Kishore Bhargava

1MORE is steadily and surely making a mark in the Indian audio space. Their wired headphones brought a very clear and balanced sound and it is good to see that with their first true wireless earbuds they are doing the same. For brevity lets just call them the 1MORE TWS-I for that is how they show up when paired with a device.

1MORE pays close attention to design and many of their products have award winning designs. In the case of the TWS, they do lack a little bit. The buds are a little larger than most others and almost like bluetooth headsets of yore for use with mobile phones. They do come in a nice egg-shaped case which has a little button to pop open the lid, but the case is also a little bulky. The biggest advantage of the bulk does seem to translate to better battery life. But more on that later.

In terms of features, the earbuds are a little sparse. They have the basic functions that one would expect. An interesting option is the master-slave, master-master approach. Allowing each bud to be separately paired for calls or combined for a more immersive stereo sound. A single button on the top allows for pause, play, next and previous track control. Also, in paused mode, a double-click will allow the voice assistant to pop-up and it does support both Android and iOS. No additional software is required to tweak the sound profile or control the earbuds as is very common these days.

Comfort and sound are probably the most important elements of a pair of earbuds. The TWS-I come with multiple sizes for ear tips as well as ear hooks. You may need to go through several combinations before you land on the fit that suits you most and it may be a combination of large tips and smaller or medium ear hooks. Everyone’s ears are different and spending a little time on getting the right fit goes a long way. Once you have the best fit, you will find the earbuds quite comfortable. Even though they are a little large, or rather larger than many others out there, they are very lightweight and sit quite well without falling off. A good fit also ensures noise-isolation and improves sound quality. The sound itself is quite amazing. It is a clean audiophile profile. Unfortunately, that may not suit a larger audience, but those who appreciate a clean sound will love the earbuds. Very good reproduction of a variety of music, including Western Classical, Jazz, Hindustani Classical and many other genres.

Not sure if it would suit Bollywood though. Where it does lack is in the audio quality for phone calls. There are times when the recipients of calls may complain of a muffled voice and ask you to repeat, but for music, and podcasts very apt. The earbuds do also support Bluetooth 5 along with aptX and AAC allowing for higher-resolution music files to be streamed easily.

Finally, battery life. The earbuds give you about 5-6 hours of continuous use and within 15 minutes are fully charged and ready to go again. The case provides nearly 16-17 hours of charge. In real world terms, this basically means that any time you pick the earbuds out of the case, they are fully charged and ready to go. Not true in the case of many other brands including some highly priced high-end earbuds.

Overall, a great pair of earbuds for enjoying music or listening to podcasts. Not that great for phone calls though. A little larger profile compared to competitors but given the price point very good value for money.

Price: ₹5,499

Pros: Great sound, good battery life, simple controls.

Cons: Styling could be improved, not great for calls

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