At first glance, both these earphones have a lot in common. But what happens when we pit the Creative Outlier Air against the 1More Stylish? Do they have any uncommon features? Well, that’s what we shall find out in this post today where we compare them against each other.
Design & Controls
Unlike a couple of years ago, truly wireless earphones are now sleek and unobtrusive. You won’t find the same bulky head, neither will they fall off your ears at the slightest pretext, as long as you are wearing the proper fit. Thankfully, both the Outlier Air and the 1More Stylish adhere to this design principle. They are compact, fit well into the ear cavity, and doesn’t give you an odd look. Speaking of looks, the Outlier Air packs a nozzle-like design that makes it easy to slide them into the ear canal. Plus, the main body and the earpiece have a gentle slope, which renders a sleek look. But at the same time, this design can prove to be a tad annoying as slope doesn’t let you grip the buds properly. One thing I especially like about this model is the physical control buttons. These buttons are surrounded by a stylish notification rim which gives them a sharp look. From volume control volume to track navigation and to answering and reject calls, you can do plenty. When it comes to the 1More Stylish, they too sport a sleek and fashionable design. But unlike the Outlier Air, they carry small round rubber ear fins called O-Hooks, on the body to ensure a secure fit. Aside from that, the Stylish are light and incredibly comfortable enough for you to wear them for long periods. On the downside, the body is a tad slippery. So, you’ll have to be a tad careful when you take them off/on. The Stylish earphones sport touch-sensitive controls on each bud. You can pause the music or answer your calls by a single tap or double-tap to summon Google Assistant. Surprisingly, there’s no option for volume control. Either you’ll have to ask the assistant to do the same, or you’ll have to do the same via your phone’s volume rockers. However, these earphones lack an official IP rating. On the bright side, you get to choose from three different colors apart from the classic black — pink, green, and gold.
Bluetooth and Connectivity
The Creative Outlier Air earbuds operate over Bluetooth 5.0 — meaning better range and connection and audio bandwidth. However, the remarkable feature of these affordable earbuds is the support for aptX and AAC high-res Bluetooth audio codecs. For those unaware, these lossy digital audio compression techniques deliver CD-like music quality with no lags. However, do remember that your phone must also support these codecs. Similar to the one above, the 1More Stylish comes with Bluetooth 5.0. While there have been some reports of the earbuds faltering, however, the majority speaks of its solid connectivity. And similar to the Outlier Air too, these buds pack both aptX and AAC functionality. So yeah, high-quality music in affordable pricing.
Sound Quality & Performance
When it comes to the 1More Stylish, they deliver a clean output with aptX doing its bit to give you a clear output. At the same time, these are bass-heavy earbuds, and the basshead in you will be happy with the audio outcome. However, the Stylish can turn out to be a bit unreliable when it comes to phone call quality. As per the folks at SoundGuys, these buds make your voice sound distant and somewhat unnatural. On the other hand, the Outlier Air delivers an impressive audio output that is rich and clean. Plus, the sound does not distort even at high volumes. However, it’s on the bass-heavy side, and if you prefer this type of audio, you’ll love the oomph that they deliver. On the downside, the earbuds from Creative lack the dedicated noise cancellation feature. But as it is with most earphones, the noise isolation depends more on the fit of the ear tips.
Battery Life & Charging
The battery life is one of the most crucial features of any wireless device — it can make or break the user experience. Thankfully, the Creative Outlier Air doesn’t disappoint. These earbuds are powered by a 60mAh battery, which gets you around 10 hours of runtime on a full charge. However, the story doesn’t end there. The carry case is powered by a massive 380mAh battery which can carry up to two charging cycles of 10 hours each. If we were to talk of the cumulative hours, the Creative Outlier Air gets you 30 hours of battery life. Impressive, I’d say. As opposed to it, battery life for the Stylish true wireless is rated up to 6.5 hours. The 410mAh carry case is able to provide around 17 hours more (36 cycles). However, you can expect this number to vary depending on your volume levels. The good news is that the earbuds have fast-charge capabilities. So a mere 15 minutes of charging will yield you around 3 hours of playback time.
Which Should You Buy
The 1More Stylish is a reliable performer. It manages to look stellar with the unusual O-Hooks and produces great audio for casual listening. Plus, the battery life is also great for the price (although a tad lesser compared to the 30 hours of the Outlier Air). However, they lack any IP rating, due to which you may not use them in the gym. On the other hand, the Creative Outlier Air’s impressive battery life of 30 hours does make it an immediate grab for any true wireless earphones. And to add to it, it has excellent sound output backed by a high-quality Bluetooth codec which makes these earphones worth every cent. Plus, you get features like Mono Mode, which lets you carry on your activities (music and songs) with just one earbud (the other one being in the safe confines of the charging case). The best part is, there’s a lot of positive reviews to back up that claim. Also, they cost almost $20 less than the Stylish earbuds. The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
