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Model: 1More Omthing Airfree
EO002BT / aka 1More Pistonbuds
Price: £18.81
Review Reference: RC018
NOTE: This review is about the original Omthing Airfree, NOT the Airfree Plus (released May 2022)
Manufacturer Specification:
- Brand Name: Omthing
- Model: AirFree
- Driver: 7mm Dynamic
- Control Button: Yes
- Chipset: Not Known
- Mics: 4 ENC
- ANC: No
- Volume Control: No
- Battery Life: 4 hours / 20 hours
- Codecs: AAC, SBC
- Earbud Weight: 4g
- Impedance Range: up to 32 Ω
- Connectors: USB-C
- Resistance: 16Ω
- Waterproof: Yes
- Frequency Response Range: 20 - 20000Hz
- APP Support: Yes
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0
- Waterproof Resistance: IPX4
Includes:
1 x Pair Wireless Earbuds
1 x USB Type-C Charge Case
1 x USB Type-C Charge Cable
3 x Pair Silicone Tips
1 x User manual
Real Life Experience
Welcome to the Regancipher review of the Omthing Airfree. Or is it the 1More Pistonbuds? Or is it both? Actually, it's both!
The Unboxing - 5.5/10
Unlike 1More's subsequent white-box releases, this was released in an ugly camo-green with a cardboard tearline along the edge....which once I used it, left it in no state for glamour poses.
What's inside is more or less the same as every other earbud set bar the FIIL at this sort of price point. It's more MPOW feeling, probably even less premium. This never bothers me if the earbuds sound good. And lucky for Omthing, this is the worst part of the experience.
The supplied tips are pretty much standard fare. I replaced them with a spare set of Edifier ones I had lying around, and whilst the flat donut style are more common now, back then it was quite difficult to get a good fit. The manual is straightforward and the USB-C charge cable is as you would expect.
The Case - 6/10
Sadly there is no quick charge, and wireless charging is also not supported. The USB port is to the rear. There are no obvious lights on the front to indicate charge but when you plug it in via the USB port, you will see a single white light shine through if you look closely enough. Unfortunately it was too difficult to capture with a phone camera.
It is 100% matte and rather generic looking - almost like they planned to release it with two brand names on! The lid is embossed with the Omthing logo, and whilst it feels a little flimsy, it has stood the test of time. Magnets are not particularly strong but do the job.
The buds slot into the top, and it is a little counter-intuitive and can leave you trying to push them into the case in a strange angle. Once you know, you know.
Portability is the case's key feature. It weights around 42g, is 71mm wide, has a depth of around 25mm and stands around 36mm high. This makes it a handy size for slipping even in a trouser pocket.
The Ergonomics - 8.5/10
After an ear infection left me struggling to use earbuds for a while, the AirFree were my choice for easing me back in. They sit beautifully in your ears with wider-than-usual ear tips. They are up there with the Edifier TWS NB2 as great all-dayers (if only they had the battery life to go with it!)
They are advertised as '4 mic' - one on the outside as pictured above, and one hidden on the bottom that is really quite difficult to spot (see below, bottom left corner as you look at it). There is also a light on the far right that flashes white when pairing.
The inside is really well designed. 1More should take note, their budget brand is ergonomically sublime. There is just no discomfort at all. The battery connections are placed away from your ear canals but I would imagine could get dirty quite quickly so care should be taken to ensure they retain their charge.
Passive noise isolation is OK - nothing special for me, but passable and great for the price.
For a stem-based earbud they are stubby. Far more lightweight than the Edifier TWS NB2, and much better fitting. However due to the design they are only IPX4,
They are shorter than the Boltune BT-BH024, but Boltune move the charging areas away from the ear - obviously Omthing can't do this due to form factor. No biggy.
Sound Quality - 8/10 (for the price paid), 7/10 (raw score)
It is hard to criticise the Airfree due to the pricing, and anyway, they perform really well for budget buds with a very strong subbass rumble and sufficiently accurate midbass that does a decent job of minimising bleed, not compromising too much on detail considering the dark undertone.
