What to know

  • Boat Airdopes 311 Pro and Boat Airdopes 141 are very similar TWS earbuds available under a thousand rupees.
  • The main differences between the two lie in terms of design, sound, battery life, and the case itself. 
  • Boat Airdopes 311 Pro are beautiful to look at, have better battery life, and a gaming mode with 50ms lag. But they are largely bass-less, and can be cumbersome when putting the earbuds back in the case.
  • Boat Airdopes 141 are good for heavy music, have a battery indicator on the case, and are easily returned to the case. But the case itself is bland, the hinge unreliable, and gaming (80ms lag) impractical.
  • Overall, Airdopes 311 Pro are better than their older cousin, but only very slightly. 

Choosing TWS earbuds is like finding a needle in the haystack. And in the budget segment (under thousand rupees), the needle tends to be much smaller, and the haystack way bigger. Even if you narrow down the choices, picking through the differences is a little like splitting hairs. From sound to design to battery-levels, most features are often there or thereabouts. 

Fortunately, if you’re comparing the older Boat Airdopes 141 with the newer Boat Airdopes 311 Pro, the task is a little easier. Even though the two are close cousins, they couldn’t be more different from each other.

Here’s a complete feature by feature analysis of the Boat Airdopes 311 Pro and the Boat Airdopes 141. 

Boat Airdopes 311 Pro vs Boat Airdopes 141

More than the actual features, Airdopes 311 Pro and Airdopes 141 espouse two different modes of using TWS earbuds. Depending on what you prefer, and how you’re going to use your earbuds, you will find a clear winner in the comparison below.

Sound – Two very different profiles

As I highlighted in the standalone reviews, sound is not the strong suit of either the Boat Airdopes 311 Pro or the Boat Airdopes 141. 

With 10mm and 8mm drivers respectively, they just don’t have what it takes to blow you away. But even though their sound profiles can be divisive, they do make a case for themselves individually.  

The former, and also more recently launched Boat Airdopes 311 Pro tend to perform better for genres of music that don’t depend on a lot of bass. Think classical, ambient, pop, jazz, bluegrass, reggae, etc. It’s not as if there’s no bass at all. It’s just not as present on the Airdopes 311 Pro as on other similar TWS earbuds under a thousand bucks, which also makes them less than ideal for consuming movies. 

On the other hand, the older Boat Airdopes 141 have an extreme sound that is overdriven to the point of being distorted at times. This may work for rock, metal, grunge and genres of that ilk. But not for softer genres.

At least in terms of sound, Airdopes 311 Pro and Airdopes 141 neatly differentiate themselves into two silos. So if you want clean treble-oriented sound, 311 Pro is the way to go. And if you want slightly bass-heavy, distorted sounds, the 141s are for you.

Battery – Pro takes the cake

Although neither of the two TWS earbuds are particularly exceptional in terms of battery life, the newer Airdopes 311 Pro are slightly better. My testing pegged the Airdopes 311 Pro at 6-hrs of non-stop playback at full volume – which is not a lot, but it’s 25% more than Airdopes 141 that die after 4.5-hrs with the same settings.

It’s a major difference that could tilt your preferences in one direction for good. But if that sours your taste, both earbuds have fast charging that should get you about 100 mins of playtime with a 10-min charge. 

Design – Beauty vs practicality

If looks could kill, Boat Airdopes 311 Pro are definitely going behind bars. They’re easily one of the most beautiful earbuds that you can get under a thousand bucks. From the transparent plastic to the matte-finish on the case (gloss on the earbuds) to the consistent coloring throughout, there’s something very premium about the Boat Airdopes 311 Pro. They are sure to turn heads at parties, that’s for sure. 

However, their good looks come at the price of some practicality. For instance, returning the earbuds back to their case can be a frustrating affair. Everytime! The magnets don’t always align easily and you really have to focus on getting them in lest you drop them and lose the glitter. 

Then there are Airdopes 141 with their vertically designed case, a battery-indicator on the case, and a simple magnetic nest where the buds can snap-in and charge without much fuss. The hinge is prone to shaking and could have been stronger. But if you don’t fidget with it often, it should work just fine. They aren’t big on glam either, at least when compared to the Airdopes 311 Pro.

In terms of fit, both earbuds come out with flying colors. Though this can be highly subjective and dependent on the rubber tips that you choose to put on the earbuds, I did find the Airdopes 311 Pro a slightly better fit. Having said that, neither of them actually ever fell out while I was running and exercising, and both can take some splashes, light rain, and sweat without any issues. So there’s little to tell them apart on that front. 

Mic – ENC on the left, ENC on the right

Microphones on budget TWS earbuds are usually not their top feature. No matter how many mics there are, or what the name of the technology for environmental noise cancellation (ENC) be, it’s usually not going to make much of a difference outdoors. You will get noise if it’s windy and if you’re stuck in traffic, well, you might as well forget about it. 

Airdopes 311 Pro on top | Airdopes 141 below

Specifically, both the Airdopes 311 Pro and Airdopes 141 have a dual-mic setup. Given how ineffective ENC can be, having only two mics can be a problem on both the earbuds. It’s no wonder that both of them tend to fare worse than some other earbuds out there and can sound a little muffled outdoors. Indoors, they both work just fine. But there are no surprises there.

Gaming – Lagging behind the competition

Boat is just not the company for low-lag gaming. Consider the specifications alone: Airdopes 311 Pro (released this year) have a 50ms lag, while Airdopes 141 (released 3 years ago) have an 80ms lag. In a world where 40-45ms is the norm (even on budget earbuds), anything more is just not conducive to gaming. And it shows. Of course, 80ms is far worse than 50ms and if you do do casual gaming, in which case Boat Airdopes 311 Pro should be your pick, hands down. 

Specs comparison

Here’s a quick comparison of the Airdopes 311 Pro and the Airdopes 141 based on all the salient specs:

  Boat Airdopes 311 Pro Boat Airdopes 141
Release date 27th May, 2024 July 26th, 2021
Actual total playtime (Earbuds/Case) 6 hours / 30 hours 4.5 hours / 25 hours
Driver Size 10mm 8mm
Bluetooth version Bluetooth 5.3 Bluetooth 5.1
Microphone 2 mics with ENC 2 mics with ENC
IPX Rating IPX5 Sweat & Splash Resistance IPX4 Sweat & Splash Resistance
Transmission Range 10m 10m
Latency 50ms 80ms
Price Rs 999 Rs 949

The touch controls on the two earbuds are exactly the same. Refer to our reviews for them to know the exact controls. One noteworthy thing is that neither of them have any volume control. It’s a big miss but one that doesn’t impact this showdown in any real way. 

Real world usage

Commonalities abound between Boat Airdopes 311 Pro and Airdopes 141. But the differences are in no way minor. Be it in terms of sound, design, battery, or gaming – there’s a lot where both Airdopes pull away to make a case for themselves. However, the two biggest categories that potential buyers should consider is sound and design. Everything else – gaming, mics, battery, fit and comfort – all these things can be skirted around and may not make a huge difference. 

Final Verdict

If you prefer having earbuds that are gorgeous to look at, have decent sound, and can last long, Boat Airdopes 311 Pro are for you. But if you want some bass, a crunchy, distorted sound, like having a battery indicator on the case, and can get around the bland looks, there’s a case to be made for Boat Airdopes 141 as well. 

Overall, I much rather prefer Boat Airdopes 311 Pro because they stay on par with some other earbuds available under a thousand rupees. Unfortunately, even though Airdopes 141 have a lot going for them, they have grown quite old and may not satisfy users enough.