The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a mediocre mono Bluetooth headset for phone calls. Its in-ear design isn't the most comfortable during longer sessions, and its 3.3-hour battery life is much less than the 6-hours advertised by Mpow. While the sound profile is very bass-heavy, it's decent for phone calls as most voices are detailed and clear, though some sibilants (S and T sounds) might be piercing and harsh. While its integrated microphone can't separate your voice from background noises nearly as well as a boom mic, its recording quality is surprisingly decent, and your voice sounds natural and clear. Unfortunately, it uses a proprietary charging cable, which can be a pain if you lose or break it, though it comes with two included, which is nice.
Our Verdict
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is mediocre for mixed usage. Since it only comes with a single earbud, it's a mono headset designed for phone calls rather than listening to music. That said, the bass-heavy sound profile is well-suited to most popular genres and has a slightly excited sound that shouldn't be too muddy or cluttered. Unfortunately, the 3.3-hour battery life is disappointing and likely won't last through an entire workday if your job involves making calls. Due to not having a boom mic, your voice gets drowned out easily by background noise during phone calls, though on the bright side, your voice sounds quite clear and natural.
- Decent microphone recording quality.
- Leaks almost no audio, even at high volumes.
- Easy-to-use controls.
- Disappointing battery performance.
- Microphone has sub-par noise handling.
- Proprietary charging cradle.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a mono Bluetooth headset and isn't recommended for neutral sound listening. Its sound profile is very bass-heavy and not very accurate, and its closed-back, in-ear design gives it a very closed soundstage. Overall, this headset is designed for phone calls and isn't the best choice for an accurate music-listening experience.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is only alright for commuting or travel. Its 3.3-hour battery life is short and likely won't last most flights or travel days. It may be okay for commuting, though its mono headset design makes it more designed for taking phone calls rather than listening to music.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone can be a good choice for using while working out if you want to stay aware of your surroundings. Its bass-heavy sound profile helps to keep you pumped up at the gym, and it feels stable in the ear. The earbud blocks very little background noise while also leaving one ear fully open, so it's a good choice if you run outside where you need to be able to fully hear your surroundings.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is only passable for listening to music at the office. Its in-ear fit may not be the most comfortable for everyone during long periods, and its 3.3-hour battery likely won't last an entire workday, even with breaks. Due to its mono, single-earbud design, it's meant for phone calls rather than music, unless you like listening to music with one ear to stay aware of your surroundings. On the bright side, it leaks very little audio, so your coworkers won't hear what you're listening to, even at higher volumes.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone isn't for wireless gaming. This Bluetooth-only headset isn't compatible with Xbox One or PS4, though it should connect to any Bluetooth-enabled PC. While its recording quality is quite decent, its latency is likely too high for most gamers.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a Bluetooth-only headset that you can't use for wired gaming.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a mediocre mono Bluetooth headset for phone calls. The microphone's recording quality is quite decent, and your voice sounds clear and natural, though it does a poor job of separating it from background noises. Its sound profile is well-balanced in the frequencies mainly responsible for most voices, so speech sounds very clear and detailed, though music sounds quite bass-heavy and muddy. Unfortunately, the 3.3-hour battery life is disappointing and likely won't last a full workday if your job entails making phone calls.
Changelog
- Updated Dec 16, 2022: We've renamed these headphones from Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Bluetooth Headset to Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone across the site.
- Updated May 22, 2020: Review published.
- Updated May 19, 2020: Early access published.
- Updated May 13, 2020: Our testers have started testing this product.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone, though there are several other models available that appear to be very similar, including the Mpow EM1 and the Mpow EM16.
If you come across another variant, please let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a mono Bluetooth headset with a bass-heavy sound profile and a decent microphone recording quality. Unfortunately, its 3.3-hour battery life isn't nearly as good as other options like the Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset or the Plantronics Voyager 5200 Bluetooth Headset. Its microphone also doesn't handle background noise as well as a headset with a boom microphone.
Check out our recommendations for the best Bluetooth headsets for phone calls, or if you want something better-suited for gaming, the best wireless gaming headsets.
