Redmi Buds 8S Launch: Semi-In-Ear Design, ANC, Specs

Xiaomi’s Redmi Buds 8S go on sale today, September 22, 2026, at 10 AM China time, with a semi-in-ear design shaped using ergonomic data pulled from millions of ear scans and a claimed 70% improvement in noise cancellation over the previous generation. Pricing and colors weren’t part of what Xiaomi confirmed ahead of launch (per Gizmochina’s pre-launch report), so today is really about the design and audio claims — the checkout-page numbers should land alongside or shortly after the actual sale goes live.

What’s confirmed so far

The Buds 8S use a semi-in-ear shape — they sit at the entrance of your ear canal rather than sealing it off completely, the same general category as Apple’s standard AirPods rather than AirPods Pro’s silicone-tip design. Xiaomi says the shape was developed using ergonomic data from millions of ear scans, which is a common (if hard to independently verify) claim across the earbuds industry, but it does at least signal Xiaomi is prioritizing all-day comfort over an aggressive noise-isolating seal. Each earbud weighs just 4.2 grams, which is light even by semi-in-ear standards and should help with the all-day-wear pitch.

On the audio side, Xiaomi is using an 11mm dynamic driver with an upgraded multilayer composite diaphragm and a high-strength dome — a reasonably large driver for a semi-in-ear design, where the open-ish fit typically makes it harder to reproduce deep bass compared to a fully sealed in-ear design. Redmi’s own launch materials also confirm Hi-Res Audio Gold certification, LHDC V5 codec support (bandwidth and availability vary by the phone you pair it with), and five preset EQ profiles with personalized tuning options — a more feature-complete audio package than the earlier teasers suggested. The headline improvement is a claimed 70% boost in noise cancellation over the outgoing model, thanks to an upgraded noise-cancelling algorithm. That’s a notable claim for a semi-in-ear design specifically, since the open fit inherently lets in more ambient sound than a sealed tip, so ANC has to work harder to compensate — a similar challenge to the one Oppo’s Enco X4, which launched the same day, is tackling with scenario-based intelligent ANC instead of a semi-open design.

Redmi Buds 8S quick specs

Where the 8S fits in Xiaomi’s crowded earbuds lineup

It’s easy to lose track of which Redmi Buds model is which at this point, so it’s worth placing the 8S in context. The Redmi Buds 8 Pro launched globally back in February with 55dB ANC, LDAC support, and spatial audio — a fully sealed, higher-end design aimed at the noise-cancellation-first crowd. The standard Redmi Buds 8 followed with its own China launch around 50dB ANC and a roughly $29 price target, a firmly budget-focused sealed design. The 8S slots in as a distinct semi-in-ear option rather than a direct upgrade to either of those — it’s aimed at people who find sealed tips uncomfortable for long wear but still want meaningfully improved noise cancellation, a genuinely different use case rather than just a spec bump in the same product line.

That naming overlap (Buds 8, 8 Pro, 8S) is worth being careful about if you’re shopping — they’re not simply “better” or “worse” versions of each other, they’re different form factors solving different comfort-versus-isolation trade-offs.

Why semi-in-ear designs are having a moment

The 8S’s semi-in-ear approach fits a broader shift happening across the earbuds market this year. Fully sealed designs deliver better passive isolation and generally stronger bass response, but a growing number of buyers have pushed back on the discomfort of wearing a sealed tip for hours at a stretch — ear fatigue, that plugged-up feeling, and the awkwardness of not hearing your surroundings during a commute or a work call are all common complaints. Brands have responded with two different answers this year: fully open-ear clip designs that don’t enter the ear canal at all, and semi-in-ear designs like the 8S that split the difference, sitting at the canal entrance without fully sealing it.

The tradeoff with Xiaomi’s approach is that a semi-in-ear design still needs genuinely effective ANC to compete with sealed earbuds on noise reduction, since it’s not relying purely on a physical seal to block sound the way something like AirPods Pro does. That’s exactly why the claimed 70% noise-cancellation improvement matters more here than it would on a sealed design — it’s doing more of the isolation work through software and hardware tuning rather than getting a head start from the physical fit.

What’s still missing

Xiaomi HyperConnect handles the device-pairing side, letting the 8S switch between Xiaomi phones — including the recently launched Redmi Note 17 Pro and Pro Max — tablets, and laptops more smoothly than standard Bluetooth pairing, useful if you’re already inside the Xiaomi/HyperOS ecosystem, less relevant if you’re not. What’s still absent from today’s confirmed details: battery life and case charging figures, official pricing, and the color lineup. Given the pattern with Xiaomi’s other September launches this month, expect those to surface within days of the sale going live rather than staying unknown for long.

Frequently asked questions

How much do the Redmi Buds 8S cost?

Xiaomi hasn’t published pricing as of today’s launch. Given where the standard Redmi Buds 8 landed (around $29 in China), expect the 8S to sit somewhere in the budget-to-mid-range tier, though an exact figure isn’t confirmed yet.

What’s the difference between the Redmi Buds 8, 8 Pro, and 8S?

The Buds 8 Pro is a sealed in-ear design with 55dB ANC, LDAC, and spatial audio aimed at the premium end. The standard Buds 8 is a budget-focused sealed design with around 50dB ANC. The 8S is a distinct semi-in-ear design prioritizing all-day comfort, with a claimed 70% noise-cancellation improvement over its own predecessor rather than a direct comparison to the Pro model.

Do the Redmi Buds 8S have active noise cancellation?

Yes — Xiaomi confirmed an upgraded noise-cancelling algorithm delivering a claimed 70% improvement over the previous generation, notable for a semi-in-ear design since the open fit typically makes cancellation harder than with sealed tips.

What connectivity features do the Redmi Buds 8S support?

They use Xiaomi’s HyperConnect system for faster, more seamless pairing across Xiaomi phones, tablets, and laptops, on top of standard Bluetooth connectivity.