WIRED
Capable of balanced, expressive sound; nice charging case; predictable amount of Devialet technologies

TIRED
Switching off noise-cancelling neuters sound; hit-and-miss touch controls; not that large-scale a listen

You have to feel for Devialet. Well, up to a point anyway. Here’s a company that’s built its not-inconsiderable reputation on products that are both high-performing, and – let’s not be coy – bonkers.
Just have a glance at its range of feral wireless speakers. Devialet values visual drama every bit as much as it values forthright, information-rich audio – and the Phantom, the Phantom Reactor and, most especially, the Gold Phantom cover both bases in some style. And this, of course, allows Devialet to charge a properly premium price.

You can’t do bonkers true wireless in-ears. True wireless in-ears are all business. Bose, a company as strait-laced as they come, catches plenty of criticism for its relatively gawky, relatively big true wireless in-ears. So Devialet has no room to indulge itself, not in looks and most certainly not in price. 

So how, then, are the Gemini true wireless in-ears to seem, you know… Devialet-y?
Well, the company has never been shy of an initialism or a patent to accompany it. So it’s almost reassuring to find the Gemini feature IDC (Internal Delay Compensation), PBA (Pressure Balanced Architecture) and EAM (Ear Active Matching) – but before we get into the nitty-gritty of these important-sounding features, it’s probably worth discussing the areas in which Devialet has had to bite the bullet and deliver a product that isn’t going to frighten prospective customers.
The Devialet Gemini earbuds are of the lozenge-shaped ‘twist to fit’ variety, weighing in at an unremarkable 6g and measuring a reasonably compact 15 x 18 x 33mm each. They’re built from a polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene composite (which is nothing like as dangerous or toxic as it sounds) and are supplied with four different sizes of silicone eartips. The charging case itself they come in, meanwhile, is of thermoplastic polyurethane (again, perfectly harmless) and is a manageable 58 x 74 x 31mm and 74g. Given the lack of opportunity for wanton design flourishes in a product like this, Devialet has seized the opportunity to fit the charging case with a most agreeable sliding lid.
The earbuds themselves are good for roughly six hours of action, while the case holds a further four full charges. An all-in battery life of 30 hours or so isn’t to be sneezed at – but neither is it the sort of eye-popping number that Devialet normally shoots for. Recharging can be achieved either via the case’s USB-C input or any Qi-certified charging pad.