Homegrown accessories brand Play seems to be serious and aggressive with its product launches in India. The company’s recently-launched PlayGo N37 neckband earphone is a part of the strategy to showcase its prominence in the affordable segment. Priced at Rs 2,999, the PlayGo N37 Bluetooth earpiece has some interesting features, such as it’s ultra-flexible and can offer a playtime of up to 10 hours on a single charge, besides having a quick charge support. The neckband comes in multiple colour options with a dual-tone finish, and the one that I had for review is black and yellow colour model. Let’s find out if it’s worth buying or has the potential to compete with the similar offerings from other established players in the business.
Build and Design
The PlayGo N37 neckband-styled Bluetooth earphone is quite lightweight and flexible, although it doesn’t look premium. It has a plastic housing on both the sides. On the right, you get two dedicated volume buttons and a multi-function menu button in the centre to pause music or change tracks, accept and reject calls, or awaken the voice assistant. Besides, it has a physical switch that is used for turning on and off, which looks a bit outdated in today’s time. You also get a USB Type-C port for charging the earphone.
There’s a TPE wire to connect the neckband to the earbuds. If we talk about the earbuds, they are made of metal and plastic and have magnets on the backside, so they stay attached if removed by the user. As expected, the earbuds also come with two extra pair of silicon tips to adjust according to your ear size. You get silicon ear support, so they don’t fall out of your ears while you are using them. In addition to this, earbuds also have fins that ensure a snug fit. The neckband also offers you a microphone for calls. What’s more, the PlayGo N37 comes with an IPX5 rating which makes it spill and sweat resistant.
Taken as a whole, the neckband looks good but is not extraordinary. In terms of comfort, it’s definitely better than many others in the given price segment. The earphone fit perfectly in my ears and didn’t feel exhausting even after wearing it for long hours.
Functionalities
The PlayGo N37 is very simple to use and can easily be connected with your phone via Bluetooth version 5.0. You can turn it on with the LED button by switching it to the right side. The earphone then goes into pairing mode with LEDs suggesting that it has been paired and is enabled. When it’s switched on, a voice prompt indicates that the neckband has been paired and signifies the battery level – high, medium or low. You’ll not face any difficulty while pairing them.
As mentioned above, you can increase or decrease the volume via volume rockers, whereas the multifunction button in the centre can be used to pause music or change tracks, accept and reject calls, or awaken the voice assistant. To awaken the voice assistant, you are required to press the middle button for two seconds, after which it gives instructions to Google Assistant or Siri.
Performance
The volume and the sound quality of the PlayGo N37 are quite remarkable and on par with others at the given price point. The bassheads will love it for sure. The highlight of this neckband is 10mm EBEL (Enhanced Bass; Extra Loud) drivers which contribute to its rich sound quality.
The vocals and the mids are quite impressive, and you’ll love listening to music and watching shows and movies using this neckband. Even at the 100 per cent volume, the sound doesn’t crack, which is on par with the competition. However, in some cases, I noticed bass overpowering vocals, which you should think about.
Interestingly, the neckband offers a fairly good frequency range. The earphone is also good for making and taking calls, and you’ll not face any issue with it. On the flip side, the PlayGo N37 doesn’t come with active noise cancellation (ANC) feature, but thanks to the in-ear design, it cancels the external passive noise giving you a rich sound experience.
Battery
Having a 100mAh battery, the PlayGo N37 promises 10 hours of music playback on a single charge, besides ensuring three hours of music playback time with just 10 minutes of charging. In our review, the neckband lasted for around eight hours on a single full charge at full volume. However, if you want to get around 10 hours of battery life, you should use this earpiece at a little lower volume.
Conclusion
The PlayGo N37 offers a lightweight, ultra-flexible and portable design that can be used while working out or watching videos and listening to music. It’s quite easy to use and delivers an excellent audio performance. The battery life is at par with the competition. However, it’s definitely not premium in terms of build quality, but good for its price.