Apple users are trained to reach for AirPods. It’s Pavlovian at this point. But at a regular price of $79 or less — roughly the price of a single AirPods replacement bud — the new Tozo NC20 Pro does things AirPods 4 won’t. And Tozo launch deals get you these excellent buds for much less than the list price — currently $59.49 on Amazon, for example.
Tozo NC20 Pro earbuds review
Tozo is an up-and-coming, value-oriented audio company I’ve tried a few times in recent years. And it has come a long way. In a nutshell, here are the high points of the new flagship Tozo NC20 Pro earbuds: 80 hours of combined battery, touchscreen charging case, hybrid active noise cancellation (ANC) rated at up to 52dB and hi-res LDAC audio for Android users. As an iPhone owner, you won’t get every feature. But you’ll get plenty. You might even pick these over AirPods.
These true wireless earbuds feature hybrid active noise cancellation, LDAC Hi-Res sound, Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity, 6 mics for calls, 80-hour playtime, dual pairing, 32 EQ settings via app, IPX8 waterproofing and a wireless charging case with a touchscreen.
- Affordable
- 80-hour total battery life
- Strong hybrid ANC
- Multipoint connection
- Useful wireless charging case touchscreen
- Hi-res LDAC codec is Android only
Table of contents: Tozo NC20 Pro earbuds review
- Design and build quality
- Notes for iPhone users
- Sound quality
- Active noise cancellation
- Battery life
- Call quality and smart features
- Pros and cons for Apple users
- Tozo NC20 Pro earbuds review: Verdict
Design and build quality
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
NC20 Pro earbuds are compact — a rounded in-ear form factor that sits flush in the ear canal rather than protruding outward, with a short stem. Tozo ships them in titanium black, champagne, rose gold and titanium gray colors. At this price, you’d be forgiven for expecting flimsy, plasticky hardware, but the case has a reassuring solidity. It features a pebble-shaped shell with a tight hinge, flat base for wireless charging and a USB-C port and power/pairing button on the bottom.
The marquee hardware feature is the case’s LCD touchscreen. Where the standard NC20 uses a basic LED indicator, the Pro model sports a full-color interactive display showing the time, earbud battery level, connection status and a lock screen you swipe to unlock. From the screen you can switch ANC modes, adjust EQ, control playback and more — without ever pulling out your phone. It’s a feature that sounds gimmicky until you use it once and realize how much you’ve been digging into app menus unnecessarily.
Five pairs of silicone ear tips are included in the box. Getting the right fit matters — a poor seal in the ear canal will undermine both ANC performance and bass response.
Notes for iPhone users
This is the section Apple users need to read carefully, because the NC20 Pro’s best features come with a few iOS caveats worth knowing upfront.
Pairing is seamless. Open the case near your iPhone and the earbuds enter pairing mode immediately, connecting in seconds via Bluetooth 6.0. There’s no proprietary Apple H1/H2 chip, so you won’t get the instant one-tap pairing popup of AirPods, automatic device switching across your iCloud devices or Siri announcement of notifications. These are trade-offs for deeply embedded Apple users. However, you get multipoint connectivity for two devices (you can stay paired to both your iPhone and iPad or MacBook simultaneously). For Apple ecosystem peeps that partly fills the gap. But it requires manual management.
The bigger disappointment for audiophiles is that LDAC — Tozo’s headline hi-res audio codec from Sony, capable of transmitting up to 990kbps of audio data — is an Android-only feature. iPhone uses AAC. Sound quality is still excellent, but you won’t access the full resolution the hardware is capable of. If you’re primarily an iPhone listener, treat LDAC as a feature for a hypothetical future Android phone rather than something you’ll benefit from today (or maybe Apple will adopt a similar high-end standard).
Tozo’s companion app works on iOS and is genuinely useful. You might not even have to use the buds’ touch controls. But it requires creating an account, like almost everything these days.
Sound quality
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
Inside each earbud is a 12mm dynamic driver built around Tozo’s SDLC acoustic technology. The diaphragm combines a flexible PU base, titanium dome and diamond-like carbon coating. The result is a driver that is physically stiffer and faster than conventional designs, which translates to low distortion and a clean high-frequency response.
The tuning is consumer-friendly: elevated sub-bass, controlled midrange and restrained highs. This is not a reference-monitor sound signature — it’s tuned to be fun, full and energetic. Hip-hop, electronic and rock all benefit from the weighty low end. Drum kicks and bass lines hit with real authority (but purists shouldn’t worry; they you can adjust the sound signature via the app or touchscreen). The midrange stays natural enough that vocals don’t disappear, and the top end is slightly rolled off to avoid fatigue during long sessions.
