Haylou X1 Neo Review – Best Earphone You Can Buy Under $25

After the huge success of the X Series from Haylou that includes the Haylou X1 and Haylou X1 Pro, the company is back with a new upgrade under the name Haylou X1 Neo, where they upgraded the design and packed it with useful features that make it a good choice for budget earphones.

These wireless earphones, come with little tweaks here and there that make them unique from devices in the same category, with a new and radically different design and improved Bluetooth 5.3 that delivers a stable connection and preserves the battery for up to 20 hours of usage and equipped with a 13mm dynamic drivers For High Audio Quality, and low latency mode for gaming, Quite HD calling, All this at an attractively affordable price for anyone and it can challenge the best gaming headphones in the under $40 category. So, don’t miss out on this great deal, and check out all these and more features in this review.

Haylou X1 Neo Features

• Lightweight & half-in-ear Design
• Translucent Charging Case, Compact and Unique
• Touch control, Easy to use
• 13mm dynamic driver
• Bluetooth Chipset V5.3
• Ultra-Low Latency
• Mono & Stereo Modes
• 20h long playtime
• Quite HD calling
• IPX4 Waterproof

Design And Build Quality

Charging Case

From the aesthetic, Haylou adopts a simple and elegant appearance. The charging case of the Haylou X1 Neo has an oval shape with nice curved edges that make it comfortable to hold in one hand, it comes in a small size and a lightweight only 32g with earbuds inside, so you can easily slide it into your pocket, and take it with you on the go. And its made out of ABS plastic in black (or white) with a nice matt finish that keeps its new look for a long time doesn’t get scratched easily and doesn’t leave fingerprints. In addition to having a logo for the Haylou on the front and a small status LED.

The charging case features a unique design by using a black transparent lid which it’s quite difficult to see what’s inside, however, when open it has a red body to look more attractive. Good thing is that the hinge doesn’t budge which gives me a good feeling about the durability of this device. So, the build quality is nice, it feels solid and well-built and you won’t notice any manufacturing defects, just like the rest of the Haylou products, even though it is a budget device, you can’t tell that just by looking at it because of the great build quality.

From underneath, we find the USB C charging port just like most products of this line, and it is nice to have a USB C at this price range, What disappointed me a little is that the bottom is curved. This means that the body will not be able to stand up during charging, which makes its surface more susceptible to scratches.

Haylou X1 Neo Earbuds

The Haylou X1 Neo earbuds adopt one of the most minimalistic designs with no logo or anything written on them, just a body from ABS plastic with a matt finish, it’s very small with a little tail which looks better than the longer stem and is my personal favorite, have a half in-ear design without silicone ear tip, and the speaker on the side like used by Apple in TWS earbuds.
Also, has a status LED that will quickly flash white when the earbuds are ready to be paired and then once in a while after the pairing with a device has been successful. And has a small glossy surface on the top for touch control, they also seem so well crafted that you can’t tell they are cheap just by looking at them. Most importantly the body is Lightweight at only about 3.8g to be comfortable on the ear, in fact, a few times I completely forgot I was wearing them. As well as being comfortable, the buds are pretty secure as well, I’ve been for a few runs and gym sessions without them budging at all or feeling worried they might fall out.

On the end of the elongated neck, there’s a metallic ring that helps keep the earbuds inside the case and charge them. added two microphones, one at the end of the metallic ring and one near the speaker, it’s worth mentioning that this earbud doesn’t come with noise-canceling technology, except that because of the way it’s built, it’s impossible to hear your surroundings at a certain high volume.

Control Functions

The multi-function touch control area is located at the top of the left and right earbuds, each side has a different set of actions, unlike other models, the Haylou X1 Neo’s stem has a touch control area wider than usual which works to improve the user experience by making the touches more accurate and less likely to miss, even if you are running or in a hurry, for example, you will be able to hit the touch area accurately, not to mention that the sensor in itself is precise.

