Closer Examination

In the absence of any cables for their actual operation, the storage case included with TWS earphones is important since it is also responsible for charging the earphones. 1MORE has gone with a simpler all-plastic design with a soft-touch finish for the EVO case, and it's on the smaller side of things to where this is definitely pocketable. It is also black to match the black earphones, and the other color option will have a similarly matching white case. Note the pill-shaped nature of the case with its rounded corners at the top, and the flat bottom helping it rest upright on a surface or Qi charger since the case supports wireless charging, too. For branding, the 1MORE logo has been put on top, with the front housing a simple notch to open the case and an indicator LED below. Wired charging happens via the Type-C port on the back, which is below a flush hinge to keep the case clean without anything jutting out to potentially snag on objects. On the bottom are the technical specifications and certification information for the case. This is where we find out that the case has a 450 mAh/1.71 Wh battery inside, which is about average for TWS earphones, but excusable given the smaller footprint.

The individual earphones have a 48 mAh battery inside, which is even worse, but accounting for efficiency losses, the case should provide slightly over four charge cycles. Surprising is 1MORE's marketing citing a rated battery life of 5.5–8 hours per cycle and another 14.5–20 from the case only, which is under three charge cycles. The best-case scenario of 28 hours is not good enough for a flagship class TWS set in 2022 in my books, but let's see how battery life actually holds up in our testing later on. Charging the case is best done wired, with fast charging for four hours worth of playback taking 15 minutes with the case plugged into a compatible Qualcomm QC charger. Going from 0–100% takes two hours for the case on the standard 5 V, 1 A USB cable, and the indicator LED goes from red (<10%) to orange (10–90%) to green (>90%) when charging, and turns red when the charge is low. Opening the case reveals the earphones inside, fully charged and ready to be used. Notice the matching compartments with magnetic pins inside to securely hold and charge the earphones while in the case, as well as the dedicated indicator LED at the top of each individual earphone. The case takes an hour to fully charge the earphones, so these numbers are all in line with the 1MORE ColorsBuds 2 and other TWS sets of this form factor.


Be sure to peel off the plastic tags on the magnetic pins of the earphones or they won't charge in the case, and you'll likely notice your face reflection in the glossy ceramic face plate. This makes photography a pain, but I was reminded of the bulbous shape of the 1MORE ColorBuds 2. With the EVO, 1MORE is adopting an IEM design with the ear tips going into the ear canal instead of staying out, such as with earbuds. The shells are also shaped ergonomically to fit into the ear concha, with the thicker shells accommodating the various components inside without going the way of the Apple Airpods with a dedicated extension of the shells towards your mouth—these components are the PCB, Bluetooth chipset, dynamic driver system, balanced armature driver system, and internal battery. We have a predominantly plastic shell to keep things light, with a rubberized texture on those surfaces touching your ear. Bronze accents throughout break up the monotonous black elsewhere.

The ceramic face plate also houses the capacitive touch sensor for touch controls, and it is convex, with the 1MORE logo indicating where you need to touch the face plate. A look at the sides shows multiple vents, which are not only for airflow to the drivers, but also the various microphones for the hybrid ANC feature and voice communication. The inner side shows an IR sensor for on-ear detection—blocking the sensor tells the chipset the earphones are in your ears and to continue playing the music, and to pause the playback when you remove them for whatever reason. Depending on your preference, this can either be very handy or a nuisance, especially as the ANC modes depend on it to actuate. L and R markings indicate the left and right channels, and the earphones come with size-M tips pre-installed. Be sure to try out the various included ear-tip sizes for as good a seal as possible. Removing them reveals an extremely small nozzle with an integrated notch securing the ear tips, as well as a metal mesh filter on the end that prevents contaminants from entering the acoustic chamber.