Spatial audio is on board, using software processing to simulate a wider soundstage. It adds genuine width and depth to movie scenes and well-recorded albums. It’s particularly noticeable with orchestral music and film scores. On AAC via iPhone, the spatial effect is pleasing without feeling artificial. It provides a noticeably fuller sound.
Active noise cancellation
Tozo rates the NC20 Pro at up to 52dB of noise reduction using a hybrid ANC system — combining feedforward microphones (facing outward) with feedback microphones (facing inward) to cancel both external rumble and internal resonance simultaneously. In real-world use, the performance is genuinely impressive for the price bracket.
Three ANC modes are available: Deep ANC for maximum isolation (trains, planes, AC units), Leisure Mode for gentler noise reduction over long periods and Transparency Mode for conversations. Wind-noise reduction — often where budget earbuds fall apart — works noticeably well here. The NC20 Pro’s wind mitigation holds up in light-to-moderate gusts, making these genuinely usable for outdoor urban commuting in a way cheaper earbuds aren’t. When I turned on full ANC, the roar of a nearby highway just disappeared.
And transparency mode passes through ambient sound naturally enough for quick conversations without removing the earbuds — a small but daily-life-significant convenience.
Battery life
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
This is the NC20 Pro’s most overwhelming advantage over AirPods. The earbuds themselves offer 9–10 hours per charge, with the touchscreen case providing an additional 70+ hours — totaling up to 80 hours combined. The LCD display on the case doesn’t meaningfully shorten this figure according to testing.
For context, AirPods 4 offer 5 hours per charge with 30 hours total from the case. So NC20 Pro effectively carries more than double AirPods 4’s stamina. For frequent travelers, long-haul commuters or anyone who simply forgets to charge their earbuds, this is a legitimate quality-of-life advantage.
Call quality and smart features
Six microphones — three per earbud — handle call capture, with AI-powered background noise reduction. Clarity is solid on well-connected calls. In noisy environments, background suppression is competitive with mid-range earbuds costing nearly twice as much. NC20 Pro performs noticeably better than the standard NC20 on calls, particularly in filtering mid-frequency ambient noise like background office chatter or coffee shop noise.
In-ear detection works reliably. Remove one earbud and music pauses instantly. Replace it and playback resumes. Touch controls on the earbuds themselves are responsive — single, double and triple taps plus a hold command are all customizable from the Tozo app. Given how much control the touchscreen case already offers, you’ll likely find yourself using the earbud touch controls less than expected.
Pros and cons for Apple users
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
Pros:
+ 80-hour combined battery life — massive advantage over AirPods
+ Strong hybrid ANC for commuting and travel
+ Touchscreen case reduces phone dependency.
+ IPX8 waterproofing for gym and outdoor use
+ Pairs quickly with iPhone; multipoint connects 2 devices.
+ Exceptional value — ~$60-70 vs $129+ for AirPods 4
Cons:
– No Apple H-chip; no iCloud automatic switching
– LDAC Hi-Res Audio for Android only
– App requires account creation with broad permissions.
– Initial firmware bugs reported (resolved by update).
Tozo NC20 Pro earbuds review: Verdict
★★★★☆
For Apple users who aren’t entirely locked into the Apple ecosystem, NC20 Pro is a remarkable piece of hardware at a price that makes AirPods look overpriced. You’ll trade away seamless iCloud switching and LDAC hi-res audio — real sacrifices, honestly — but you’ll gain more than you lose. That includes class-leading battery life, a genuinely smart touchscreen case and ANC that competes with earbuds charging twice the price.
If you’re a diehard iPhone user who wants every possible Apple integration baked in, get AirPods or Beats earbuds. If you want more audio hardware for your money and can accept a few ecosystem trade-offs, NC20 Pro earns a confident recommendation.
These true wireless earbuds feature hybrid active noise cancellation, LDAC Hi-Res sound, Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity, 6 mics for calls, 80-hour playtime, dual pairing, 32 EQ settings via app, IPX8 waterproofing and a wireless charging case with a touchscreen.
- Affordable
- 80-hour total battery life
- Strong hybrid ANC
- Multipoint connection
- Useful wireless charging case touchscreen
- Hi-res LDAC codec is Android only
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
