Twenty-five euros buys you a decent lunch in most European cities, maybe two movie tickets if you’re lucky, or apparently a pair of true wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation from a company that’s been manufacturing consumer electronics for years. HMD just launched the DUB X50 Pro in India at ₹2,000, which converts to roughly $28.7 USD depending on exchange rates, and the spec sheet reads like someone accidentally typed an extra zero into the pricing database. We are talking ANC, a claimed 60 hours of total battery life, multipoint connectivity, IPX4 water resistance, and a companion app, all at a price point where most brands would be cutting Bluetooth codecs and shipping you mono earbuds in a cardboard sleeve. On paper, this thing looks like a midrange product that woke up in a bargain bin.
The budget TWS space has been heating up for a while, with brands like Baseus and SoundPEATS dragging ANC down into the 20 to 30 dollar range. But HMD is not a random logo slapped on an ODM shell; this is the same outfit that rebuilt Nokia’s phone business and is now pushing its own HMD branded phones and wearables. That context matters, because a known manufacturer shipping €25 ANC earbuds through proper retail channels hits very differently from a mystery brand on a marketplace listing. If these are even moderately competent, they start to reset expectations for what entry level audio should look like. The question becomes less “how are these so cheap” and more “what exactly are the expensive guys charging for”.
Designer: HMD
Specs first, feelings later. HMD claims up to 60 hours of total playback with the case, which likely breaks down to around 9 or 10 hours per charge in the buds and roughly five recharges from the case under ideal conditions. With ANC on and real world volume, you are probably looking at closer to 6 or 7 hours per session and maybe 40 to 45 hours total, which is still excellent at this price. Bluetooth 5.3, multipoint pairing, low latency mode, in ear detection, and voice assistant support round out the feature list. The case is about 51 x 65 x 25 mm and 60 g, so pocketable without feeling like a pebble cosplay of AirPods. IPX4 water resistance covers sweat and rain, not swimming.
ANC is where the fantasy usually cracks – cheap implementations either barely touch low frequency rumble or they attack everything so hard you get hiss and pressure fatigue. HMD talks about ANC plus AI powered four mic ENC for calls, which is the standard 2026 marketing cocktail. Execution is what matters. If this lands in the same effectiveness band as the Baseus BP1 Pro, which genuinely cuts down bus and office noise for around the same money, then HMD has done something very disruptive. If it behaves like the usual budget ANC that flickers every time the wind shifts, you end up with an impressive spec sheet and a feature you toggle off after a day.
The design story is predictably unexciting… but that’s not a bad thing. Stemmed in ear buds, rounded case, muted colors like blue and silver. This is classic HMD: hardware that tries to disappear into your life instead of screaming “new toy”. That fits their broader strategy. They are building an ecosystem now, with HMD phones, DUB earbuds across three series, and new Watch X1 and Watch P1 wearables. Picture a bundle in a Middle Eastern or Indian retail store where you walk out with phone, watch, and ANC earbuds for less than a single pair of AirPods Pro. That is the competitive pressure this kind of product creates.
Whether you should care comes down to your tolerance for compromise. At €25, no one sane expects Sony level soundstage or Bose level cancellation. What matters is whether HMD clears the “good enough to live with” bar: stable connection, non-annoying ANC, tuning that does not turn everything into a muddy mess, and hardware that survives daily abuse. Given their track record with sturdy, sensible phones, I would not bet against them hitting that baseline. If they do, the DUB X50 Pro becomes less of a curiosity and more of a line in the sand for what budget ANC has to look like from here on.
