These are the best open earbuds for awareness
Do you love listening to music on the go but don’t want to give up awareness of your surroundings? Whether walking the dog or commuting to work, rather than just using one earbud or keeping the volume low, try an open design instead.
Open earbuds are something of a recent addition to the world of wireless audio, fitting somewhere between bone-conduction headphones, true wireless earphones and on-ear cans. They’re ideal for a wire-free listening experience without needing to put soft silicone or foam ear tips inside your ears, which can be uncomfortable.
Unlike their counterparts, these open (or “air conduction”) earbuds rest gently on the outer ear, with either a hook or clip design to hold them in place. You’ll still be able to hear music with clarity but also get the benefit of increased attention to your surroundings. And, unlike a “transparency” or “ambient” mode on some wireless buds, there’s no digital processing involved, you’ll still hear everything around you, and it’ll feel comfortable.
For this roundup, we’ve focused on true wireless designs that don’t have a cable or headband that loops around the back of the head (like we see on so many bone-conductive pairs), and that go back into a charging case to top up their battery levels when they’re not in use.
We have prioritised pairs that provide long-term comfort, great audio quality and natural awareness, as well as an unshakeable fit that works well for jogging and running, something we’ve double-checked with our friends at Runner’s World.
Read more: Best wireless earbuds | Best wireless over-ear headphones | Best noise-cancelling headphones | Best headphones under £50 | Best open earbuds | Best headphones for kids | Best headphones for exercise
How the GH Tech Team tests open earbuds
In our hunt for the best open earbuds on the market, we checked out models from leading brands including Soundcore, Bose, Nothing, Cleer and Shokz, wearing them while out walking, while working at our desks and when jogging. We also tested the buds while wearing glasses, to ensure comfort for everyone.
We considered how good our awareness of our surroundings feels while wearing the buds and the volume level we could listen at without others hearing — the best models will direct audio straight into your ears, rather than acting as speakers for fellow commuters.
Like any headphones test, we listened to a lot of music from a variety of different genres – including pop, rock, classical, electronic, ambient and cinematic – along with our favourite podcasts or audiobooks.
Finally, we checked the battery longevity, how much charge is available with the case, how they work for calls, and for controlling playback directly from the earbuds rather than having to pull out our smartphone.
Shokz OpenFit Air
The Shokz OpenFit Air offer a great value way to get the majority of the features of the more expensive OpenFit at a lower price.
They’re still IP54-rated for dust and water resistance, they offer a similar battery life (six hours of uninterrupted playback on the OpenFit Air, compared to seven on the OpenFit), and a similar weight (8.3g versus 8.7g). They’re also very comfortable to wear with a “pliable cut-out design” to the ear hooks that doesn’t feel noticeable in use.
The main difference comes in sound quality, but we don’t feel it’s obvious until you play music on the OpenFit Air at higher volumes than you typically would. They maybe don’t have quite as much punch to the bass and may have a little more distortion at those high volumes, but they’re otherwise comparable, yet start at £119 rather than £179.
Overall, we’re big fans of the Shokz companion app, the soft touch silicone material that makes these comfortable to wear, and the balanced sound quality that they deliver. The touch controls can be a little hit-and-miss, but the overall experience of using these buds is excellent, with them offering a secure fit and feel along with a great battery life and a pocketable charging case.
Soundcore Aerofit Pro
We love the huge battery life on the Soundcore Aerofit Pro. If you’re after a pair of open earbuds that you’re going to wear all day long, this is the pair we’d pick. And, if 14 hours in one go isn’t enough for you, they do go up to 46 hours of life once you factor in the charge available in the case. It’s also possible to restore more than five hours of battery after a 10-minute quick charge.
How do they sound and fit? Well, we find these soft and comfortable to wear, including while wearing glasses. The sound quality is full-bodied and rich, with a lot of detail and a satisfying thump to the bass. They offer support for high-resolution audio codecs when used with Android devices, and the multipoint support makes them a great option for use while working, offering seamless switching between your phone and work computer ready for when a call comes through.
The design is waterproof and sweatproof, and the earbuds stay stable during activities like jogging and workouts. We also like that they come with an option to attach them to a neckband that’s included in the package – this adds to the versatility and makes them a top pick for runners.
You can change the sound signature in the app and there are clicky buttons on each bud, which we like even if they can be tricky to reach. Overall, if your focus is on battery life, the AeroFit Pro is at the top of our list.
Shokz OpenFit
Shokz is a brand that’s well-known within the open-ear and bone conduction niche, making multiple pairs of reliable designs for enhanced awareness, including the OpenRun and OpenRun Pro. The OpenFit is a fully wire-free design without a headband, and it’s an ideal pick if comfort is at the top of your priority list. We love the soft and smooth silicone construction, and the slim portion of the ear hooks made them easy to wear while we had our glasses on.
