A breakdown of the review per specifications

Ingress Protection (Ip) Rating

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 IP54

Ultimate Ears Drops ✗

IP ratings refer to the level of protection given by an enclosure, against solids and liquids. The letters 'IP' are followed by two values The first value of the IP rating means protection against solids such as dust, followed by the one that refers to resistance against liquids (sweat).

Having a value of IP54, the Bowers & Wilkins PI7's rating for solids indicates that ingress of dust is not totally prevented but dust does not enter in harmful quantities to interfere with the correct operation or impair safety, and of liquids that they can withstand low pressure spray similar to that of a shower head when tilted at 180° for 10 minutes.

Weight

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 50g

Ultimate Ears Drops ✗

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a weight of 50g . We prefer a lower weight best for the reason that lighter devices are easier to move with.

Has No Wires Or Cables

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

For a device to be true wireless it should have no wires connecting any part of the device together, Ultimate Ears Drops are true wireless for this matter since they have no wires. This is an important distinction as some wireless earbuds have cables linking the two earbuds .

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 also is true wireless since it has no wires linking the two earbuds together.

Wingtips Included

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✗

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops have wingtips, these are commonly used for workout earbuds and come as an optional add-on to each silicone ear tip for a more secure fit.

Sweat Resistance

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✗

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops have sweat resistance

Is Dust Proof And Water-Resistant

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✗

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops are both dustproof and water-resistant.

Has Stereo Speakers

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops have stereo speakers, what this means is that Ultimate Ears Drops's speakers deliver sound from independent channels on both left and right sides, this creates a richer sound and a better listening experience.

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 also have stereo speakers

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
See price on Amazon

Has Active Noise Cancellation (Noise Control)

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✗

ANC utilises advanced technology to actively counter noise. ANC works when, it detects and analyzes the sound pattern outside and inside the earbud and after generates a mirror signal to cancel it out. In simple terms, it's like taking +1 (noise) then adding -1 (inverted noise) to make 0 thus "diluting" the noise.

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have ANC allowing you to listen at lower volume levels, causing less ear fatigue as you don't need to crank up the device volume to outcompete background sounds.

Has Passive Noise Reduction

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops sit tightly in place, creating a sound seal that reduces your environment noise well as preventing the earbuds voice audio from leaking out .

Both of these devices have passive noise reduction which means that both tone down ambient noise instead of actively using technology to cancel it out.

Driver Unit Size

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 9.2mm

Ultimate Ears Drops 9.2mm

The Ultimate Ears Drops driver unit is 9.2mm in diameter, the bigger the unit the more powerful, therefor producing better bass. The driver unit is basically a mini speaker that produces sound in the device, the unit size dictates the loudness of the earbuds.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 driver unit is 9.2mm in diameter, making both devices similar in how loud their sound can get , as many tend to believe that driver units of a bigger size automatically produce better sound quality.

However, large drivers usually have difficulty producing high frequencies so yeah, larger drivers are capable of generating louder sound, but this does not mean that they produce better quality sound.

Lowest Frequency

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 10Hz

Ultimate Ears Drops 20Hz

Ultimate Ears Drops's lowest frequency is at 20Hz, low-frequency response inidcates how well a particular audio device generates low audible frequencies and if it makes any changes to the signal while at it.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7's lowest frequency is at 10Hz, this implies that Bowers & Wilkins PI7 make sound with a juicier bass than the Ultimate Ears Drops

Highest Frequency

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 20000Hz

Ultimate Ears Drops 20000Hz

The Ultimate Ears Drops's highest frequency is at 20000Hz, high-frequency response shows how well a particular audio component produces high recognizable frequencies and if it changes to the signal while at it.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7's highest frequency is at 20000Hz, this implies that both devices can produce equal treble

Sound Pressure Level

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✗

Ultimate Ears Drops 110dB/mW

The sound pressure level, is the level of pressure of sound, measured in decibels, dB, Ultimate Ears Drops's measurement is 110dB/mW. Devices with a higher sound pressure level are generally louder when supplied with any given audio source.

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Battery Life

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 4.5hours

Ultimate Ears Drops 6hours

The Ultimate Ears Drops's battery life is 6 hours, these last longer than 5 hours of listening which is considered average before recharge. A device's battery life is given by the manufacturer, and with more battery hours, you get to use it for longer and requires fewer chargings.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7's battery life is less than that of Ultimate Ears Drops by 1.5 hours . Every time you recharge your device, they get a little less playing time. The effect is not noticeable at first, but over a few years, your wireless earbuds will have shorter listening time.

