Aukey EP-T31 Review

Aukey usually doesn’t disappoint with their products. The trend continues with EP-T31 true wireless earbuds. For under $50, their little buds pack useful features that usually come in premium products.

The most noticeable features are proximity sensors, which pause or resume music playback, and Qi wireless charging. Earbuds also support mono mode.

Earbuds’ most significant advantage is their size. They’re small and don’t protrude much out of your ears. That ensures acceptable wind noise, and you can also wear them under a motorbike helmet if that’s something you seek.

Aukey EP-T31 are also pretty good in the audio quality department. Their balanced sound signature makes them great for all kinds of genres. However, audio purists who look for good technical performance should look elsewhere.

Let’s take a more detailed look at what do these little buds have to offer.

Update 01/17/2023: Corrected the fact that these earbuds don’t support multipoint.

Pros & Cons

Editor
rating 3.9

By HeadphonesAddict

User
ratings 4.1

User Ratings: 7

Category

• Comfort & Fit
• Noise Isolation
• Bluetooth
• Battery
• Durability
• Features
• Sound

Our rating

• 
  4.5
• 
  4.0
• 
  4.0
• 
  4.0
• 
  3.5
• 
  4.0
• 
  3.5

User rating

• 3.8
• 4.0
• 4.2
• 4.4
• 4.0
• 4.1
• 4.1

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What’s in the Box?

• Aukey EP-T31 true wireless earbuds
• Charging case
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• 3 pair of silicone ear tips
• User manual
• Sticker

Comfort & Fit

4.5 Almost Perfect

Aukey’s true wireless earbuds offer a great comfort level due to their small footprint, with good stability to go with it. However, putting them inside your ears can be a slightly longer process.

As mentioned, the EP-T31 are tiny compared to other true wireless earbuds. It’s genuinely impressive how much is packed in a size that small. Because of that, they should fit most ear sizes. Comfort is excellent, and you barely feel them during regular use.

Thankfully, the overall stability doesn’t suffer either, despite the lack of add-ons like ear fins. You can take them outside for a walk or on the run without worrying.

However, the earbud’s small size introduces one small problem. True wireless earbuds require you to place them into your ears and slightly twist them upward to seal the ear canal fully. With an earbud that small, you sometimes lose a grip for the twisting part.

Therefore, you need to be prepared for accidental touches of the touch controls. At least that was our experience, and we don’t have huge fingers. Thankfully, once they’re in place, you can forget about them.

Noise Isolation

4.0 Great

In-ear fit ensures good levels of isolation. You can still hear traffic passing by but not people talking right next to you.

While active noise cancelling technology is slowly getting into the budget territory, there is none in the EP-T31. Check the best noise cancelling earbuds for alternatives.

However, their passive isolation is great. Combined with music, you should be safe from environmental interruptions.

Of course, to get the best isolation, you need to get a proper fit. There are 3 pairs of ear tips inside the box, which is standard. You can also choose from third party ones since earbuds don’t use proprietary tips.

Is There Wind Noise?

There is minimal wind noise, as with many other in-ear headphones. However, they perform much better in that regard, and you can use them for running or cycling.

Bluetooth

4.0 Great

You can easily leave your smartphone in a room and walk around a house without interruptions. The connection is stable, with Aukey EP-T31 offering additional useful features mono mode but no multipoint.

You’re getting a reliable connection between a smartphone and earbuds. There’s no need to take a phone with you to go to the other side of your house. The signal should easily pass through a few brick walls.

The Aukey EP-T31 have a simple pairing process. They connect with your device as soon as you put them out of the case. You can also use both buds for a mono mode to save battery life.

While we haven’t experienced any problems yet, some users report of a sound sync issue. Earbuds tend to break the connection in the middle of listening, which can be annoying.

Multipoint?

No, unfortunately, you can’t connect the earbuds to more than one device at the same time.

What Bluetooth Codecs They Use?

Aukey’s use a standard SBC and AAC, which is more than good enough for a budget pair of earbuds. With that, they cover both Android and iOS users.

Is There Video Lag?

Aukey promise an ultra-low latency explicitly for watching videos on a smartphone. The latter is true since we don’t see any noticeable audio lag whatsoever. Movie binging with these earbuds is easy.

Battery

4.0 Great

While 5 hours on a single charge isn’t the best out there, it’s surprisingly a lot for earbuds that small. You get an additional 25 hours inside the charging case, with support for fast USB-C charging, as well as Qi wireless charging.

True wireless earbuds are getting better when it comes to battery life, with some achieving more than 10 hours on a single charge. In contrast, the EP-T31 can “only” do 5 hours per charge, which is about average.