The Mixcder E9 Wireless and the Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone are for different uses. The Mixcder are wireless over-ear headphones for listening to music, while the Mpow is a mono Bluetooth headset for phone calls. The Mixcder also have a microphone built-in, which allows you to easily take phone calls, and their over-ear design is quite a bit more comfortable. Their battery lasts a lot longer, and they have ANC to give you peace on the bus or in the office. Overall, the Mixcder are a better choice if you're looking for a versatile pair of over-ears for regular use, but if you want something small and discrete just for phone calls, you might be happier with the Mpow.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone and the Mpow H10 Wireless have very different designs and are for different uses. The EM12 is a mono Bluetooth headset that looks like a single earbud from a pair of truly wireless in-ears and is designed to use for phone calls. On the other hand, the H10 are wireless over-ear headphones primarily designed for listening to music. They also have a microphone built-in, which allows you to easily take phone calls. The headphones themselves are more comfortable, and they have ANC to give you peace while commuting or in the office. Overall, the H10 are a better choice if you're looking for a versatile pair of over-ears for all-day use, but the EM12 is a decent choice if you want a single earbud for phone calls.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a better mono headset for phone calls than the Plantronics Voyager Legend Bluetooth Headset. The Mpow's microphone has a better recording quality, and the headset leaks much less audio. On the other hand, the Plantronics is more comfortable, has much better controls, a significantly longer battery, and a dedicated companion app with many customization options.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone and the Plantronics Voyager 5200 Bluetooth Headset are mediocre mono headsets. The Plantronics is more comfortable, has much better controls, has a better-balanced sound profile for voices, and has much longer battery life. Its boom microphone also handles background noise significantly better than the integrated microphone on the Mpow, and Plantronics has a dedicated companion app with a ton of customization options. On the other hand, the Mpow has a more casual look, and its microphone has a better recording quality.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a better mono headset than the Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset. The Mpow is more comfortable, has easier-to-use controls, looks and feels better-built, and has a better-balanced sound profile. On the other hand, the Steel's battery life is much longer, and the headset is certified IP54 for dust and water resistance. The boom mic on the Jabra Steel also does a better job of separating your voice from background noise, making it better-suited for noisy environments.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone and the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless are very different products meant for different uses. The EM12 is a mono Bluetooth headset that looks like a single earbud from a pair of truly wireless in-ears and is designed to be used while making phone calls. On the other hand, the Life Q20 are Bluetooth over-ear headphones designed primarily for listening to music. The Q20 also have a microphone built-in, which allows you to easily take phone calls, and the headphones themselves have ANC to give you peace while commuting or in the office. Overall, the Q20 are much more versatile and are a better choice for most uses.
The TOZO T6 Truly Wireless and the Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone look similar but are for different uses. While the T6 are fairly standard truly wireless in-ears, the EM12 looks like a single earbud from a pair of truly wireless headphones and is designed to use primarily while talking on the phone. That said, the mic on the T6 performs similarly overall, making them a more versatile option, as you can use a single earbud or use both to listen to music. The T6 have a less bass-heavy sound profile, though they do lack a bit of brilliance with higher frequencies. Overall, the T6 are much more versatile and are likely a better choice for most people.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a better all-around wireless mono headset than the TaoTronics TT-BH041 Bluetooth Headset. The Mpow features a more well-balanced sound profile, blocks out more background noise, and has a higher-quality microphone. It can also connect to two devices simultaneously. Conversely, the TaoTronics has a far more comprehensive control scheme, lower wireless latency, and lasts roughly ten times as long as the Mpow on a single charge.
We've upgraded our Headphones Test Bench to 2.0! This update brings several key changes to our tests and usages, making it easier than ever to interpret our sound results based on your personal preferences. You'll also find a brand-new interactive graph tool featuring multiple targets (including our own!) for you to explore and compare.
For a full breakdown, check out our changelog, which includes detailed commentary from our test designer explaining the rationale behind our update.
We'd also love to hear your thoughts: your feedback helps us keep improving, so join us in the comments!
Test Results
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone has a fairly straightforward design similar to some truly wireless headphones, like the SoundPeats TrueFree/True Wireless. It's very small, covered in glossy black plastic, and has a much more casual look than most mono Bluetooth headsets with a boom mic.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is decently comfortable. Some may find it causes fatigue during long sessions since its in-ear design enters the ear canal deeper than headsets with an earbud-style, like the Plantronics Voyager 5200 Bluetooth Headset. On the bright side, it doesn't put too much pressure on the inside of the ear, and it comes with three different tip sizes to help you find the most comfortable fit. Unlike the SoundPeats TrueFree/True Wireless, which is slightly curved, the EM12 is straight, meaning you can use it in either ear. That said, if you're looking for a mono headset but prefer an on-ear fit, take a look at the TaoTronics TT-BH041 Bluetooth Headset.
