TWS true wireless earphones - under $100
THREE STARS - The 1more ColorBuds shines when it comes to comfort and music, but it's a minimal offering for the money, held back by limited controls and pairing issues.
1more ColorBuds specs:
Bluetooth 5.0 with AptX and AAC codec
IPX5 waterproof rating (rain and sweat resistant)
6 hours listening on a full charge
Charging case can charge earpieces fully 3 times
Comes with 3 sizes ear tips and USB-C cable
$90 on Amazon US, Amazon Germany or other Amazon stores - check price!
Below this 1more ColorBuds review, you will find comparisons between the 1more ColorBuds and 1more Stylish TWS, Fiil T1XS, Edifier TWS NB2, and Enacfire E60.
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Design, comfort and battery life
1more advertises their ColorBuds - available in black and more colors like green and pink - as exceptionally comfortable wireless earphones. Especially switching over from the 1more Stylish TWS and 1more E1029BT wireless earphones, that's a fair statement.
Unlike those previous models, the ColorBuds stick way less out of your ears. The inside of the earpieces is compact and round and stays comfortable yet tight enough in your ears. As you walk, you may feel the buds resonating in your inner-ears a bit, but smiling broadly or shaking your head doesn't alter the fit. The ColorBuds feels fine to wear for hours.
You will wear them for hours too, likely. The earbuds offer up to 6 hours playtime on a single charge, average for the price, and plenty of time for a workday. Besides, a 15-minute quick charge can provide the earbuds two more hours battery. Their IPX5-waterproof rating makes them withstand rain and sweat.
Like the earbuds, the case has a nice round design as well. The shiny black finish is prone to fingerprints and scratches but remains its polish better than the Stylish TWS, which fades rapidly. The case can recharge the earbuds 3,5 times fully before needing power via USB-C itself.
Connectivity and controls
The lack of controls and connectivity are the bottleneck of the 1more ColorBuds. It's possible to play and pause music with two taps on either of the buds. By tapping three times, you can activate the voice assistant.
That's it. That's all there is.
There are no possibilities to change tracks on the earbuds and no volume controls as well. While 1more doesn't communicate it at all - not on the box, not in the instruction manual - there is an app available for Android and iPhone, with which you can change the controls. More on the app later.
Unfortunately, the controls don't respond very well, as pausing is not always registered and sometimes mistaken for the voice-assistant activation. It occurs regularly that the controls on one of the earbuds stop working until you put it back in the case.
It's also impossible to turn the earbuds on by long-pressing them… and this is a problem.
Nearly half of the time during the test period with the 1more ColorBuds, only one earbud would turn on after picking them out of the case. Sometimes, the other bud would join after 5 to 20 seconds. Other times, you can wake it up by releasing it from your ears and putting it back in. But even other times, the only way to make both buds play music is putting the earbud back in the case and take it out again. Needless to say, this is time-consuming and downright frustrating when you want to listen to some music for your daily commuting.
Yet, you can switch between mono and stereo listening. If you put one earbud in the charger, you can continue listening to the other. You have to tap twice to resume music playback. When you pick up the charged earbud again, they will revert to stereo - hopefully, as the pairing issues also happen here. It's these times too, that there's a big chance on of the earpieces’ controls not responding anymore.
Now, these kind of connection problems were annoying on the first ultra-cheap wireless earbuds two years ago, but it's unacceptable on premium-branded and priced earbuds nowadays. Happily, updating via the firmware via the app improves on the issues a bit.
The music also automatically pauses when you take an earbud out of your ears. That's neat.
Calling and watching movies
It's convenient to take a phone call with the 1more ColorBuds, both indoors and outside. Your voice sounds clear and has warm underlining, making it sound pleasant to the other end of the line. When you're calling in a quieter area and not saying anything for a moment, the other will hear nothing but silence.
Calling in crowded, outside areas is also doable. Most surrounding noises, including people talking and (heavy) traffic passing by, sound reduced and much softer than your voice. Wind is suppressed decently as well. Passing scooters and motors do come with a peak volume, but it's only battling your voice for a short second.
Watching videos is a joy with them. Audio synchronizes perfectly with video on both iPhone and Android, including on the challenging YouTube app. There is a noticeable delay in sound effects in playing games, like there is on almost all wireless earphones (but not on the similar priced Edifier TWS NB2).
Also read: The best wireless earbuds under $100
1more Music app review:
Essential on Android, flawed on iPhone
It's a total surprise that the 1more ColorBuds has app support. There's no mention at all on the packaging, on the controls instruction slide inside the box, or even in the complete guide. Yet, you can download the 1more Music app for free on iPhone and Android.
With the app, you could try to update the firmware of the earphones. It doesn't take away the connection problems of the ColorBuds entirely, but the earbuds seem to find each other quicker when you put them in your ears. The touch controls also seem to respond a bit better, but they still don't react all the time.
(Android) Tap Custom settings and…
… you can change the controls (Android)
The 1more Music app also brings some extra features:
Smart playback options: Choose whether the ColorBuds should automatically pause when you take an earbud out of your ears, and choose if music should automatically resume playing when putting it back in your ears. You can also opt for no Smart playback at all. This takes away the biggest hassle of the earphones not finding each other.
Custom controls: The app also lets you change the controls of the earbuds. You can change the double-tap and triple-tap preferences. The options of the left and right bud are tied to each other. If you want to skip a song on the right one, the left bud should always return a track. You can't opt for skipping a track with the left earbud, and play-pause with the right one for example. Either both should be play/ pause, or one will return and the other will skip a track. However, it's great you can add skip/return or even volume controls to the earbuds.