These are good for overall awareness and all-day battery life. We find them secure to wear and we’re confident they’ll remain in place during vigorous activity like high-intensity workouts and running. They’re also a high-quality pick when you’re comparing what’s possible with open-ear sound, as they’re good at directing the audio towards your inner ear without it leaking out too much into the outside world.
We find them great for providing the soundtrack to our day, but we do find it harder to keep up with a podcast in a busy area, as it’s likely the noise of the environment will be louder than the voices you’re listening to.
The app is straightforward to use, and the charging case is compact enough to fit in our pockets. We aren’t the biggest fans of the touch controls on the buds as these aren’t always the easiest to use, but the main selling points here are both the well-rounded sound experience and the exceptional comfort that makes you feel like you’re not wearing any earwear at all.
1More Fit SE
A solid pick for most listeners, there’s a lot to like about the 1More Fit SE — starting with the price. As the open earbuds market grows, we’re seeing more affordable options like this launch. These do feel a little bit cheaper than the competition, with a harder plastic exterior and less sturdy charging case, but overall they work well and deliver on battery.
The fit is generally comfortable too, although the ear hooks pinch slightly more than others we’ve tried, especially with glasses on. The charging case is also on the larger side, but it’s still slim enough to fit in your pocket.
When it comes to sound quality, they’re capable and offer an equaliser within the 1More app to tweak the signature to your liking. For casual listening or wearing while you’re working out or on the go, they’re not going to disappoint.
If you care about the audio, we found the bass quite boomy, sometimes at the cost of detail, but they’re not bad for electronic or pop music. Overall, they’re reliable for both playing your music and keeping you aware of the outside world.
Nothing Ear (open)
There’s a lot to like about Nothing’s debut open earbuds, especially if convenience and comfort are right at the top of your list of priorities in an open-ear design. We had great awareness of our environment while wearing these, and the hooks are soft enough to not bother us on our ears for several hours at a time. They’re also still comfortable to wear while we’ve got our glasses on, which isn’t always the case with the hook-style.
For us, the biggest benefits of the Nothing Ear (open) are its design and the control system. In general, touch controls can be tricky to use accurately when you’re on the move, and that’s especially true if you’re running or exercising (you might accidentally touch them when moving your hair out of the way, for example). The Ear (open) uses pinch controls that can be customised; it’s super easy to just “squeeze” the section of the bud that you need to, and use it for raising and lowering the volume, pausing and skipping around in playlists.
We also appreciate the charging case's slim design, and they’ve got a reliable eight-hour battery life on a single charge. Where they’re not quite up there with our favourites, though, is when it comes to sound quality. We noticed more echoing and reverberations when using these, and there’s a little too much distortion with many genres for us to recommend these primarily for music.
They’re practical, good value and easy to control, though. If you’re using them for calls, audiobooks and podcasts, we doubt you’ll notice the sound issues we had. They’re also a stylish option, and it’ll be easy to slip that slim charging case into a leggings pocket.
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
These Bose buds are the only option on our list with an innovative “ear clip” style. They’re also, by some stretch, the most expensive wireless open-ear headphones we’ve tried, at a whopping £300. If you’re looking for a premium pair though, we think it’s worth the splurge.
To fit them, you extend the flexible clip and put the cylindrical end behind the ear. You can then tinker with the fit and put them in the most comfortable position for you. And they're remarkably comfortable — we barely felt them — and because there’s no over-ear hook, they’re also the best to wear with glasses.
What about the sound quality? It’s fantastic and rich, offering loads of detail, precision and a satisfying boomy bass to go with the crisp highs. We listen to our music on these for hours on end while working from home, and they’re also a reliable option for calls, as long as you’re not taking them in a loud environment, where the microphones don’t perform quite as well.
We like how easy these are to control both through the comprehensive Bose app and via the simple buttons on each bud. This button does end up behind your ear, which isn’t always intuitive, but we think you’ll get the hang of it.
The case is also small and easy to store, while they offer a lot of battery life and an impressive standby time when not in use too. We like how you can turn on an encompassing “Immersion” mode that makes it feel like the sound is surrounding you, and the buds do a terrific job of putting you in a 3D audio environment. While they’re pricey, they do look and feel unique while offering some special features you’re not going to find with most rivals.
Soundcore C40i
Soundcore has found a way to match the convenience of the Bose Ultra Open in the clip-on format without driving up the cost. We were impressed that the little C40i earbuds are almost as comfortable as the Bose option and sound as good as they do in this open style for the price of £99. That makes them £200 more affordable than the similar-looking rival and, in some ways, there isn’t that much between them.
We had these set up in mere minutes and love that they fit in a small charging case, have intuitive button controls and attachable “ear grips” to add to the comfort. And, because they clip to the thinnest part of your ears, they’re not going to get in the way of your glasses.
Like many open earbuds, the sound isn’t quite as clear as it would be from a pair with an in-ear seal, but we were surprised by the bass depth from these. Overall, we’ve heard both better and worse sounding open options, putting these right in the middle of the pack. They’re solid performers.
