The Skullcandy Dime is the company’s most affordable true wireless headset. Promising a compact shape, unique Skullcandy design and styling and good sound quality, the Skullcandy Dime is marketed as a compact option and is certainly small, light and pocketable, but like the Oppo Enco Buds It’s not much bigger than options like the Oppo Enco Buds. Specific weights for the earpieces and charging case are not mentioned, but Skullcandy states that the entire set weighs 32g. This is very light for a true wireless headset due to the plastic body and unadorned charging case.
The buttons control playback and volume. You can call your smartphone’s default voice assistant, answer calls and control the power and pairing functions. Occasionally, I had to remove the earphones from my ears to press the buttons, but I often found it easier to use my smartphone to control them.
The Skullcandy Dime charging case is quite unique in size and shape, but we also found it a bit old-fashioned and not to our liking. The stem of the earpiece sticks out of the hole in the lid, which itself is a bit flimsy and feels like it could easily break. I also found it a little difficult to open the case quickly when it is clipped closed. The Micro-USB port for charging is also a drawback at the recent price point.
Skullcandy has put a lot of effort into making the Dime highly functional at this price point. This is evident in the full set of controls, placed between the two buds. These controls are: play/pause/answer/end calls (press once), volume up/down (press twice), digital assist (press three times) and skip forward/back (press and hold). It is quite impressive.
The logo is also a button for executing commands. The good news is that these buttons create a nice tactile feel and are responsive when pressed, but the bad news is that they are not as practical to use as the pinch gesture system on the AirPods Pro. Apple’s buds are pressed by holding the bottom stem, whereas the Skullcandy Bud requires you to place your thumb on the bottom stem to stabilise it and press with the pointer finger. This may seem like a small detail, but there is a major caveat to this, and it is uncomfortable. Because the button is positioned in the middle, the buds are pressed against the ear with every press, putting unnecessary pressure on them.
At a similar price point, the JLab Go Air is bulkier, but has longer battery life and customisable sound. The Tribit FlyBuds 3, which costs $15 more, can be recharged from the case for several days and has an IPX8 protection rating, which means you can submerge the Bluetooth earphones in more than three feet of water.