Most in-ear headphones become incredibly uncomfortable after a while, especially heavier examples. 1MORE's Comfobuds Mini are designed to be comfortable to wear for long periods of time, shrinking the size of the regular ComfoBuds. Weighing in at just 3.7g, they're also the world's lightest ANC (active noise cancelling) headphones.
The goal of being comfortable to wear is totally nailed, these headphones could be in my ears for several hours at a time without any discomfort. They're also really powerful for their size, offering excellent sound quality and impressive noise cancelling.
Every specification is equally impressive; the 7mm drivers are solid, as are the five-hour headphone battery life and 24-hour case battery life. If you can handle the woeful touch controls, it's clever and comfortable for long-term use.
Verdict: Very comfortable to wear and with excellent battery life, just don't bother with the touch controls.
Score: 4/5
| Pros | Cons | |
|---|---|---|
| • Comfortable for long periods | • Touch controls need refining | |
| • Excellent battery life | • Reasonably expensive | |
| • Sound quality is solid | ||
| • Good noise cancelling feature |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Battery life | 5hrs with ANC, 6 without. Case: 20-24hrs |
| Charging | USB-C, wireless |
| Charge time | Full charge in 90 minutes |
| Weight | 3.7g. Case: 34.9g |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.2 |
What's good?
It's easy to write off small headphones as having compromised audio quality or a battery life measured in minutes rather than hours. Thankfully, the Comforbuds Mini dispels these myths offering good sound quality and good battery life.
The audio power isn't as strong as other options but it doesn't mean it's not a joy to listen to. No matter your state in music the Comfobuds Mini are able to present a clear, crisp and organic sound, thanks to the beefy 7mm dynamic driver.
The active noise cancelling (ANC) was surprisingly good too. You'd be forgiven for thinking that the small size would quickly become overwhelmed by the sound of traffic but it provided near-silence wherever I tried it. All in all, it's a very impressively packaged pair of headphones, tiny in size and weight but infinitely capable.
Comfort was also exemplary. Thanks primarily to the tiny weight and diminutive size (I've seen larger M&Ms), it's the comfiest pair of headphones I've ever tried. Where other in-ear headphones have a noticeable weight and can press against your inner ear, the Comfobuds Mini appear to float in your ear, the only sensation of their presence being music produced by them.
What's ok?
The plastic case may offer up to 24-hours of battery life but it's not the most interesting design on the market. The flip-top also feels a little flimsy compared to other wireless phone cases I've tested, I guess that's the price you pay for such a light product, however. It does still feel good quality, just not very plush.
Any negatives?
The biggest issue with the Comfobuds Mini is the touch controls. They are temperamental at best and almost spiteful at worst.
It'd always follow the instruction to pause music, even if you didn't want it to. Worse still, once the music had paused, re-starting it using the touch controls was next to impossible. Any combination of hand gestures and poking would just cause a friction noise in your ear and not the return of Ace Of Base.
It's, for this reason, I quickly gave up prodding the headphones and resorted to just using the conventional controls on my phone. It became even more irritating when the headphones would occasionally begin to slip out of my ear and the act of pushing them back in would pause the music.
More items to consider
How the product was tested
The 1MORE ComfoBuds Mini were used daily over the course of a month. They were used for both work calls on Teams as well as listening to music via Spotify and Podcasts via Apple Podcasts. The headphones were synced to both my iPhone and work laptop and also used both at home and in public.
Ryan Gilmore is a contributor to What's The Best. He also writes for CAR and Parkers.
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