Boya BY-AP1: Surprisingly good TWS headphones

Boya, a well-known company in narrow circles, has released its first TWS headphones. The model turned out to be interesting.

Design, Ergonomics, Battery
Judging by the appearance of the BOYA BY-AP1 charging case, it’s hard to imagine that this is a product that costs more than $50. With a simple round, black design and a button on the front, it looks like even cheaper competitors all over Amazon and AliExpress. However, the company logo is printed on the case cover. An LED light under the button shows the charging status, and on the back you’ll find a USB-C port for charging the 400mAh case.

That said: the compact size of the case is excellent. The Boya is as portable as the Bomaker Sifi, SoundPEATS TrueDot, and Haylou GT1 Plus.

The headphones have an oval shape with a small protrusion at one of the corners. There is a microphone in this corner and it should be pointed towards your mouth. The Boya AP1 headphones are installed horizontally in the ears, just like on the Haylou T15.

This horizontal option may not provide the same tight fit as ear tips, which must be placed vertically in your ears, but the earplugs stay in place. Their round shape also makes them comfortable, although an extra pair of ear tips between the medium and largest sizes wouldn’t go amiss.

The Boya battery is not bad at all. The headphones offer 5.5-6 hours of audio playback on a single charge and can be fully recharged three times before the case needs to recharge on its own.

Controls and Connectivity
As with other new wireless earbuds, a single press on the sides does not activate the Boya BY-AP1’s controls. A double tap is required to play or pause music. Pressing for 1.5 seconds on the right earbud increases the volume. Decrease the volume by long pressing the left earphone. You will hear a soft beep when the volume control is turned on.

Three taps will rewind (right) or rewind (left) a track, and you can also activate the voice assistant by tapping the earpiece four times. The controls work flawlessly most of the time, but the left earpiece has issues from time to time.

The connection on the Boya BY-AP1 TWS is reliable. The headphones pair quickly (and with English voice) when you take them out of the case, and the Bluetooth 5.0 signal delivers great sound up to ten meters from your device. It is also possible to quickly switch between one and two headphones.

Movies and calls
It’s nice to watch videos with Boya BY-AP1. Syncing is flawless on both Android and iPhone, including the sophisticated YouTube-app on iPhone.

While gaming, sound effects seem to arrive a little faster than on most competing headphones. Boya claims that the AP1 has ultra-low latency, well, it somehow delivers that. However, there’s still an expectation that the sound effects from games will come a little later than the action you see on the screen – as is the case with all wireless headphones.

Phone calls and video calls sound clear on the Boya BY-AP1, both at home and outdoors. Even when you encounter a little wind, your voice remains clear and loud – well above the rest of the sound. Noises from your surroundings, such as speeding cars, are still audible, but not in an annoying way. The interlocutor hears that you are on the street, but will not hang up)

I will talk about musical nuances separately, another time.

Technical characteristics of Boya BY-AP1:

• Bluetooth version: 5.0
• Bluetooth distance: up to 10m
• Frequency range: 20 Hz – 20000 Hz
• Battery capacity: 50 mAh (ears) / 400 mAh (case)
• Charging time: 1 hour (both case and ears)

Price: $60