Page 4 - Conclusion
When I reviewed the 1MORE ColorBuds True Wireless in 2020, I described them as a set of "compact and lightweight Bluetooth earphones that deliver great sound and excellent battery life at a very competitive price". Today, we have the ColorBuds 2 True Wireless, which adds active noise canceling to the mix. Was this an initiative that paid off? 1MORE took almost everything great about the original ColorBuds and made it better with the ColorBuds 2. They kept the same compact and lightweight form factor for a comfortable fit, but with significantly improved sound quality. It is important to say the original was already pretty good, but the latest model was improved in pretty much every area its predecessor fell short. Like the ColorBuds, the ColorBuds 2 have IPX5 certification for water and sweat resistance, USB Type-C port for charging, fast pairing once you open the lid, well-designed capacitive touch controls that work, and IR sensors for auto play or pause, which are all great features. I also like the case's wireless charging support. Add on the 6.1 hours tested battery life with active noise canceling on and consistent, long range wireless performance, there is a lot to like about the ColorBuds 2 True Wireless. As far as the ANC feature is concerned, it will not blow your mind, but it does work in canceling constant low frequency noise. You cannot really turn it off though, which is kind of strange, as the only other mode is passthrough. As such, the quoted 8-hour battery life with ANC off does not exist. The tested battery life was also 6 hours in passthrough mode, which is exactly the same having as ANC on. It should be made to allow ANC to be disabled without enabling passthrough. Surprisingly, the biggest area of improvement I see for the 1MORE ColorBuds 2 True Wireless is the microphone. The previous version was pretty good, and the ColorBuds 2 is a big step back. For about $80, the ColorBuds 2 True Wireless is only an extra $10 than the ColorBuds at press time. If you do not plan to have many phone calls, the ColorBuds 2 is a great sounding pair of Bluetooth earphones at a very competitive price.
1MORE provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH equal.balance Award | APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 7.6/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The 1MORE ColorBuds 2 True Wireless, like the original ColorBuds, are compact and lightweight Bluetooth earphones at a very competitive price, now with active noise canceling and even better sound quality.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion
