Mpow 059 Pro review: $25 Bluetooth headphones that are shockingly great

Bluetooth headphones are one of those gadgets everyone should have. Whether you're working from home, out on a walk, or finally getting around to cleaning your apartment, Bluetooth headphones allow you to escape into your favorite song or podcast without disturbing others around you.

The problem, however, is that a lot of them aren't very affordable. We've seen other brands respond to this by creating lower-cost alternatives, and out of all of them, Mpow has stood out as one of the most interesting. Its headphones are among the most popular on all of Amazon, promising great sound, battery life, and other features for a fraction of what the big guys charge.

The Mpow 059 Pro are the upgraded version of Mpow's immensely popular 059 headphones, and while they don't get as much attention as their non-pro siblings, they should absolutely be on your radar if you're in the market for headphones that won't break the bank. When you consider just how cheap the Mpow 059 Pro are, it's a bit ridiculous they work as well as they do.

Mpow 059 Pro What I like

When I reviewed the regular Mpow 059, one of my biggest complaints was the design. The cheap and glossy plastic resulted in a pretty ugly aesthetic, with sub-par padding making the headphones rather uncomfy for longer listening sessions. Thankfully, just about all of those complaints are addressed with the 059 Pro.

The glossy plastic is completely absent, and in its place we have a matte plastic construction that's ten times better. It's smooth to the touch, picks up very few fingerprints/smudges, and generally looks a lot more mature. You are limited to just one color (black) instead of the variety of colors offered by the 059, but even so, I greatly prefer the 059 Pro's approach to things.

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My pleasantries for the design continue on to the padding, which feels a lot more comfortable to me. It isn't the most luxurious I've ever encountered, but the 059 Pro proved to be very comfortable on my ears. Combine that with the easily-adjustable length for both ear cups, and the end result is a design that shouldn't annoy your ears any time soon. Rounding out this bit of praise, I'm quite happy with the playback controls on the Mpow 059 Pro. There are three buttons on the right speaker, allowing you to play/pause, control volume, skip tracks, and answer/hang up on incoming phone calls. Once you get a feel for where each button is, they're easy to use and press down with a satisfying click.

Speaking of managing your audio, I suppose I should touch on how the Mpow 059 Pro actually sound. The short answer — really good! Music and podcasts play with surprisingly nice clarity, not getting ruined by muffled playback that's sometimes found in cheaper headphones/earbuds. There's also a great deal of bass in songs that call for it, bringing the Mpow 059 Pro alive in a way that I wasn't expecting.

The 40mm drivers don't deliver the very best audio I've ever heard, but you shouldn't go into the 059 Pro with those kind of expectations. These are $25 Bluetooth headphones, and considering that, the Mpow 059 Pro go above and beyond what the price tag would suggest.

Finally, a couple of notes for some of the less-flashy aspects.

In regards to battery life, the Mpow 059 Pro are among the best the Bluetooth headphone market has to offer. They're rated for up to 60 hours of use per charge, meaning they have double the battery life that you'll find on most of its competitors. The industry standard of 30-hour endurance is already plenty for most scenarios, so getting 60 hours is just plain awesome.

I've also been pleased with the Bluetooth 5.0 wireless performance, which has been perfectly consistent for all of my testing. The Mpow 059 Pro paired seamlessly to a couple of Android phones I tested them with, never had any audio drops or cutouts, and handle video playback quite smoothly with virtually no sound delay.

Mpow 059 Pro What I don't like

You shouldn't go into a pair of headphones this cheap and expect everything to be perfect, because as much as I'm impressed with many aspects of the Mpow 059 Pro, there are certainly things that could use some work for its successor.

As much as I like the matte plastic over the glossy finish from the baseline 059 headphones, the overall construction still doesn't feel all that great. The plastic feels hollow, the speakers rattle around when you shake them, and my unit shipped with a few small knicks on the headband's paint job. There is a metal frame underneath the plastic to keep the whole package functionally sturdy, but these little things are constant reminders that you're using a low-cost product.

Also, while I praised the Mpow 059 Pro above for its sound quality (especially considering the price), you should go into these headphones with your expectations correctly set. In some songs with a lot of instruments playing at once, some of the finer details can get lost in the shuffle and create for a muddy playback. It's certainly not the worst I've ever head and still far better than I'd expect for the price, but it's something to keep in mind.

Lastly, there's the issue of charging. Like so many other budget headphones, the Mpow 059 Pro charge via Micro-USB. Some people may be perfectly fine with that, but as someone that's moved over entirely to USB-C, having to dig out a Micro-USB cable to charge the 059 Pro is annoying. It's mid-2020, folks. It's time to leave Micro-USB in the past where it belongs.

Mpow 059 Pro Competition

The space for budget headphones is one that's rife with competition, especially when you look at Mpow's other headphone options. The Mpow H19 IPO, in particular, may be worth spending a few more dollars for over the 059 Pro. They deliver improved audio, a nicer design, and full-blown active noise cancellation without being that much more expensive.

Going outside of Mpow's offerings, there's the LETSCOM H10. LETSCOM is another brand that's found an audience on Amazon for affordable audio gadgets, with its H10 headphones promising deep bass, up to 100 hours of battery life, and an even sleeker design for the exact same price.

Another great alternative comes in the form of the COWIN E7 ANC. The E7 cost more than double what the Mpow 059 Pro do, but in doing so, COWIN promises excellent sound quality, active noise cancellation, super-comfortable padding, and gives you a variety of colors to choose from.

Mpow 059 Pro Should you buy them?

Who they're for

• If you want quality headphones that don't cost a lot.
• If you like balanced audio with deep bass.
• If you want outstanding battery life.

Who they aren't for

• If you want headphones that charge with USB-C.
• If you need active noise-canceling.
• If you have a budget that allows you to afford more premium headphones.

Spending as little as $25 doesn't buy much of anything these days no matter what you're shopping for, let alone a pair of Bluetooth headphones. That's what you get with the Mpow 059 Pro, and by some miracle, they aren't complete trash. In fact, they're pretty darn good.

Assuming the cheap-ish design and Micro-USB charging aren't deal-breakers for you, everything else about the Mpow 059 Pro is excellent. The headphones sound good, look sophisticated, don't have any Bluetooth issues, and last a ridiculously long time on a single charge. I'd happily take all of those things for headphones that costs twice as much as the 059 Pro do, making the price tag that much more magical.

4 out of 5

You can obviously spend more money for better alternatives, but as far as your options go for this ultra-low price tier, the Mpow 059 Pro are among the best you'll find.