Haylou GT1 Plus review: its biggest plus is its low weight.

Many consider the Haylou GT1 Plus to be Haylou's best wireless earbuds. These Bluetooth earbuds are hugely popular in China and neighboring countries. At 3.9 grams per earbud, they're as light as a feather. They're very comfortable, but the touch controls could be better. We won't give any more away. Let's get into this Haylou GT1 Plus review from Eardopes.

In this article

• 1. Haylou GT1 Plus: the facts at a glance
• 1.1 Sound quality
• 1.2 Fit
• 1.3 Microphone: calls
• 1.4 Earbud controls
• 1.5 Charging case
• 1.6 Battery: how long do they last?
• 2. Conclusion: our verdict
• 3. Alternatives

Haylou GT1 Plus specifications

• Price: €30-40
• Chipset: Qualcomm QCC3020
• Codec: AptX, AAC
• Bluetooth: 5.0
• Weight: 3.9 grams!
• Controls: touch control
• Range: 10m
• Case battery: 310 mAh
• Earbud battery: 35 mAh
• Cable: Micro usb
• Waterproof: IPX 5 (water and dust resistant)

The first thing that really stands out is the weight. We've never tested wireless earbuds weighing less than 4 grams each before.

Haylou GT1 Plus sound quality

Sound quality score: 6.5

As a general rule, the lighter and smaller the earbud, the less bass it produces. That rule holds up in pretty much every test, including this one. The bass and mids don't come through well enough to really enjoy your music.

Of course, the lack of truly good sound quality is reflected in the low price. The design clearly prioritizes a very compact size and low weight. But this part of the review is about sound, and there's real room for improvement.

Compare these with the QCY T4, for example, which is in roughly the same price range. Those earbuds may be bigger and have buttons rather than touch controls, but their sound is a clear step up. The Haylou GT1 Plus makes up for it in other areas, though. Their weight makes them hard to beat for comfort. More on that later.

Microphone: are the Haylou GT1 Plus good for calls?

Microphone score: 7.5

Each earbud has 1 microphone. That's exactly what we'd expect at this price. Their performance, however, does surprise us a little.

The microphone performs better in our test than those on other earbuds in this price range. The person on the other end can hear you very clearly. There's a slight echo to your voice, but we're willing to live with that. What matters most is that we can be heard clearly.

Where the Haylou GS1 Plus really shines is when there's background noise. Surprisingly, the person you're talking to barely notices the sounds around you. That's unusual. We're fans of this microphone, especially at this price.

Buy Haylou GT1 Plus

Fit: how comfortable are the Haylou GT1 plus?

The Haylou GT1 Plus are the smallest and lightest earbuds we've tested so far.

Because they're so small, the earbuds hardly ever get in the way inside your ears. Their very low weight also means they don't press against your ears. That makes them really comfortable. You almost forget you're wearing earbuds. A big plus for the Haylou GT1 Plus.

Fit: 9

This also makes them a great fit for children and people with smaller ears.

Here's how small the GT1 Plus are compared with a USB cable

Earbud controls

Like the GT1 Pro and GT1, the Haylou GT1 Plus has touch controls. The GT2, which came out before the GT1, has buttons.

Controls: 5

Because the earbuds are so small, you'll occasionally want to adjust them in your ears, especially just after putting them in. But a single touch pauses your music. "Hey, that's not what I wanted! I was just adjusting the fit."

Music pauses at the first touch

Even touching just 1 earbud pauses your music when you don't want it to. You can't customize the touch controls, either. Many QCY earbuds, for example, do let you do that.

At Eardopes, we get lots of questions about earbuds that pause music with a single touch. Often, people don't realize they've touched the controls and think the earbud is cutting out.

That's a shame, because touch controls can be very useful and practical. But for us, a single touch shouldn't trigger any action. Take the Eardopes B6 Pro. You can adjust them freely in your ears without pausing your music.

How do the Haylou GT1 Plus touch controls work?

No touch control for volume

Adjusting the volume is one of the most common things you do with earbud controls. Yet that's exactly the control missing from the Haylou GT1 Plus.

We did find a workaround. Tap 3 times to activate the voice assistant, then say "turn up the volume" or "set volume to 40 percent." Still, that's not practical everywhere. Do it on a train and someone will be complaining to the conductor before you know it. We'd rather avoid that.

We also couldn't always get the triple tap to work. Well, we could tap 3 times, but Siri or the voice assistant wouldn't activate. Instead, the next track played, meaning the earbuds had registered only two taps.

Battery: how long can you use the earbuds?

Haylou fitted these earbuds with the QCC3020 chipset. It's a good budget chipset from Qualcomm. The chip supports AptX and ACC, but it also affects battery life.

The Haylou GS1 Plus uses its battery very efficiently, thanks to that chipset. Each earbud has a 43 mAh battery. That's a lot for their size.

Battery: 7

According to the manual, these Bluetooth earbuds last 3.5 hours during the most battery-hungry activity: calls. That's a very long time.

You can listen to music for 5 hours on a single charge. That's longer than their siblings, the GS1 pro & GS1. However, the GS1 Plus charging case (310 mAh) has a smaller battery than the GS1 Pro (800 mAh). That means you get more total use from the Pro version before you need to recharge the case. The choice is yours.

The Haylou GT1 Plus charging case is much smaller than the already small QCY T4 case. The QCY T4 also has 90 mAh more battery capacity.

Haylou GS1 Plus charging case

The Haylou GS1 Plus charging case has a 310 mAh battery. That's less than its sibling, the Haylou Gs1 pro. But the GS1 Plus uses power much more efficiently, thanks to the Qualcomm QCC3020 chipset. The Pro version has a Realtek chipset, which uses a little more energy.

You can't charge the Haylou GS1 Plus case wirelessly. But hardly any earbuds in this price range offer wireless charging, apart from the QCY T2C.

It's a similar story with micro usb. We consider usb c instead of micro usb on a charging case a definite plus. Fitting name, right? But micro usb is still hugely popular with earbud manufacturers. That's most likely down to cost: micro usb is simply a little cheaper.

Conclusion: are the Haylou GT1 Plus any good?

Buy Haylou GT1 Plus

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Alternatives

Haylou GT1 Plus vs. other earbuds

Which earbuds would you like us to compare with the GS1 plus? Let us know in the comments and we'll get to work.

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Others also viewed:

• Browse all our blogs about wireless earbuds
• The best earbuds under €50? See our review
• Explore our in-depth blog about QCY earbuds
• And take a look at our blog about AirPods alternatives
• Also check out the 3 best earbuds for running
• Take a look at our hands-on review of the Eardopes B6 pro, too. They cost a little more, but the quality makes it worth it.