult to press. Given that many competitors employ touch controls, the physical button design is another indication of some cost-cutting.

Additionally, the earbuds have microphones and a tiny LED light that indicates whether they are pairing, connected via Bluetooth 5.2, or charging when in the included case. The charging case is sizable but not heavy, much like the earbuds it holds.

It is a bit heavy and large to store in a pocket at 78g. Although not being able to wirelessly recharge the battery case will anger some, the fact that it uses USB-C to recharge is somewhat consoling. The Push Active earphones’ build quality is good, but they lack any type of flair; they feel somewhat plasticky, even though their durability and light weight make them ideal for wearing while working out.

Skullcandy Push Active review: Features

Skull-iQ is one feature that sets the Push Actives apart from a typical set of running headphones. The Skullcandy app gives you access to a number of Skull-iQ-powered capabilities, but voice control is unquestionably the main attraction. The earbuds will play, pause, skip a track, adjust the volume, answer calls, and activate Spotify totally hands-free when you say “Hey Skullcandy” followed by a command.

Skullcandy’s Stay-Aware transparency mode, which enables you to hear the outside world when necessary, can even be activated using voice commands, though I didn’t think this feature was particularly useful. The noises around me were slightly heightened, but the Stay-Aware feature was insufficiently strong to distinguish words or to carry on a conversation when used.

The voice assistant itself proved to be exceptionally swift and responsive, carrying out my requests precisely. There are only a few commands that “Hey Skullcandy” will heed you can’t ask it to call someone in your contacts or read out the weather, for example and the phrase sounds a little wordy. However, it’s a wonderful substitute for the actual button on the earphones that could come in handy when you don’t want to break your focus when running or lifting weights.

Skullcandy Push Active review: Software

The Push Active earphones stand out from the competition thanks to a surprising number of extra capabilities that the Skullcandy app includes. A five-band bespoke EQ completely changes the earbuds’ sound while firmware updates keep them safe and secure.

The stay-aware mode intensifies ambient noises to improve alertness. This feature will come in handy for runners when they are running along crowded roadways. You can use either earbud in mono mode to hear your surroundings if software-powered awareness modes aren’t your thing.

Skullcandy Push Active review: Performance

The Skull-iQ hands-free voice control is the main new feature Skullcandy is promoting in the Push Active. You activate it by saying “Hey Skullcandy,” following in the grand history of assistants before them. From there, you can tell it to activate Spotify, manage your music, or take a call. And if you use Siri or Google Assistant, you shouldn’t worry. For a richer experience, you can still use the buds to access these.

Although I don’t use an assistant much, it seemed to function properly during my testing. The fact that the bud buttons require a fairly forceful push to activate led me to default to it as well. Though, like Goldilocks, I would love something just just in the middle, in my experience, this is preferable than extremely sensitive touch controls.

The Skullcandy Push Active’s lack of active noise reduction is the main issue that needs to be brought up in this instance (ANC). Although some people would find this to be a drawback, it makes sense given the pricing. They also seemed to automatically muffle quite a bit of background noise, in my opinion. They performed admirably at my very rowdy bodybuilding gym at noise cancellation, unlike the Apple AirPods 3.

In fact, the software still has a “stay-aware” setting if you don’t like the thought of someone being able to creep up on you. The Push Active’s non-audio performance components, taken as a whole, seemed to work fine. Nothing particularly noteworthy, but also no obvious mistakes.

Skullcandy Push Active review: Sound quality

Sound quality is equally vital to fit and features, which are typically the most hotly discussed aspects of any pair of headphones. Here, the Skullcandy Push Active doesn’t let you down with crystal-clear, adaptable music. I tested the audio performance with Deadmau5’s Faxing Berlin and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, as I have with many of the headphones I’ve reviewed. While Deadmau5’s music is bass-heavy with an upbeat tempo, the Queen song is dynamically diversified.

The Push Active handled Bohemian Rhapsody nicely, providing adequate low-end without degrading the higher frequency trebles for Mercury’s singing and the lead guitar. While Faxing Berlin was terrific, the typically obnoxious bass was a little more reserved. The Skullcandy app is not required to utilise the headphones; all you need to do is link them with your phone. However, if you want to use Skull-iQ voice commands and modify audio settings, it’s worthwhile to download.

Three preset equaliser settings are available: Music, Podcast, and Movie. Each is intended to support various audio frequencies in order to boost the bass, improve speech clarity, or harmonise music and speech. You can manually change the frequencies in the Custom equalisation setting if you’re used to a more individualised approach. However, the app also offers a fascinating function called Stay-Aware mode.

In the app or by using the “Hey, Skullcandy…” command, you can turn this on and off. When Stay-Aware is turned on, the headphones’ microphones pick up sounds in your immediate environment, such as traffic or other runners, and mix them into your audio to make you aware of any dangers.

Skullcandy Push Active review: Battery Life

These earphones have excellent battery life. They may last for a total of 44 hours (34 hours from the charging case, and 10 hours on their own). I’ve only had to charge them once so far.

Skullcandy Push Active review: Price and availability

For $79.99/£69.99, buyers may purchase the Skullcandy Push Active wireless earphones. They fall into the more cheap category as a result, but these are still high-quality headphones. The Push Active are obviously lacking in audio features like noise cancellation to block out undesired background noise when compared to other cost-effective solutions like the Honor Earbuds 2 Lite. you can buy this product from skullcandy’s official store.

Final words

The Push Actives are a pair of true wireless earbuds that are incredibly comfy, sweat-resistant, have great audio output (albeit bass is strong), and surprisingly effective passive noise reduction. They don’t have the most eye-catching design of any earphones on the market, and the case is large and incompatible with wireless charging. Additionally, the tonal balance won’t satisfy audiophiles, and the Stay-Aware option is basically ineffectual.

However, the Push Active earphones are a great option if you’re looking for a smart pair of sports buds that won’t break the bank thanks to the integration of Skullcandy’s Skull-iQ voice commands, Tile tracking functionality, and an exceptional battery life.

Michael Smith
Michael Smith
Michael Smith, a tech-savvy content editor at Bollyinside. With a knack for simplifying complex tech concepts, Michael specializes in crafting user-friendly "How-to" articles and valuable tips. His focus spans Windows, Mac, hardware, and support. Beyond work, he's an avid explorer of diverse tech fields, constantly staying ahead of the curve.

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The Push Actives are a pair of true wireless earbuds that are incredibly comfortable and sweat resistant. They have great audio output (even if the bass is strong) and surprisingly effective passive noise cancellation.Skullcandy Push Active review