Verdict: Haylou GT1 Plus
Our editorial rating based on product testing.
- Decent bass level, quality sound for the price category
- Compact size
- Good microphone performance for calls
- Great battery life
- Good fit in the ear
- Touch controls sometimes get in the way
- Missing LED indicators on the case
- Weaker quality – overall impression
Haylou with its GT1 headphone series is really climbing the wireless earbuds market at a very solid pace, and it already has 3 models in it: GT1, GT1 Plus, and GT1 Pro.
In this review, we’ll describe the GT1 Plus in detail and you’ll find out whether they’re really worth it.
We bought them here 👇
What’s the difference?
A comparison of all the previous models from Haylou. We can see a noticeable improvement over the first model.
| Haylou GT1 | Haylou GT1 Plus | Haylou GT1 Pro | Haylou GT2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Realtek | Qualcomm QCC3020 | Realtek | Realtek 8763BRC |
| Communication mode | single-channel | dual | dual | dual |
| Weight per earbud | 4 g | 3.9 g | 3.9 g | 3.9 g |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Playback protocols | AAC | APTX/AAC | AAC | LHDC/SBC/AAC |
| Noise cancelling | DSP | DSP | DSP | DSP |
| Battery capacity in the case | 310 mAh | 310 mAh | 800 mAh | 340 mAh |
| Battery capacity in the earbud | 43 mAh | 43 mAh | 43 mAh | 43 mAh |
| Runtime on a single charge | 3 hrs | 5 hrs | 4 hrs | 4 hrs |
| Playback time per charge with the case | 12 hrs | 18 hrs | 26 hrs | 15 hrs |
| Control | by touch | by touch | by touch | by button |
| Speaker | 7.2 mm | 7.2 mm | 7.2 mm | 7.2 mm |
| polyester membrane | biological membrane | polyester membrane | polyester membrane | |
| Water resistance | IPX5 | IPX5 | IPX5 | IPX5 |
Package includes a cable plus replacement rubber tips
The earbuds come in a small black box with a charging case, and inside are the earbuds. There’s also a charging micro USB cable along with two pairs of replacement rubber tips.
Overall, they give the impression of having that kind of price. This isn’t any premium piece, but it isn’t some random Chinese “fake” either. There’s a Haylou logo on the top of the box.
We’d also mention the charging case’s surface, which is prone to scratches – if you want it to look nice, you need to take care of it.
Better chip, battery life, and sound
If you don’t want to read about every detail of the earbuds and you just care about the main differences versus the cheaper GT1 models, here they are. A newer Qualcomm QCC3020 chip was used, which also provides better battery life with the same battery capacities.
Compared to the older generation, the earbuds have total battery life of 18 hours instead of 12 hours / battery life per charge of 5 hours instead of three.
The membrane has also changed, receiving biological material. The difference is also in the dual communication mode and the better APTX codec.
Dimensions stayed the same; they’re compact
Compared to the classic version, the earbuds’ dimensions are the same. The case has 6.20 x 4.00 x 2.72 cm and easily fits in your pocket. Inside you’ll find the earbuds themselves with touch controls.
The case also includes a LED for charging indication and a micro USB port. It’s a shame that there are no LED indicators for the battery status. The LED is also on both “pins” that indicate turning on and turning off.
The earbuds are very light (only 3.9 g) and fit well in your ears. You don’t even need to swap the rubber tips. Compared to Redmi AirDots or Xiaomi AirDots Pro, the feel of the earbuds in your ears is much more comfortable and they hold more firmly.
Awesome bass
With cheap earbuds, you wouldn’t expect such good sound. Haylou GT1 Plus stand out mainly for the quality of their bass. It’s great to see that manufacturers make qualitative progress even with such low-cost products.
Overall sound balance is a bit better than in the first GT1 model, possibly thanks to the biological membrane and the APTx codec from Qualcomm. They also got dual decoding AAC HD.
Battery life has been improved
The battery capacity for the earbuds and the charging case stayed the same, but the battery life is clearly better. The earbuds have 43 mAh and the case has 310 mAh.
In our test, the earbuds lasted up to 6.5 hours , while the manufacturer states 5 hours. The right earbud lasted even longer than the left one; after 6.5 hours, the left one was already dead, which is very interesting.
According to the manufacturer, the charging case extends battery life to 18 hours.
Touch controls sometimes get in the way
Haylou GT1 Plus also feature touch controls and their appeal is subjective. The touch surface, after all, covers almost the entire outer side of the earbuds.
Personally, we found this type of control bothersome, for example when running or exercising, where it caused unwanted touches while adjusting. Overall, we prefer mechanical buttons, which also provide tactile feedback when pressed.
So we can say they’re rather leisure headphones for use when reading or working at a computer. But thanks to their good fit in the ear, they can also be used while running,
Dual communication mode
In practice, it means that both earbuds connect to the device and there is no single master – controlling one. At first, we had to get used to it compared to the classic single-channel mode, but in the end we rate it as a better solution.
Pairing happens very quickly, and if you need to connect to another device, you just have to keep the earbuds pressed for a bit longer when turning them on, and they will then re-pair.
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling works great too – and even just the mechanical noise reduction with rubber bands is excellent. They use DSP technology like most headphones in this price range.
IPX5 water resistance
Another advantage is the waterproof certification, which means they can be used even in activities where they come into contact with water.
But this isn’t any kind of waterproofing for being submerged in water; they only withstand light splashes or drops of sweat.
Haylou GT1 Plus
TIPExpress delivery from a European warehouse—no customs duty and VAT.
This product will be delivered to you via express shipment from a local warehouse in Europe. Delivery from EU warehouses usually takes from 2-10 days and is handled by a courier. When it arrives, you won’t pay any additional fees—no customs duty and no VAT.
TIPShipping via Aliexpress Standard Shipping
For this product, Aliexpress Standard Shipping or AliExpress Saver Shipping is available. This is the most reliable way to ship from Chinese warehouses. Delivery may take 15 days to 1 months.
When ordering from the Chinese warehouse, AliExpress will add the customs duty in your cart—approximately 3,70 € per order. When you receive the package, you won’t pay anything extra.
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