We love everything about these Indy XT Evo earbuds by Skullcandy! This will be a long review because I want to talk about all the awesome features of these earbuds as well as give some helpful tips (especially for those not very knowledgeable about technology). I'm not super tech savvy, but my husband is, and even he is impressed by the quality and features of these awesome earbuds! They come with three sizes (s, m, l) of ear gels (the rubbery things that wrap around the tiny speakers and go inside your ear canals), and two sizes (s, l) of stability ear gels (the rubbery things that sit on the outside of your hear, helping to hold a slight tension so the earbuds don't fall out). These earbuds can fit a wide variety of ear sizes. You may have to fiddle with the different combinations of sizes until you get a good fit that's not uncomfortable, but that will keep the earbuds in your ears. We found a perfect individual size combination for my husband, myself, and each of my 5 kids, and we found that regardless of ear size and shape, you can make these fit your ear. I will note that my 16 year old daughter found them uncomfortable regardless of what we tried, but she may just be sensitive to earbuds or have unusually small ears. It also comes with a USB-C charging cord. You plug this into the case (while the earbuds are in the case) and plug the other end into a computer, laptop, or USB plug/outlet/charger. The only negative thing I'd note is that the cord is super small- just a couple inches. We bought a longer charging cord to use. When fully charged, the earbuds hold 6 hours of battery charge, and there's an additional 24 hours of battery charge in the case, for a total of 30 hours! So if you're at work, hiking, or out and about, fully charge your earbuds and case before you leave home. You'll get to use the earbuds for 6 hours before the battery goes out. Then you can place them in your case (in your purse, pocket, or desk drawer) and charge them using just the case! This is such a cool feature! And it's fast too! 10 minutes in the case and you now have 2 more hours of battery (or 30 minutes for the full 6 hours that the earbuds can hold at one time). And you can do this 4 times, for a max of 24 hours of battery life stored in the case. We've tested these times, and there really is 30 hours of total battery life! When you first get them, they will be about half charged already so you can try them out right away. "Pairing" (or connecting) them to your phone is super easy and took us less than a minute on our Android phones (Motorola and Alcatel). Simply put the earbuds in the case and take them out again to automatically activate "pairing mode". Then turn Bluetooth on in your phone, and click on Indy Evo, and click Pair. (Menus on different phones may be different, but the steps are still super simple and straight forward.) I can do everything with these earbuds! I can listen to podcasts, music, watch/listen to videos, and even answer phone calls! With a large family and lots of noise and constant activity, these earbuds are really helpful and way better than trying to hear the speaker on my phone in a loud bustling house. The audio quality is absolutely superb for music, and crystal clear on both ends for phone calls. There are 3 EQ modes: music, movies, and podcast, so you can personalize the audio to your liking based on what you're listening to. You can control lots of things from your earbuds with just a tap on either earbud itself! Most of it is completely intuitive, but there's a little chart included in the instructions that tell you exactly which side to tap (and how many times and for how long), to control various things like: answer or end calls, volume up or down, EQ mode, track back or forward, voice assistant, play and pause, etc. It seemed overwhelming at first, but it's really easy and convenient once you get the hang of it. I can have my phone in my pocket while running, or on the counter in my kitchen while doing the dishes, or in my purse when I'm taking a walk, and I don't have to access my phone to control my audio. I can just tap on my earbuds and control everything from volume of music, to answering and ending calls. Keep in mind that you may accidentally tap on your earbuds and inadvertently change the controls if you do things like play with your hair, scratch your ear, etc. Just do your best to avoid the earbuds. I've accidentally put the volume up/down, and ended calls by inadvertently touching/tapping on them. Some other cool things... They are sweat, water and dust resistant, so my husband can take them on runs and to the gym and I don't have to worry about them getting ruined from his excessive sweat. They are easy to clean with baby wipes or antibacterial wipes. Also, they do a great job of cancelling out other noise while you listen to something. However, if you aren't listening to anything and want to hear the noise around you (and waiting for a phone call), you can put them on "ambient mode" to hear what's going on around you, and it's just like not having them in at all. You can also just set these up to use only one earbud if you'd prefer, and you can use an app called Tile to locate your earbuds if you lose them. We've had these earbuds for a few weeks now and myself as well as several family members (even several kids!) have used these earbuds all day, every day and they still look and work like new. They have stood up to very rough and constant use, and they really are heavy duty! They sound quality is absolutely amazing, super crisp and clear regardless of what you're listening to. This is now at the top of everyone's Christmas and birthday wish lists, because everyone wants their own pair! I would highly recommend these earbuds to anyone! For the busy mom who listens to podcasts while cleaning, for runners and people who work out and listen to music, for kiddos who listen to audio books, for college students taking online courses, or a multitasking person who has to answer calls and work simultaneously, etc. Anyone who is looking for affordable, very high quality ear buds will absolutely love these! (I received this product as part of the Spark Reviewer Program.)
