Creative Zen Air Pro

The Creative Zen Air Pro true wireless earbuds deliver outstanding call quality and strong ANC at a budget-friendly price, but comfort and music performance fall short. They're a niche pick for call-heavy users who can find them under $80. Everyone else should look at Sony or EarFun alternatives for a better all-around experience.

Let's talk about what these buds do well, because the call quality is a standout. The 6-mic array with noise cancellation puts the Zen Air Pro in the 98th percentile for mic performance in our database. That means your voice comes through clear even with background noise, which is a huge win if you take a lot of calls on the go. The hybrid ANC is also strong, landing in the 94th percentile. It won't beat the absolute best from Bose or Sony, but it's one of the better implementations we've tested in this price bracket.

Sound quality tells a different story. The 85th percentile ranking is decent, but in practice the 10mm drivers feel tuned for podcasts and calls rather than music. Bass is present but lacks punch, and the overall soundstage is narrower than we'd like. For gaming, the latency over AAC is noticeable enough that we scored them at 59.5 out of 100. They'll work for casual mobile games, but competitive players should look elsewhere. Connectivity is solid thanks to Bluetooth 5.3, sitting in the 87th percentile with reliable pairing and range.

Stacked against the Sony WF-C700N, the Creative buds win on mic quality and ANC strength, but Sony takes the crown for comfort and music enjoyment. The WF-C700N are simply more pleasant to wear for hours and sound richer out of the box. Against the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro, it's not even close on sound quality, Samsung's tuning is far superior. But the Zen Air Pro's mic array beats Samsung's for voice calls in noisy environments.

The Soundcore P31i and EarFun Air Pro 4+ are closer competitors in the budget ANC space. Both offer more balanced sound profiles and better comfort scores in our testing. The Zen Air Pro's party trick is that call quality, if you're on Zoom all day, these might edge out the competition. For everyone else, the alternatives are more well-rounded packages.

Value is tricky here because the price is all over the place. We've seen these listed from $50 to $876, which is an absurd range. At the lower end, you're getting excellent ANC and call quality for not much money. At anything above $100, you should seriously consider the Sony WF-C700N or Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro instead. Those alternatives deliver better sound and comfort for similar or less money. If you can snag the Zen Air Pro near that $50 floor, the feature set is hard to beat for commuters and call-heavy users.

The Creative Zen Air Pro buds are a bit of an odd duck. On paper, they pack features you'd expect from earbuds costing twice as much: hybrid ANC, wireless charging, Bluetooth 5.3, and a mic setup that's genuinely impressive. But they also cut some corners that might be dealbreakers depending on what you value most. If you're hunting for true wireless earbuds under $100 that nail call quality and noise cancellation, these deserve a look. Just know that comfort and music performance aren't their strong suits.

Creative aimed these squarely at the commute and work-from-home crowd. The IPX5 rating means they'll survive a sweaty workout or a surprise rain shower, and the battery life is solid at 9 hours in the buds with another 33 in the case. That quick charge feature is handy too, five minutes plugged in gets you a full hour of listening time. But the 10mm dynamic drivers, while Hi-Res capable over AAC, don't deliver the kind of rich, detailed sound that makes you want to close your eyes and get lost in an album.

We've seen a wild price spread on these, from $50 all the way up to $876 across different vendors. At the low end, they're an interesting value proposition. At the high end, you're getting into Sony and Samsung territory where the Zen Air Pro simply can't compete on sound quality or comfort. If you spot them closer to that $50 mark, the feature set starts to make a lot more sense.

Skip the Zen Air Pro if music quality matters to you, or if you have smaller ears. The comfort score sits in the 29th percentile, which means a lot of people find them fatiguing after short listening sessions. Gamers should also pass due to the noticeable latency over AAC. If you want better sound and all-day comfort in a similar price range, grab the Sony WF-C700N or Soundcore P31i instead. And if you see these priced anywhere near that $876 high end, run, don't walk, to literally any other option.

The Creative Zen Air Pro are a specialized tool. If your priority list starts with call quality and ANC, and you can find them at a reasonable price, they're worth picking up. The mic performance is genuinely best-in-class for this price range, and the battery life means you won't be hunting for a charger mid-day. But if music is any part of your listening mix, or if you plan to wear these for more than an hour at a time, the comfort and sound quality will leave you wanting more.

Should you buy these? Only if calls are your main use case and you find them under $80. For music lovers, commuters who prioritize comfort, or anyone who wants a more versatile set of earbuds, the Sony WF-C700N or EarFun Air Pro 4+ are better all-around picks. The Zen Air Pro do one thing exceptionally well, but they ask you to compromise on too much else.