The Xiaomi Buds 5 follow a standard earbud fit and are fully wireless, with no neckband or wingtip attachments included. Each earbud weighs just 8.4 g and carries an IP54 ingress protection rating, making them resistant to sweat during physical activity. They feature stereo speakers but include no RGB lighting, UV light, or display of any kind, keeping the design clean and straightforward.
The Xiaomi Buds 5 use an 11 mm driver unit and cover a frequency range spanning from 16 Hz to 40,000 Hz, without relying on a neodymium magnet. Active noise cancellation is supported, though passive noise isolation is not. The earbuds are compatible with spatial audio and Dolby Atmos, while Dirac Virtuo processing is not included.
Each earbud holds a 35 mAh rechargeable battery delivering up to 6.5 hours of playback, while the 480 mAh charging case extends the total battery life to 32.5 hours. A full charge takes 1.5 hours, and a battery level indicator is present to keep track of remaining power. Wireless charging and solar power are not supported.
The Xiaomi Buds 5 connect wirelessly via Bluetooth 5.4 and support a solid range of codecs, including aptX Adaptive, aptX Low Latency, aptX Lossless, and AAC, while LDAC, LDHC, aptX, aptX HD, and aptX Voice are not available. The maximum Bluetooth range reaches 10 m, and audio latency is rated at 83 ms. Charging uses USB-C, but neither fast pairing nor NFC pairing is supported. Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast are also absent from the feature set.
The Xiaomi Buds 5 include a practical set of everyday features, among them ambient sound mode, in-ear detection for automatic music pausing, a find-device function, and a mute option. They support multipoint connectivity for up to two devices simultaneously and can be used as a headset, with controls accessible via a control panel placed on the device itself rather than an in-line panel. Fast charging is supported, and voice prompts are present, though notification reading is not available. A temperature sensor and a built-in camera remote are also absent. The package includes a travel bag, and the earbuds come with a one-year warranty.
The Xiaomi Buds 5 are equipped with a total of six microphones, and the microphone system includes noise cancellation to help reduce unwanted background sound during calls and voice interactions.