Earbuds are slowly replacing wired earphones on the market and, companies like UGREEN, a Chinese digital accessory brand, have also entered the market with the UGREEN HiTune T1 TWS Earbuds. Is the UGREEN HiTune T1 worth it? Let's find out in this review.
In this article:
Pros and Cons
Here's a quick look of what we liked and didn't like about the UGREEN HiTune T1 TWS.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| ✔️Great design ✔️Excellent sound quality ✔️Comfortable to wear |
❌Weak bass ❌Low gain level of microphone ❌Lack of aptX support |
Specification of UGREEN HiTune T1
- Price: US$35.99
- 6mm graphene dynamic drivers
- Bluetooth: 5.0
- Range: 10m
- Battery earbuds:50mAh/ea
- Battery case: 500mAh
- Charging port: USB Type C
- Protocol: HSP, HFP, ACRCP, A2DP
- Frequency response range: 20 - 20,000Hz
- 4 built-in microphone
- Includes 4 silicone ear tips
Sound quality of the UGREEN HiTune T1
Out of the box, the sound quality of the UGREEN HiTune T1 is excellent. The high and mid are clear and crisp thanks to its 6mm graphene drivers. The sound it produces is rich and full. It's surprisingly good overall but, the only downside we noticed is the low tones or bass. Don't get us wrong, the low-tones are there but not to a point where it's strong enough to pack a punch.
It looks like UGREEN is aware of this issue that's why they seem to compensate it with the inclusion of what they call, a Superb EQ mode.
Sound score: 8/10
What this EQ mode does is that it changes the overall sound quality to a more balance preset with a stronger emphasis to bass. However, after using these earbuds for a week, the experience of enabling the EQ mode is the same as lowering the volume of other frequencies while increasing the low ones to enhance the bass.
When watching videos on YouTube, the earbuds tend to produce high pitch tones that can be overwhelming sometimes. Other than that, there's nothing much else to point out. Overall, the sound quality is great, as long as you can live with its low bass level.
How is the HiTune T1 for gaming?
When it comes to gaming, there's a noticeable minor delay but is within expectation. What this means is that, the movements that you make in-game and the corresponding sound effects are not perfectly in sync when using this earbud. This is despite having stable connectivity via Bluetooth 5.0
That's alright though since these earbuds aren't designed for gaming and it doesn't feature any form of latency reduction solution such as game mode.
Microphone: Using HiTune T1 for phone calls
When it comes to phone calls and online video chats, the UGREEN HiTune T1 performs best at average. Despite having having 4 built-in MEMS microphone, the HiTune T1 performs best at average.
Microphone score: 7/10
Below is a short recording where we used the microphone of the HiTune T1.
If listen to our recording, you'll notice that our voice is a bit weak. We are not certain what causes this other than the hardware performance of the microphones. Fortunately, our voice was still detailed, clear, and easy to understand.
So it is safe to assume that the quality of our voice in this recording will be the general quality that you will get if you use the HiTune T1 for phone calls or online conferences.
Fitting and comfort of the HiTune T1
The UGREEN HiTune T1 is by far one of the most comfortable earbuds we have tried on the market. It's shape and design is crafted well that wearing it felt like nothing. Like it perfectly fits on our ears and it naturally stayed there. However, it's not ideal for running or working out on the gym.
To accommodate different ear sizes and shapes, UGREEN included 4 different silicone ear tips; extra small, small, medium, and large. This, of course, already include the pre-installed silicone ear tip.
After using the earbuds for almost a week, we noticed that the silicone ear tips are smaller in length and wider than most. UGREEN could be improving their silicone ear tips to enhance the noise isolation performance however, doing so has also induced ear fatigue faster than most. After wearing them for 30 minutes or so, we already felt that our ears are tired and irritated.
Fit score: 7/10
If you're suffering from similar situation, we recommend to grab a pair of foam ear tips instead.
These foam ear tips uses memory sponge material that's more skin friendly and more comfortable to wear as it takes the shape of your ear canal as you wear them.
Controls and functionality of the HiTune T1
The UGREEN HiTune T1 comes with a touch control panel that lets you easily trigger functions by a simple tap or a combination of it.
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Power On | Touch and hold for 2 seconds |
| Power Off | Touch and hold for 6 seconds |
| Play/Pause/Answer Call/End Call | Tap L/R 1x |
| Next track | Tap R 3x |
| Previous track | Tap L 3x |
| Volume increase/decrease | Tap R or L 2x |
| SuperBass Mode/Voice assistant | Tap hold R / L for 2 seconds |
The UGREEN HiTune T1 doesn't come with an easy to use or user-friendly controls. You have to consult the user manual to understand how the controls work. Otherwise, you will find yourself confused or won't understand what going on with the earbuds.
Control score: 6/10
Fortunately, the earbuds already comes with volume control and voice assistant control. You don't need an app to configure that controls which is very nice overall.
How long does the HiTune T1 last?
Each ear piece of the HiTune T1 comes with 50mAh battery capacity while the case comes with 500mAh. The earbuds is rated to last up to 5 hours of continuous listening in a single full charge. Surprisingly, the ones we have here lasted us about 5 hours and 32 minutes which is way more than what it is rated for.
We're guessing that the earbuds are still fairly brand new thus the battery can last up longer than what it is rated for.
Battery score: 5/10
Considering its price, the HiTune T1 is kind of a misfit in this category. For one, we can already see earbuds on the market that can last up to 9 hours, which is twice as much of what the HiTune T1 is rated at. Furthermore, there are earbud cases out there that comes with a whooping 1000mAh battery capacity such as the Eardopes B6 Pro.
Conclusion: Our verdict
All in all, the UGREEN HiTune T1 is an excellent affordable earbud. It's a cheap way to replace your wired earphones or headphones without breaking the bank. Its sound quality is excellent considering its price and overall experience is outstanding. However, the earbuds are far from perfect. The microphone is decent but needs certain adjustments to improve its overall performance. It also needs some fine-tuning in the bass department since is SuperBass mode doesn't really increase or power up the bass significantly.
| Criteria | Score |
|---|---|
| Sound | 8 |
| Microphone | 7 |
| Fit | 7 |
| Control | 6 |
| Battery | 5 |
| Stability | 8 |
| Quality | 8 |
Other than that, the HiTune T1 has an excellent craft built overall and its aesthetics and design is great overall. It's pleasing look at and it's a good alternative to high-end ones like the AirPods.
Lastly, the UGREEN HiTune T1 TWS earbuds would be a great earbuds to have if you can find it or get it for less than its suggested retail price.
Hope we have helped you understand more about the UGREEN HiTune T1 earbuds. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, do let us know in the comment section below.
Alternatives
Alternatively, if you have a budget of US$50, then we recommend checking out the SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE.
The SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE is considered as the king of earbuds that are under US$50. It features an outstanding performance that's on par with more expensive ones and an excellent quality that's worth more than what you paid for.
You can learn more about this earbud by checking out our in-depth review of the SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE.