The result on iPhone
Unfortunately, it's (nearly) impossible to get it to work on iPhone. It needs both earphones connected at the same time (which is tricky, as written before) and when you do, the iPhone app fails to recognise the connected buds over and over. It keeps displaying the same warning: Fail to upgrade. Maybe it's no wonder 1more doesn't advertise the app.
Updating succeeds on Android, however, and here, the app is essential - it makes the 1more ColorBuds less flawed, and better in general.
If you succeed in updating the firmware on iPhone, please share in the comments!
Sound quality of 1more ColorBuds: Friendly
Leave it to 1more to bring a balanced yet energetic sound suitable for all genres and listeners. The ColorBuds has that typical 1more character.
1more has a weird thing going on in their sound signature. As with their other wireless earbuds, the 1more Stylish TWS and underrated 1more E1029BT, it's hard to discover anything remarkable about the sound these provide. They sound nothing special. Yet, this right there is 1more's quality.
There's something very easy-going, fluent, and straightforward to the ColorBuds' sound. All frequencies, from the lows to the highs, are represented nicely, without any tone overruling the other, not a single aspect drawing special attention.
The best example lies in female and higher-pitched male vocals. They are slightly forward and come with good clarity, but it's not just about them - they don't drown instruments, they're never overly bright, they don't have harsh volume peaks. Lower-mids too - whether it's male vocals, drums, or darker electronic tones - enjoy a fair amount of presence and sound clear. They bring warmth but don't color the sound warm.
The same happens in the bass. It's doesn't have the strongest thump, it doesn't shake up your ears from heaviness, but every aspect is just delicate. The mid-bass slam is quick to attack and the bass can dive lovely deep, and even in crowded songs, bass-layers are separated well. The soundstage then? Same story. It may be too much to speak of instrument placement around you, but the 1more sounds airy, and effects and instruments are coming from your left and right.
The little magic that does happen in the 1more ColorBuds, takes part in the mids, the middest of mids. It's noticeable in instruments like the guitar, piano, or trumpet - they have a tiny boost, sound slightly more prominent than on most other earphones, just enough to give them extra liveliness and more texture than average. But it really is the total picture why the 1more sounds so good.
So why not a five-star rating?
Sigh. That's because the left earbud of the 1more ColorBuds keeps making a high-pitched beep. It happens every single time after you pause music or video playback. It pops up a second after pressing pause and holds for nearly ten seconds. Not the white noise-effect some earphones have, but a soft, yet piercing beep. The first time, you may think you've blown your ears up - but it's a constant - an annoyance that always comes with listening to the ColorBuds.
The 1more ColorBuds has a rich, balanced, smooth, and energetic sound, all at the same time. It's brilliant in its straightforwardness - a blast for all music genres.
1more ColorBuds comparisons
1more ColorBuds vs 1more Stylish TWS
Listen to the previously released, sports-proof 1more Stylish TWS and the newer ColorBuds, and you can hear these are family instantly. They both sound enjoyable for all genres, with nicely balanced-out frequencies, warm underlining without being overly warm, and clear sounding upper-mids that never sound too harsh. The Stylish TWS does have more mid-bass boost, however, making it a bassier earphone. The ColorBuds are more refined in the low-end and don't sound congested in more crowded musical pieces. Call quality and video playback on the ColorBuds are better, and the slimmer charging case is a bonus - yet the Stylish TWS goes without connectivity issues.
1more ColorBuds vs Edifier TWS NB2
At under 100 dollars, the 1more ColorBuds feels like a minimal product, and TWS' like the Edifier TWS NB2 are why. It's just as expensive, but it boasts active noise cancelling, an Ambient Mode that makes you hear traffic while commuting, a Gaming Mode that speeds up sound effects while playing games, and app support that lets you change all kinds of settings. The 1more has a more balanced sound, however. Music sounds airier, mids sound more natural, and the bass is less boosted. The Edifier has a stronger bass and sounds warmer. Most of all, the TWS NB2 is a more complete product for everyday use.
1more ColorBuds vs Fiil T1XS
At $60, another feature-packed earphone is the Fiil T1XS - crowned the current best sounding earphone under $100 on this site. The 1more has a bigger soundstage than the T1XS. It feels more around you, while the Fiil mostly centers the sound next and slightly in front of you. That said, instrument placement and individual instrument details on the Fiil are better. The bass dives deeper, highs show more nuances, and mids are even better represented on the T1XS. Whether its guitars, pianos, electronic tunes, or vocalists: they have more texture on the Fiil, instead of the now overall smoother 1more sound. The Fiil sounds richer yet fuller, the 1more a little laidback in comparison.
The 1more ColorBuds delivers clearer call quality in crowded outside areas, and battery life is comparable. Still, the Fiil is better suited for sports thanks to its sport-wings, has terrific equalizer options from the free app, and comes with more, much better-responding controls.
1more ColorBuds vs Enacfire E60
1more may be a master in bringing a friendly sound for everyone, but how special is the sound? Surely, there must be alternatives. The $50 Enacfire E60 is one of them, trading the tiny mid-boost of the 1more ColorBuds for a little more emphasis on the lower-mids, but also delivering a straightforward, friendly, pleasurable-to-all sound. It doesn't have the same call quality as the 1more, but also comes without its connection quirks. The Enacfire has longer battery life, higher waterproof rating, and volume controls - that also respond better. And even though the E60's earbuds are larger in your ears, they too can be worn for hours without being uncomfortable.
Verdict
The 1more ColorBuds shines when it comes to comfort and music, but it's a minimal offering for the money, held back by limited controls and pairing issues. The free Android app does improve the experience.
Three stars - worth considering
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I bought the 1more ColorBuds myself. My reviews are 100% independent and non-commercial. I test and review all audio products equally honest - read about it here.
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