• A single tap on any earbud to play/pause the track.
• Double press on the right earbud to switch to the next track.
• Double press on the left earbud to switch to the previous track.
• Pressing and holding any earbud for 3 seconds to activate gaming mode.
• Tap any earbud to answer or hang up the call
• Double-tap any earbud to reject the call

Unfortunately, there is no volume control or automatic music pause when you take the earbuds out of the ears. And this is normal for budget headphones.

Haylou X1 Neo – Waterproof

The X1 Neo has IPX4 WaterProof, so they are protected from rain, sweat, and dust which helps you use the earbuds effectively in any sporting environment. However, it should not be completely submerged in water to avoid any possible damage and to stay with you in the long term.

How To Pair Haylou X1 Neo

Thanks to the new and improved Bluetooth 5.3 technology chip integrated inside the Haylou X1 Neo, it is compatible with most Bluetooth-enabled devices and on a variety of platforms such as Android, iPhone, Windows, and MAC OS, it provides the most seamless and hustle-free pairing experience you can get on a device of this price range just as if you were using a mid-range device, the BT 5.3 is power efficient and plays a major role in the long battery life. The company claims 10m of the distance between the earbuds and the device, but tests have shown that obstacles such as a thin wall can cut that distance in half. Lastly, the X1 Neo does support all the generic codecs, including the SBC, but unfortunately it’s not AAC or aptX, which is expected.

The pairing is the same with any wireless earbuds, all you have to do is open the charging case and take out the earbuds, and the earbud will automatically turn on and enter the pairing state. Immediately after that, open the Bluetooth interface of the smartphone, and the device name “Haylou X1 Neo” will be automatically recognized, click it, and the pairing is completed successfully. The pairing is done manually once, after that it is automatic and fast provided Bluetooth is enabled, just remove it from the box and use it.
additionally, the earphones support single connection mode and you can use one earphone while the other is charging for example, which is an advantage and can extend the battery life to double if you are okay with using the earphones one at a time.

Haylou X1 Neo – Audio Quality

In addition to the appearance design, the Haylou X1 Neo also has a sufficiently excellent performance in sound quality, which have an acceptable amount of stereo effect and a powerful dynamic range for all types of music with excellent treble, mid-tones, and bass. Equipped with 13mm dynamic drivers that give you surprisingly clean sound with little to noise when the ultra-low frequencies let you know where each singer was positioned, the intensity of their voice, and instrument discrimination was good and everything felt very balanced. So the X1 Neo was great in that regard.

So, everything is fine from a technical point of view, the sound signature is warm, the earbuds produce a nice punchy bass, the mids are okay and the treble is a veil, which is the same profile on every cheap earphone, the good thing is that the sound is clear, you won’t be alarmed by any hissing or squeaking sound, and even at high volume, you won’t notice distortion, but the sound will leak and this might cause discomfort for others so we recommend you keep the volume at 70% since it is loud enough for most users. For the price of under $30, the sound quality of the Haylou X1 Neo is good.

Microphone Quality & Bluetooth Calling

Something that is little spoken of in the world of cheap wireless headphones is the microphone, even Haylou did not mention anything about the quality of their microphones on the official website or user manual, But when I checked the mic quality, it was fine, considering these are budget headphones. the Haylou X1 Neo brings a good quality microphone to the table that you could count on for passing calls and being loud and clear for the other side to hear with minimal echo and distortion.
Which is equipped with a pair of microphones two on each earbud to help you pass calls directly without the need to pull your phone out of your pocket. practically these microphones work like a charm in quiet places such as a room or an office, the other side can hear you fine without any lags or cutting off, now even though these do not have electronic noise canceling, once you get into a complex environment where there is background noise, the recipients will start to have issues hearing you, and depending on the level of noise around, it might be impossible to hear you at all, Keep in mind that even pricy wireless earphones face the challenge of offering good enough microphone quality for calls, let alone the cheap ones, so I think that X1 Neo does a very good job in this department.

