In keeping with its iconic design language and honoring its most famous speaker, Devialet revealed the Gemini II, a pair of TWS earbuds that puts the company’s signature sound in a tiny, portable format that fits in each ear. The beauty, aside from its sound, lies in the fact that each Gemini II earbud looks like a miniature version of the company’s Phantom speaker, creating a visual call-back that isn’t just adorable, it’s also a reminder that each earbud actually packs a punch… and that comes as no surprise, given that Devialet is one of the most awarded audio tech companies on the planet.
Designer: Devialet
Venturing into the earbud space after multiple award-winning speakers and soundbars, Devialet hopes to capture a larger audience with its ‘more affordable’ offering. At €399 ($425), the Gemini II is certainly a pocket-pincher, but it’s still the most budget offering in Devialet’s catalog. The TWS earbuds are also a great way for the company to maintain profitability, given their high margins.
Devialet debuted the Gemini nearly 3 years ago… and with the Gemini II, the company has addressed quite a few upgrades and improvements. For starters, the earbuds are now 22% smaller than their predecessors, weighing only 6 grams a pop, and come with 4 ear-tips to fit a wide range of ear sizes. Titanium drivers power the insides, and the earbuds offer a whopping 40dB of attenuation with their ANC mode.
The Gemini II’s ANC is powered by their company’s secret combination of design and software engineering, which also offers Active Wind Reduction and Internal Delay Compensation. The wind reduction feature relies on a clever bit of engineering that hides the microphone away from wind-prone parts of the earbud, behind an ‘anti-wind’ material. On the software front, wind detection algorithms smartly control Adaptive Noise Cancellation and Transparency intensity according to your environment. As a feature, noise cancellation usually results in a minute delay, but Devialet’s patented algorithm perfectly compensates for it, resulting in a significant gain in noise cancellation, especially at higher frequencies.
The charging case is also a significant 40% smaller than the first-gen Gemini, with a newer design that’s much more reminiscent of a TWS earbud case. While some would probably opine that the previous generation’s case was a little too experimental/sculptural to actually be handy, the Gemini II fixes that with a conventional flip-top case that reveals the two earbuds inside. The case is also adorned by a metallic band that sports the Devialet branding, including a special-edition Opéra de Paris version with a gilded belt and golden segments inside the earbuds.
The Gemini II runs Bluetooth 5.2 which allows it to connect to two devices at the same time. Devialet boasts that the Gemini II offers 22 hours of playback with the charging case, is IPx4 water and sweat resistance, has USB-C as well as Qi-supported wireless charging, and also comes with a companion smartphone app that allows you to configure EQ settings, ANC, transparency mode, and more.