However, looking at their size, you would expect them to perform worse, which is why we were pleasantly surprised. The numbers also hold true during our testing, meaning you should get around 5 hours at 50% volume. Of course, that number varies depending on the volume.

The charging case extends the battery life for extra 25 hours (30 hours in total), which is more than enough for a couple of days of use. It’s nice to see a USB-C on the back of the case, as well as a support for Qi wireless charging. It isn’t nearly as fast as wired charging, but an extra option is always welcome.

Durability

3.5 Almost Great

Despite the plastic housing, the Aukey true wireless earbuds should survive a couple of drops on a hard surface. And with an IPX5 rating, you can also use them for working out, no matter how sweaty it gets.

Both earbuds and charging case are made of matte black plastic. Earbuds feel lightweight but also quite sturdy. There are no physical buttons or noticeable weak points on the housing, which is why we believe they should survive a little bit of abuse.

However, we can’t say the same about the wireless charging case. It’s made well for the price, but it might quickly break if it falls on the floor, especially the lid’s hinge.

Regarding the water protection, you get an IPX5 rating of resistance, which should successfully deflect sweat. You can even use them during intense gym sessions, completely soaking them in sweat.

Features

4.0 Great

Mono mode, Qi charging, touch-sensitive music control, and a proximity sensor. A good set of features at an affordable price point.

From earbuds under $50, you can’t expect much. However, the Aukey EP-T31 pleasantly surprises with a couple of special features that some might find very useful. There’s even a proximity sensor that automatically pauses the playback.

Sadly, there’s no way to manage these features. While it’s cool to have things like automatic pause/play, to some, it might get annoying, including to us. Therefore, we tend to disable it immediately.

The same goes for the touch controls, which are fixed. You can’t go into settings and decide what commands you prefer. You’re stuck with whatever comes out of the factory.

There’re no volume controls either, so you still rely on your smartphone to raise or lower the volume.

However, looking back at a price, you can let these things slide. Aukey EP-T31 still offers a lot, which makes them an overall great value.

Controls

• Play/pause – one tap
• Previous track – double tap on right earbud
• Next track – double tap on left earbud
• Answer/end call – double tap on either earbud
• Turn off/on low latency mode – triple tap on right earbud
• Voice assistant – triple tap on left earbud
• Reject call – press and hold for 1 second on either side

Microphone Quality

These offer a good call quality if you plan to use them in a quiet environment. Voice quality isn’t the clearest, but considering the price, that’s something to be expected.

As in many cases, ambient noise does hurt the quality. In the case of EP-T31, the quality drops significantly. Your voice gets barely understandable, so you shouldn’t use them for taking a phone call in a noisy room or near a busy road.

Sound

3.5 Almost Great

Nicely balanced sound performance from 7mm titanium drivers, with punchy bass and pleasing treble. However, audio is noticeably compressed, which significantly hurts dynamics.

Overall, the sound signature of the Aukey EP-T31 is very enjoyable. It’s mostly balanced with a slight bass boost to give the low end more presence. Though the best bass earbuds are still stronger.

That kind of presentation fits all music genres, from classical to hip hop. Sound quality is also reasonably clean and detailed throughout the frequency range, with well present instruments and vocals.

However, to achieve that level of detail, earbuds had to resort to compression. Parts of the song that are usually quiet are now more present, and parts that are typically louder get lowered in volume.

That results in an overall lack of excitement, especially in songs that are well mastered. Cymbal crashes, guitar and drum solos don’t pack the same energy as they should.

Of course, for a casual user, this isn’t a dealbreaker. However, audio purists should probably look elsewhere.

Should You Buy Aukey EP-T31?

As a whole, these little true wireless earbuds are a truly compelling package. They come in a basic, black design, but it’s what’s under the hood that matters.

You get a solid battery life with support for Qi wireless charging and durable housing with IPX5 water resistance.

Bluetooth 5.0 connection is strong and has a low latency mode, with all the bells and whistles such as mono mode.

Despite their size and lack of supporters (ear fins), their comfort and stability are excellent.

Of course, everything gets rounded with the sound quality, which is great in this price range, regardless of aggressive audio processing.

For under $50, you should definitely check these budget earbuds.

Compare prices:

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Specifications

Peter Susic

From a childhood fascination with sound, Peter’s passion has evolved into a relentless pursuit of the finest headphones. He’s an audio expert with over 5 years of experience in testing both audiophile and consumer-grade headphones. Quote: “After many years, I can confidently tell which headphones are good and which are terrible.” Find his honest opinion in his reviews.