Low-Latency & Gaming

The Haylou X1 Neo is not marketed as a headphone for only music but also for gaming, we have seen so many companies use this phrase for marketing purposes but not deliver, fortunately for us the X1 Neo is one of the few earphones that kind of deliver on this promise, thanks to the fast Bluetooth 5.3 chip and game mode which can be activated by pressing and holding any earbud for 3 seconds. But unfortunately, its not possible to know which mode has been enabled due to the absence of any audio notification, however, this can be bypassed by noticing the change in sound quality for the worse when activating the game mode.

Haylou X1 Neo will enhance footstep sound and other functions and can achieve 0.06ms low latency in the game mode as the company says. it’s well suited for gaming in my opinion, especially on smartphones, but at this low price point we don’t expect much, And even in online games such as PUBG or COD, the delay is so minimal about 0.5 seconds, still a good result for a pair of low-cost earbuds, but it does not reach the advertised value. However, you can’t notice it at all unless you pay extra attention, which is almost normal, and you can find it on most wireless headphones in this price range. So, for a regular mobile gamer and even pc gamers, this tiny bit of lag won’t be an issue at all.

As for content consumption, in addition to good sound quality, the X1 Neo has no noticeable delay between the audio and the video with very low latency, for example when you watch Netflix, youtube, or HBO, the lip-synching is perfect all the time and you won’t be alarmed by any delays, which is the best we can ask for.

Haylou X1 Neo Battery And Charging Time

The Haylou X1 Neo offers great autonomy overall, and it has one of the longest-lasting batteries in all of the wireless earphones that we have reviewed, starting with the charging case, it has an integrated battery with a capacity of 310mah can charge the earbuds up to 3-4 times before they need new power giving a total usage time of around 20 hours, which is great, and the autonomy is high if we compare it to other headphones.

Charging using the USB-C cable included in the box in about 1.5 hours with the green LED lighting on the case indicating charging, as for the earbuds, they have got a battery of 30mah of capacity each, at 70% volume they last with you up to 4 hours of continuous usage thanks to the efficiency of the new Bluetooth 5.3 chip that consumes less battery than the previous generation and delivers better audio, this will allow you a great autonomy, you don’t have to ever worry about your battery dying out mid-day, enjoy your music and calls freely, these headphones will be your companions for the longest duration possible.

Also, has a single small status LED on the front of the case, If the LED will flash white while, then the case is charging and the LED will become solid white after the battery is fully charged.

Final Verdict

Honestly for very little money, the Haylou X1 Neo performs very well indeed for music, video, gaming, and everyday uses. Thanks to Haylou, they make it really easy to recommend these headphones because they give you everything you need in any wireless headphones, all their bases are covered with good sound quality, good battery life, a good microphone, and good gaming performance. Also, the features of this product were amazing, they have made a good choice to adopt the Bluetooth 5.3 chip, which is the best in the market when it comes to the latency and the stability of the connection, and the seamless pairing experience not to forget the very accurate touch control that almost never misses.

So, Haylou X1 Neo is a very worthy option for anyone who is on a very limited budget and wants a good experience with a pair of true wireless earphones. At a low cost of $25, the X1 Neo doesn’t have a lot of competition, and these are easy to recommend over so many other options and introduce as one of the top 5 headphones in this price range.

Haylou X1 Neo Price And Where To Buy

The Haylou X1 Neo Earbuds are currently available on the AliExpress Store for a very good price. So, don’t miss out on this great deal. And to view its price or buy it, you can access the offer by clicking on the store icon.

• Haylou X1 Neo Bluetooth buds
• Charging Box
• USB-C Charging Cable
• Manual

• Material: ABS
• Bluetooth Version: 5.3
• Earphone Battery Capacity: 30mAh  
• Charging Box Battery Capacity: 310mAh  
• Charging Time: About 1.5 Hours  
• Transmission Distance: 10m
• Charging Interface: Type-C
• Music Time: About 4 Hours (80 Percent Volume)
• Talk Time: About 3 Hours (80 Percent Volume)
• Total Endurance: About 20 Hours
• SNR: ≥102db
• Distortion: ≤ 5 Percent
• Driver Diameter: 13mm
  • Horn Impedance: 32Ω±15