“The perfect true wireless headphones for the masses.”
- Basic water resistance
- Great battery life
- Clear, aptX-enabled sound
- Compact charging case
- Extremely comfortable
- No ability to pipe in ambient sound
At just $100, 1More’s Stylish true wireless earbuds outperform Apple’s industry-leading AirPods with longer battery life, a more ergonomic design, and better overall sound. When we reviewed them in 2019, their combination of price and performance earned them our Editor’s Choice award. One of our only critiques at the time was a lack of volume control.
But as of March, 2020, an app-based software update has eliminated that concern: You can now control the volume too. Though we haven’t changed our rating, it’s safe to say we’re now even more enthusiastic about the 1More Stylish.
Out of the box
With round rubber earfins on the outside of sleek, oval-shaped earbuds, the second-generation Stylish model look identical to the company’s original true wireless offering, the Stylish TWS — a pair that debuted to little fanfare late last year, largely due to their abysmal 2.5 hours of battery life per charge.
The simple, ergonomic design was one of the few things the original Stylish TWS model had going for them, so it’s actually nice to see that stick around. The new buds are shockingly light and comfortable, and the earfins (which 1More calls “o-hooks”) mean that they never feel like they’ll fall out of your ears. With four sets of ear tips and three different earfin sizes included, you’re all but certain to get a great fit.
Another thing the headphones have going for them is color variety. The new model is available in four different colors — rose pink, gold, spearmint green, and black (the color of our review unit) — which means you can tailor your earbuds to your personal style.
No matter where I went — from long runs to lengthy bike commutes and beyond — the headphones remained faithfully connected to my middle-aged Oneplus 6.
Speaking of looks, the new Stylish come inside a sleek egg-shaped charging case that matches the color of the headphones, charged with an included micro USB charging cable. One thing I especially like about this model is that the company also includes a little drawstring bag made of thick plastic to keep the charging case and cable inside between uses. This ensures the headphones and their case will always stay dry in soggy gym bags or during rainy day commutes, and means you’ll never want for a micro USB cable in the USB-C era.
Features
These little earbuds pack a lot of juice. The 1More Stylish offer six and a half hours of listening time on a single charge (at 50 percent volume). That’s less than you’ll get from the pricey new Powerbeats Pro (which our among the category leaders) but it’s about an hour and a half more than Apple’s AirPods, and a half hour more than you’ll get from Samsung’s original Galaxy Buds — though the new Galaxy Buds+ are undoubtedly in a class by themselves at an astonishing 11 hours.
The charging case, though very light, offers an additional three charges, for a total of 26 hours of listening time on the go, which matches or exceeds just about every major player. There’s also a quick charging feature that will get you three hours of listening time with just 15 minutes of socket time.
Getting started with the new 1More Stylish is quite simple. Just open the case to put them in pairing mode, then pair with the headphones on your device. As with AirPods or the new Powerbeats Pro, you can pair with each earphone individually should you want to use one at a time, but unlike the what we encountered in the Powerbeats Pro, I didn’t have any issues with the 1More Stylish’s Bluetooth 5.0 connection in testing. No matter where I went — from long runs to lengthy bike commutes and beyond — the headphones remained faithfully connected to my middle-aged Oneplus 6.
Speaking of connectivity, 1More remains resolute in wanting to offer the best wireless listening experience possible for the money, and has thus provided the new Stylish with aptX and AAC functionality, meaning you’ll be able to listen to all your tunes in high quality.
1More hired Grammy-winning engineer Luca Bignardi to ensure that these headphones represented studio sound accurately.
Now that you can update the Stylish with volume controls via the 1More app — something you still can’t do with AirPods — we’re totally satisfied with the Stylish’s controls which also let you play and pause music, switch tracks (two for forward, one for back), answer phone calls, or access Siri or Google Assistant.
The one thing that’s missing is the ability to pipe in the sounds of the outside world. More expensive options like the Samsung Galaxy Buds and the Jabra Elite series have the ability to let you hear what’s going on around you if you want via external microphones on the headphones. That makes the Stylish less ideal for workout environments where you might need to hear pedestrians or car horns, though I will say I personally used them during bike commutes just fine, with my music at low enough volume that I could hear the world around me anyway through the thin rubber eartips. Like the Powerbeats Pro, another solution is to just connect one earbud for heavy traffic.
Speaking of working out, the headphones don’t boast an official IP rating for waterproofing or dustproofing, but 1More assured us they are sweat and water resistant, and I had no issues with the headphones even during my lengthy — and very sweaty — runs.
Audio performance
Sound is relatively clean and dynamic, with the added benefit of aptX lending some clarity up top that is lacking on many true wireless headphones, regardless of price — though iPhone users won’t get this benefit.
In fact, when compared to the Jabra Elite Active 65t and Apple AirPods, the Stylish had a bigger sense of musical energy and space to my ears, making them more fun to listen to overall.
I’ve been a big fan of 1More’s tuning ever since I first got ears-on time with the company’s outstanding Triple Driver model, and though the single 7mm titanium composite drivers inside the Stylish don’t offer the same clarity or vibrancy across the frequency spectrum, you can still tell 1More cares a lot about the way these sound.
In fact, the company hired Grammy-winning engineer Luca Bignardi to ensure that these headphones represented studio sound accurately — a feat I can personally say they accomplish, as I checked a number of my own home mixes for accuracy on the headphones.
With bold bass and well-balanced mid and high range frequencies, the headphones made all genres I listened to, from dynamic live jazz and country music to studio-crafted pop hits, sound just the way I expected. Sure, they don’t have the same musicality as Sennheiser’s $300 Momentum wireless model, but at a third of the price, they sound more than decent (and they also offer better battery life and overall performance).
Warranty information
The 1More Stylish are warrantied against defects in materials and craftsmanship for a period of one year from the date of original retail purchase.
Our Take
With a sleek design, great battery life, and an awesomely low price, the 1More Stylish are the best wireless earbuds you can buy right now.
Is there a better alternative?
The closest competitor from a price-to-features standpoint are the Samsung Galaxy Buds, which boast six hours of battery life, an IPX2 rating, and a wireless charging case, all for $129. At $29 cheaper, we’d still take the 1More model, which have significantly more juice in their charging case than the 7-hour case you get with the Galaxy buds, up to 30 minutes more battery life per charge, and offer equal comfort. For more options, check out our list of the best true wireless headphones.
How long will it last?
1More makes extremely solid products, and we expect these to be no different. They should last for several years of regular use, until the battery life begins to fade — as will happen with all true wireless models.
Should you buy it?
Yes. If you need a pair of wireless earbuds, these should absolutely make your short list. There are no products right now that come near the 1More Stylish for $100, and very few that compete even at higher prices.