They lack the refined, detailed sound of the Colorbuds, for example - 1More's signature sound, but are punchy and lively enough to get your head moving, and shave off the upper mids sufficiently for bassheads to enjoy without too much sibilance inducing fatigue.
The only minor criticism is that their invasive design means that the soundstage is predictably narrow with everything front and centre - they certainly don't have the airy feeling of the Colorbuds, but the 7mm drivers are tuned with the average consumer in mind - and at the price, they do a very decent job..
Call Quality - Indoors - 8.5/10, Outdoors - 7/10
WOW! Fantastic sound quality for calls. One of the best I've ever tested for clarity and naturalness, your voice sounds far less robotic than many other I've tested. There is no fading in and out like the Aukey and MPOW sets I've tested - really first class.
Outdoors as soon as you get any noise, there is mild suppression and your voice is elevated over traffic and wind, but still almost impossible to hear. With little ambient noise you sound really clear.
Not only did the Omthing perform better than many more expensive offerings, they actually performed better than the 1More Colorbuds - their own premium brand.
Connectivity, Controls and Other Features - 6/10
Connectivity is absolutely fine. Don't expect anything more than the 10m advertised. You get a subtle notification when you move out of range. It does take longer than any other set I've tested to connect when you take them out of the case though - a good 3-4 seconds. Again, it tells you when you're connected with a token sound. The chip supports Bluetooth 5.0, which was the de facto when these buds were released. Only the AAC codec is supported, but latency is really impressive, especially for videos, despite not supporting the aptX codec.
Controls are straightforward and responsive. You can answer calls, hail voice assistant and play and pause calls. You can use them in single mode, and that changes the controls, but I see this as a positive more than a negative due to the short battery life. Unfortunately volume cannot be controlled from the buds.
Omthing also have an app - although it is barely worth mentioning. On Android it allows you to update the firmware....and that's it. Upgrading the firmware seemed to change the sound a little, taking some of the slight harshness off calls (which wasn't present on music).
Battery Life - 5/10
Let's not dress it up, the battery life is poor - the blot on the copybook of these earbuds. They advertise 4 hours but I got less than 3, so expect total playtime to be around 15 hours - not great.
On my second day of testing, I'm getting a 10% remaining alert on windows after 2 hours and 20 minutes. This is a real PITA and almost ruled them out of me recommending them. You will struggle to get through the day even with the case providing extra charge unless you're listening in sprints not marathons.
Final Comments
Aside from the battery life and low WR rating, it is hard to find any fault with the Omthing Airfree. Their sound quality is first class for the price, microphone quality on calls is remarkable, and being able to upgrade the firmware is handy via the app.
If you are the kind of person who pops their buds in for calls and does some light listening to music/podcasts, and can charge in between, the Omthing Airfree would be a stellar choice for the money. If you're a marathon listener, sadly the battery life will cause frustrations and you should look elsewhere.
Had I paid the Amazon price, I have a feeling the little irks would grate more with me, but at £18 these earbuds are comfortable and well designed, albeit generic looking, that will certainly satisfy the casual user.
Price Weighted Score: 88%
Raw Score: 79%
2022 Score: 75%
2022 UPDATE - Now with Bluetooth 5.2, 4.5/23 hour battery life....and that's about it!
2022 Comments:
As with all tech reviews, after a year or so the content becomes slightly irrelevant, as much of what we are comparing to is based on the market conditions at that time. The Airfree lack many of the bells and whistles of more recent releases but their decent sound delivery and good call quality remain strong by today's standards, is just that crappy battery life that lets them down.
They haven't aged badly, and can be picked up for even cheaper, but even so I would spend a little more, with so many other good quality sets available around this price point. I haven't yet tried out the updated version, and probably won't, but the up-to-date specifications make them a plausible choice at the sub $30 mark.