Battery Life Of Charging Case

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 18hours

Ultimate Ears Drops 9hours

The battery life of the charging case is given by the vendor, and Ultimate Ears Drops's case has a full charge of 9 hours. A charging case with more battery hours allows you to recharge your earbuds on the go several times before having to recharge the case itself.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7's charging case has a battery life of 18 hours, more than that of Ultimate Ears Drops by 9 hours

Charge Time

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 3hours

Ultimate Ears Drops ✗

It requires 3 hours to fully charge the Bowers & Wilkins PI7's battery. It is recommended to fully charge the battery before using the earbuds when they have been unused for long periods.

Has Wireless Charging

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops, the device supports wireless charging. To charge the earbuds, you just put down on a compatible charging pad.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 also support wireless charging, always look out for the charging standard of the earbuds.

Has A Battery Level Indicator

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops have a battery level indicator, an indicator shows you when the earbuds has a low battery. Its lights indicate the charging status of your device and case.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 too have a battery level indicator, charging indicators enable you tell the charging state of your device, whether fully charged, or the battery is running low.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
See price on Amazon

Has Usb Type-C

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

The Ultimate Ears Drops use USB TYPE-C, a standard connector for transmitting both data and power in a single cable.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 too use USB TYPE-C. This USB-C plug is part and parcel of most current electronics.

Bluetooth Version

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 v5

Ultimate Ears Drops v4.2

The Ultimate Ears Drops have Bluetooth version of 4.2, Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that allows data movement between devices placed in close proximity, using short-wavelength, ultra-high frequency radio waves.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 has a Bluetooth version of 5, newer than that of Ultimate Ears Drops . Newer versions provide faster data transfers.

Maximum Bluetooth Range

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 10meters

Ultimate Ears Drops 10meters

Ultimate Ears Drops have a 10meters distance connecting via Bluetooth.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a maximum range of 10meters, equal to that of the Ultimate Ears Drops

Has Aac

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops support AAC, a codec that is used for Bluetooth audio. It supports 24-bit audio at 250kbps. Because it uses psychoacoustic modeling, it can provide better results than other codecs at the same bit rate.

Since its the highest quality codec that any Bluetooth-supporting Apple product supports, the Ultimate Ears Drops will work fine with your MacBook. If you are planning on using these with Android , ensure that they also support aptX HD, LDAC, or LHDC as well.

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support AAC as well. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves higher sound quality than MP3 encoders at the same bit rate.

Has Aptx Adaptive

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops support APTX Adaptive, an audio codec for Bluetooth devices that are developed by Qualcomm. It has a variable bit rate (between 279kbps and 420kbps).

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support APTX Adaptive as well which means both can adjust the bit rate for different scenarios, such as listening to HD audio from other devices.

Has Aptx Hd

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✗

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support APTX HD, an audio codec for Bluetooth devices that are developed by Qualcomm. It supports high-quality 24-bit audio (at a bit rate of 576kbps).

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Number Of Microphones

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 6only

Ultimate Ears Drops 2only

Ultimate Ears Drops have 2 microphones.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 microphones are 6, more than that of Ultimate Ears Drops by 4 . More microphones record better sound quality and enable the earbuds to filter out background sounds.

Has A Noise-Canceling Microphone

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✗

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a noise-canceling type of microphone, these microphones are intended to filter out noise from the earbuds' sound.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
See price on Amazon

Has Ambient Sound Mode

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops support ambient sound mode, which uses microphones to pass through ambient sound so that they can still be heard even while wearing them

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support ambient sound mode as well, helpful when you want to listen to music while being aware of your surrounding, say you’re having a run but still want to be able to hear traffic.

Has In/On-Ear Detection

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✗

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have in/on-ear detection, the sensors in the device can detect when they are removed from your ears .

Has Find Earbuds Feature

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

When lost in a room, or can't easily find them in your bag, the Ultimate Ears Drops have a find earbuds feature.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 also have the find earbuds feature. Use the earbuds app on your phone to play a sound from your device to find them.

