TWS headphones are as popular as ever. New earbuds appear in quick succession. Large series are getting a generation upgrade, and new competitors are entering the market. Today we are dealing with a not entirely unknown challenger. We have tested Haylou several times. From flashlights to smartwatches, the manufacturer covers numerous products in its portfolio. The Haylou GT1 Pro did pretty well in the test. Haylou now repeat this success with the Haylou GT5, and what else did we notice?
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| SBC, AAC & BT 5.0 | No IP Rating |
| Proximity sensor | Only 4 hours of playback |
| Great wearing comfort | |
| Good price / performance | |
| Smart Wearing Detection |
Box includes:
- Warranty Card (English)
- Quickstart Guide (illustrated, English)
- Multilingual user manual (English, German, French, Spanish, Italian)
- 3 pairs of attachments (S, M, L)
- USB Type-C to USB-A (18cm)
- Charging station (580 mAh /5V)
Design
Haylou keeps the underlying design for the earbuds and is not insignificantly based on headphones like the Redmi AirDots 3. No wonder, since Xiaomi officially supports them.
As with the GT1 Pro, the earbuds have a pill shape. The large and separated touch area immediately catches the eye on the outside. A white status LED is housed in the remaining free area, only visible when there is activity. Inside are the charging contacts and also a proximity sensor. We measure the usual 4 mm at the speaker output, protected by a fine plastic mesh. As with the GT1 Pro, the primary microphone is on the front side facing the mouth. We will clarify later how this affects the voice quality.
There is not much to complain about the earbuds themselves. They are small ( 24 L x 15 W x 20 H mm ), unobtrusive, and quite functional in design. You can feel the touch area well. The transition from the upper to the lower piece is not perfect; the seam is noticeable.
Compared to the GT1, more has happened at the station, but a redesign is not taking place here either. The case is slightly larger at 62 x 27 x 43 mm (L x W x H) but remains true to the typical line for an earbud charging case.
This also applies to the equipment. We get the same white status LEDs on the front as in the earbuds. They are hidden under the plastic, not visible at first, but become visible as soon as you open the station. The battery status is mainly displayed via the 3 LEDs.
There is a USB-C port on the back. The bottom shows some hardware data. Inside you will only find the two sockets for the earbuds, which offer enough space to remove or insert them easily. It is a pity that there is no aluminium joint for the lid.
Also, there is not much to complain about the processing at the station. Only the transition from the lid to the body could be smoother here, too; you can feel a narrow projection.
The color selection is also in need of improvement. The Haylou GT5 is again only available to the buyer in black. Unfortunately, other colors are unavailable.
Comfort
Small dimensions and low weight of 4.1 grams are usually a good start for a comfortable fit. Haylous GT5 can be thrown into a bowl with the Redmi AirDots 3. Shape and weight are similar. The same applies to the excellent grip, which is insufficient for more extreme situations.
The charging station is similar. At 38.5 grams, it tends to join the ranks of the lighter stations. Shape and weight contribute to the fact that the station is not particularly noticeable in the trouser pocket.
Sound
It’s been over a year since we tested the Aukey EP-N5. For the beginning of 2021, you could at least come up with a decent set-up. SBC and AAC are set, along with Bluetooth 5.0. Haylou didn’t change the GT5, so these specs remain the same. Haylou states 7.2 mm.
In particular, the trebles are strong again and remain stable and rich in detail up to higher volumes. The bass range is still clearly addressed and seems a bit too present. In general, the mix is still convincing, but at the same time, it doesn’t bring any improvements.
Finally, the low-latency mode is briefly mentioned. As with Aukey, this reduces the latency between the smartphone and earbuds to a certain extent. Aukey did not provide any information on this, neither did Haylou. The latency drops slightly with the activation, but the delay is still visible away from YouTube.
Two microphones were a relatively moderate approach last year to good voice quality. And that means a total of two, so one per headphone. So nothing has changed in terms of quality.
There is still a slight background noise, which is noticeable but not necessarily annoying. Don’t expect too much from the transmission of voices. An emotionless recording garnished with all sorts of background noise. A few sounds are slightly muted; the rest are not.
You make up some ground with the range. This is about 25 meters, even with obstacles. However, in low-latency mode, you should stay within a 10-meter radius of the host device.
Connectivity
There are no changes to the 2021 model in this section. It is sufficient to remove the earbuds from the station to activate the pairing mode. A short signal output supports everything. Single-use is still possible but leads to a brief pause in playback due to the proximity sensor.
- Tap L/R once: Pause/Play
- Double-tap R: next track
- Double-tap L: previous track
- Tap R three times: low-latency mode on/off
- Tap L three times: Assistant
- Press and hold L/R for three seconds: turn on
- Press and hold L/R for five seconds: power off
- Tap L/R twice when there is a call: accept/hang up / accept another call
- Hold L/R for two seconds, the second call: reject
- Hold L/R for one second when calling: reject
The Haylou also lacks volume control. At least the extended call function is available, which can be put on call hold. Neither Aukey nor Haylou offers an app for the headphones, so there are no firmware updates or new button assignments.
Battery
580 mAh for the station and 43 mAh per earbud are used. With 5 full charges, you can’t complain about that.
The option to charge the station inductively has also remained. Although this takes a while at three hours, it is at least possible as an alternative to the cable.
The earbuds are faster. These take almost an hour to charge fully. At the station, it is 1.5 hours with cable.
Conclusion!
Haylous GT5, you can still get good earbuds for a small-dollar. Both manufacturers always have offers in stock. The Haylou GT5 selling under $30, but we also have good options like Aukey for less than $25. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter which earbud you choose: the models are identical, so the only thing that matters here is the best price.
A significant disadvantage is still the lack of volume control and the poor voice quality, or the noise reduction. You’ll still get a price/performance tip here if you don’t need it, especially if you want to taste the TWS world first.