The touch-sensitive controls on the Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone are easy to use and offer good feedback. Unfortunately, it doesn't give you a lot of available commands and only allows you to play/pause music, answer/hang up a call, or reject a call.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is extremely portable. Since it's essentially just a single truly wireless earbud, it's among the smallest headsets we've tested, and you can easily toss it into any pocket or bag.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone comes with a good hard case. Unfortunately, unlike with truly wireless headphones, the case doesn't provide any additional charges. On the bright side, it feels like it should provide decent protection against drops or light rain exposure, and it can easily store the headset, both USB chargers, and the additional tips.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone's build quality is good. Both the headset and the USB charging cradle are made from dense plastic and should withstand most accidental drops or bumps without sustaining damage.
This headset feels fairly stable in the ear. While it lacks stability fins or an ear-hook, it's small enough that even with moderate head movements, it doesn't move around much.
- Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone
- 3x tip options
- 2x Proprietary USB charging cradles
- Hard case
- Manuals
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone's sound profile is very bass-heavy yet fairly sibilant. There's a lot of extra bass that brings thump and kick to music, though it causes some tracks to sound boomy and muddy. The well-balanced mids and low-treble make most voices sound detailed, present, and accurate, which is great for phone calls.
The frequency response consistency is outstanding. Provided you achieve a proper fit and seal with the included tips, you'll experience the same sound reproduction every time you use the headset.
The bass accuracy is poor. The entire range is very over-emphasized, resulting in a ton of extra thump, punch, and boominess in your music. However, this shouldn't affect voices too much on phone calls, as most voices don't reach these lower frequencies.
The mid accuracy is good. Low-mid is slightly over-emphasized, causing some voices to appear slightly cluttered and muddy, though the rest of the range is very accurate and natural. High-mid, the range responsible for most voices, is very well-balanced and even, so speech sounds present and clear.
The treble accuracy is okay. Luckily, low-treble, which is responsible for some higher-pitched voices, is very accurate and natural. Mid-treble is over-emphasized, causing some sibilants (S and T sounds) to be piercing and painful.
The peaks and dips performance is sub-par. There are minor peaks and dips throughout the bass and mid-ranges, though they aren't too severe and noticeable. However, the large peak in mid-treble causes sibilants (S and T sounds) to sound sharp and piercing in comparison to the slightly recessed high-mid/low-treble ranges.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a mono headset and has no stereo imaging.
The soundstage performance of this headset is very bad. Since creating a large and speaker-like soundstage is partially dependent on having a speaker-like pinna activation, and in-ear headphones bypass the pinna (the outer ear) and don't interact with it, the soundstage is perceived to be small and located inside your head. Their in-ear design makes them much less open than headsets with an earbud design, like the Plantronics Voyager 5200 Bluetooth Headset or the Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset.
This headset doesn't have any virtual soundstage features.
The weighted harmonic distortion of this headset is decent. There's some distortion at both high and moderate volumes, though it likely won't be noticeable to most people.
These are the settings used to test this headset. Our results are only valid when listening using these settings.
The isolation performance of this headset is poor. Despite its in-ear design, it doesn't block out much background noise at all. On top of this, since the headset only consists of a single earbud, the other ear will be completely open and not block any sound whatsoever.
The leakage performance of this headset is great. Even at higher volumes, it barely leaks any sound, and people nearby shouldn't hear what you're listening to.
This headset has an integrated microphone in the earbud.
The microphone's recording quality is decent. When on a call, your voice sounds clean, natural, and decently understandable, but fairly thin.
The microphone's noise handling is sub-par. Because this headset doesn't have a boom microphone, and the mic sits fairly far away from your mouth, your voice easily gets drowned out in even moderately noisy environments. If you want a Bluetooth headset with much better noise handling, check out the Plantronics Voyager 5200 Bluetooth Headset.
The overall battery performance is disappointing. Despite advertising a six-hour battery life, the battery only lasts around three hours off a single charge. While this may last an entire workday if you don't talk on the phone much, it likely won't be long enough if you're on the phone a lot during an average day. It also takes 1.7 hours to charge, so you can't just take a quick break to recharge it. Unfortunately, it uses a proprietary USB charging cradle, which can be a pain. On the bright side, two are included, so you can leave one in the office and one at home, which is convenient.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone doesn't have a dedicated companion app.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone has very good Bluetooth connectivity. It can connect to two devices at once, so you can easily listen to music on one device and answer a call from another or switch between your PC and phone without having to disconnect. Unfortunately, latency is high on every device, though it's lower on mobile devices while streaming YouTube videos. It's worth noting that some apps seem to compensate for this, so your real-world results may vary.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a Bluetooth-only headset.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a Bluetooth-only headset that you can't use wired. It comes with two proprietary USB charging cradles that don't have any inputs.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a Bluetooth-only headset and isn't compatible with PS4. It should work with any Bluetooth-enabled PC.