Supports Fast Charging

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops support fast charging. Commonly, technologies like Qualcomm’s Quick Charge, are used to lower the amount of time it takes to charge a device.

Also the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support fast charging. This kind is similar to regular charging, just that the battery fills up much faster. Say, with Quick Charge 3.0, the battery can be charged to 50% in just thirty minutes.

Multipoint Count

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✗

Ultimate Ears Drops 2only

Ultimate Ears Drops have a multipoint of 2 connections, this feature allows you to link to more than one Bluetooth device and switch between them. Say, you can easily switch calls from one device to another without manually disconnect and reconnect.

Has A Mute Function

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops have a mute function, they support the feature to mute/unmute a conversation directly from the earbuds.

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 also support this function. The mute function means that you unilaterally turn off the device's microphone, but still hear the other party's voice.

Control Panel Placed On A Device

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

The Ultimate Ears Drops, so you can easily access the volume control, pause, play, mute, etc whichever features are supported on the device.

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 also have a control panel on them.

Has Voice Prompts

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops have voice prompts. With voice prompts, you receive information through audio messages, say if there is a problem with the connection.

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 too have voice prompts .i.e the device will notify you if the battery is running low, and it's time to recharge them.

Travel Bag Is Included

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops ✓

Ultimate Ears Drops come with their own special pouch. Carrying earbuds openly, or placing them inside your pockets without a casing may easily put them at risk of getting damaged.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 also have a case included, which offers safe transportation.

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Category	Features	Bowers & Wilkins PI7	Ultimate Ears Drops
DESIGN	ingress protection (ip) rating	IP54	✗
	weight	50g	✗
	has no wires or cables	✓	✓
	wingtips included	✗	✓
	sweat resistance	✗	✓
	is dust proof and water-resistant	✗	✓
	has stereo speakers	✓	✓
SOUND QUALITY	has active noise cancellation (noise control)	✓	✗
	has passive noise reduction	✓	✓
	driver unit size	9.2mm	9.2mm
	lowest frequency	10Hz	20Hz
	highest frequency	20000Hz	20000Hz
	sound pressure level	✗	110dB/mW
POWER	battery life	4.5hours	6hours
	battery life of charging case	18hours	9hours
	charge time	3hours	✗
	has wireless charging	✓	✓
	has a battery level indicator	✓	✓
CONNECTIVITY	has usb type-c	✓	✓
	bluetooth version	v5	v4.2
	maximum bluetooth range	10meters	10meters
	has aac	✓	✓
	has aptx adaptive	✓	✓
	has aptx hd	✓	✗
MICROPHONE	number of microphones	6only	2only
MICROPHONE	has a noise-canceling microphone	✓	✗
EXTRAS	has ambient sound mode	✓	✓
	has in/on-ear detection	✓	✗
	has find earbuds feature	✓	✓
	supports fast charging	✓	✓
	multipoint count	✗	2only
	has a mute function	✓	✓
	control panel placed on a device	✓	✓
	has voice prompts	✓	✓
	travel bag is included	✓	✓
		See price on Amazon

A Review By Comparison of the Ultimate Ears Drops Vs. Bowers & Wilkins Pi7

Reasons why you might like the Bowers & Wilkins PI7

Reasons why you might like the Ultimate Ears Drops

A summary of the review by feature comparison

A breakdown of the review per specifications

Design

Ingress Protection (Ip) Rating

Weight

Has No Wires Or Cables

Wingtips Included

Sweat Resistance

Is Dust Proof And Water-Resistant

Has Stereo Speakers

Sound Quality

Has Active Noise Cancellation (Noise Control)

Has Passive Noise Reduction

Driver Unit Size

Lowest Frequency

Highest Frequency

Sound Pressure Level

Power

Battery Life

Battery Life Of Charging Case

Charge Time

Has Wireless Charging

Has A Battery Level Indicator

Connectivity

Has Usb Type-C

Bluetooth Version

Maximum Bluetooth Range

Has Aac

Has Aptx Adaptive

Has Aptx Hd

Microphone

Number Of Microphones

Has A Noise-Canceling Microphone

Extras

Has Ambient Sound Mode

Has In/On-Ear Detection

Has Find Earbuds Feature

Supports Fast Charging

Multipoint Count

Has A Mute Function

Control Panel Placed On A Device

Has Voice Prompts

Travel Bag Is Included

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