Thank you 1MORE for sending us this pair of earbuds to review!

I've reviewed several models of 1MORE's earbuds by now, and I find the changes in models interesting, as well as how the market can pivot quickly. For example, I reviewed the 1MORE S20 a few short months ago. Surprisingly, that models seems to have disappeared, both from Amazon and their website, so now I seem to have a relic of sorts. A few short months later, this S12 arrives, and I can understand why the S20 is gone; this model is much better in a lot of key ways, while fixing that model's major flaws.

The 1MORE Fit SE Open Earbuds S12 is the newest member of their open earbud line, and also the least expensive. I'm not sure why, but open earbuds seem to have a bit of a price premium compared to in-ear monitors (IEMs), though I suppose they are more difficult to get right. With that said, these S12s sound surprisingly good, hitting well above their weight, at least within 1MORE's products.

I love open earbuds like these, because I have a work from home day job, and so I listen to a lot of podcasts and such during my work day. Because of this, having some kind of headphones on virtually all day is something that I've gotten really used to. These 1MORE S12 ear clip-style earbuds are really comfortable, and are open enough that I can listen to them while still being able to hear the world around me. Very helpful when the inevitable delivery driver makes my dogs go nuts!

In addition to the S20, we also previously reviewed the S70 and the S31 open earbuds. Each of those goes around the top and behind the ear, with a speaker that wraps around the front, placing the speaker over your exposed ear canal. This S12 uses an ear clip style that's quite unique. This style wraps around the lower part of the helix of your ear, and then has a round ball with the speaker inside that fits into the concha. It's really strange looking, and the fit can be tricky depending on ear size and shape. As a result, it can be finicky to get on just right. But once it's on right, not only is it comfortable, but I can wear them pretty much all day until the battery is dead without a hint of discomfort.

The way they clip to your ear is quite interesting. Rather than wrap around the ear, these clip right at the closest point right behind the ear canal, so that the clip wraps right around the lower central part of the ear. It's a bit more complex than the S20 was, but it's similar in concept. Having fairly large ears I thought they might not fit well, but I was able to make them work. While they certainly do fit my wife better with her tiny ears, they still work quite well for me. I was also surprised that squishing the soft part of the outside of the ear really isn't uncomfortable at all.

I received these to review well into late fall, so it was past the time of cycling or other exercise, so I can't really speak to how well these work for that. I kept them on pretty much all day for work, and I would go outside to tend to our animals or get the mail, and they work great and I can hear them well. They don't get quite as loud as I might prefer if the background noise or wind gets too much, but overall they work pretty well, as long as I get the fit just right. The closer to the ear canal you can get these, the louder they'll be for you.

Of course, being open earbuds, you can hear whatever is going on around you. But those around you might also be able to hear what you are hearing, even if only a little. When listening to quieter songs, my wife couldn't tell I was listening to anything. But when a louder song kicked on, she could tell within a few feet of where I was. But it's really quiet; a few more feet and you won't hear much, if at all.

I have reviewed or listened to several of 1MORE's open earbuds. Usually, the highest-end models sound the best. Compared to the older lineup, the S70 was the best of that bunch. However, this S12, the new entry-level, sounds better than the S20 or even S70 from the older lineup. (I didn't review the S31.) Of course they lack a bit of bass, as open designs leak some bass because it needs an enclosure of some kind to sound its best. With some of the models, like the S20, it was purely a podcast earbud, as it did not sound good. The S70 sounds reasonably balanced, but the highs and lows could be better. This S12 has surprisingly good highs, and the mids come through well also. The bass has an expected roll-off, but all things considered, I can't complain at all. It's remarkably neutral in its default tuning.

The 1MORE Android app is the same one used for most of 1MORE's current lineup, so I've gotten pretty used to its quirks. It didn't have any trouble detecting or adjusting settings on the S12 earbuds, though this model is lacking features from its more expensive brothers. For example, there is no dual-device mode on this model. There are some other settings to customize as well.

Most customization does require that app, and it's available on Android or iOS (I tested on Android). That is the easiest way to tell how much battery you have, as it displays the earphone battery level prominently at the top once you have it paired and connected. You can choose from one of the six available preset EQs from there, though I found the default Studio to sound the best, by far. The Bass booster mode, unfortunately, barely raises the bass but instead lowers the rest, making it sound much, much worse. The rest of the EQ modes offer little value, and only make it quieter in an earbud that already struggles to get loud enough in some environments.

The next menu is Custom Settings, where you can change what double and triple tap of each side of the earphones does. Touch and hold is hard-set to activate voice control, which I wish I could change, as it's not a feature I use. Thankfully, it's not that easy to activate by accident.

Below that is an option called shortcuts, and Gaming Mode is listed in there. You can activate Gaming Mode to lower the latency of the audio, keeping it more in sync with the video. For a Bluetooth headset, the latency out of the box isn't great, at somewhere around 500ms. With Gaming Mode on, that drops to about 100ms, which is a dramatic improvement. That is the only notable feature that really matters in my experience with this earbud.

The app's last features are the product guide (a simple visual how to put it on your ear) and more advanced Settings. In Settings is buried a few things, but the only one that really matters to me is the firmware updater. You can also change the product color and a few small other things.

The battery life is quite good and one of the biggest unexpected improvements over most previous models. This one has similar battery life to the excellent S70 at around 8 hours. Since I wear them all day, I need to charge them usually in the late afternoon, but it's really not bad, especially if I take them off for a break at least once throughout the day. I listen to something or am in meetings pretty much all day, and often listen to podcasts in between. I also use them for calls some of the time, so I am about as hard on them as anyone can be. I will say that on mine, one side usually dies before the other. There is an audible warning at 20% and 10% battery if I recall correctly. Thankfully, if they do run low, you can pop them into the charging case and they seem to charge fairly quickly. The charging case can bring the earbuds up to full in about 90 minutes, which isn't bad at all. Considering how long a full charge lasts, as long as you pop them in your case occasionally, they should last you all day.

I like the 1MORE Fit SE Open Earbuds S12 a whole lot. The sound quality surprised me, they get reasonably loud, and are priced fairly, especially since you can often find a lot of 1MORE's earbuds on sale. And sometimes, 1MORE's website may have a better price than Amazon, so it's worth checking out both. The comfort is fantastic, and the battery life is excellent. Low-latency mode works great, and the various EQ modes can be useful, even if I don't recommend any of them. Because of the way they fit, depending on your ear size, the ball-shaped driver might be closer or farther from the ear canal opening, so that really impacts how loud they seem to you and how much bass you get out of them.

If you are looking for a workout or exercise earphone, or something you can use around the house while not disturbing others, these are great. If someone is close to you they might hear that you are listening to something, so I wouldn't recommend them when sitting in tight quarters with others. If good-sounding open earbuds are what you are looking for, then the 1MORE S12s get a very strong recommendation!