You can expect to get a 7-hour battery life from the buds, with an extra 14 hours of juice from the charging case. They’re reasonably comfortable to wear for a long time and offer a lot of the features of more expensive rivals for under £100.
Cleer Arc II
These are the clear pick if depth, detail and immersion of your playlists are your top priorities. They're a brilliant option for listening to music all day long and staying aware of everything going on around you.
They may be a sports-focused design, but the Arc II is an all-around performer that’s especially good for its battery life, powerful audio reproduction from its 16.2mm neodymium drivers, and comfortable fit.
They do initially appear to be a larger fit than some of the other earbuds on this list but we can confirm that they’re comfortable to wear even when we’ve got our glasses on, and the ear hook on these is soft enough for it to not feel awkward after several hours of use.
The speaker driver sits in an ideal position, just outside of the ear, and is part of what helps these offer such a well-rounded sound. We find that they get quite loud and can be great for some slight isolation from the outside world while still leaving you aware of what’s happening. They’re also good for being able to hear your podcast or spoken word content while also being aware of what’s happening on the road when you’re going across a pedestrian crossing.
While they’re not without minor downsides – they’re pricey, the touch controls aren’t our favourite compared to buttons, and the charging case is so enormous that we can only recommend it for your bag and not for pockets – these do have a great companion app for tweaking your equaliser and controls, as well as doing firmware updates. Overall, a brilliant all-rounder for music lovers.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of open earbuds?
Open earbuds are a distinct style when compared to typical sealed earbuds, and it’s worth knowing about some of the major differences you can expect to experience, especially as they’re not cheap.
For obvious reasons, they’re not going to provide noise-cancelling and they won’t sound the same as you might expect from earphones and headphones, even budget pairs. Here are some of the major advantages and disadvantages to note:
Pros of open earbuds
Comfort: We think this is one of the most important advantages. If you find silicone or foam tips that seal off your ear canal uncomfortable, the open style will feel much more breathable and less intrusive. We find we can often wear these for longer, and that the ear hooks or clips that keep them in place help with stability.
Awareness: It’s a big benefit that you’re able to stay aware of your surroundings while wearing open buds, and this is something you’ll miss with a lot of sealed designs, where you might need to remember to turn on a “transparency” or “ambient” mode. The open form factor is ideal for situational awareness; a major plus if you’re walking or running and need to be aware of traffic or other hazards.
Long battery life: Open earbuds tend to offer longer battery life compared to active noise-cancelling counterparts. This is because they don’t need to power smart noise-cancelling circuitry or complex extra features. This means that you should be able to wear these all day long while at work or running errands.
Cons of open earbuds
Sound quality: One of the most significant drawbacks to open earbuds is the sound quality, which tends to be unable to match in-ear designs due to the lack of a seal provided by the ear tips. Without the seal, these buds can sometimes struggle to reproduce deep bass frequencies (“bone conduction” particularly struggles with this, due to its reliance on vibration) and will almost inevitably “leak” sound at higher volumes, which could disturb those around you.
Lack of noise cancellation: Because these buds aren’t creating a seal in your ear, they also can’t cancel out background noises and distractions. This makes them less versatile when compared to some of the best true wireless earbuds or over-ear headphones that you might use on the plane, during your commute or when blocking out noises at the office.
Larger charging cases: Overall, we’ve noticed that most open earbuds on the market, especially those with the ear hook style, fit into larger and less pocketable charging cases for refuelling and storage. This isn’t always the case and certain designs – like the ones from Shokz and Bose – are starting to get smaller, but it’s worth noting if you don’t have much pocket space when you’re going out for a run.
Are open earbuds better for your ears?
There are some benefits if you’re looking for buds that are better for your ears. Open designs won’t trap moisture, heat or bacteria as much when you’re working out and moving around. And if you don’t clean your traditional earbuds, those do put you at a slightly increased risk of ear infection. The open design is also more breathable and doesn’t touch your inner ears, so should be more hygienic.
It’s also worth thinking about the risk of noise-induced hearing damage. The open design may make you want to increase the volume, but you should still be aware of safe limits. Deafblind UK recommends you keep your sound levels between 60 and 85 decibels, which is why we also only recommend headphones for kids with an 85-decibel limit.
The same logic applies to adults, and as open earbuds are still speakers just outside your ears, you need to be careful not to blast them on full volume.
What is the difference between open and bone-conduction headphones?
While open earbuds have experienced a surge in popularity over the last year or so, bone-conduction headphones have also been around on the market, particularly appealing to runners and those exercising outdoors where spatial awareness is essential.
Bone-conduction headphones: You’ll notice that Shokz makes many of the most well-known bone-conduction headphones, but you can also pick up rivals from Suunto, H2O Audio, and Philips. These work via vibrations that they send into the listener’s cheekbones, leaving the outer ear completely exposed and delivering sound directly to the inner ear. It’s an excellent approach for awareness but has some downsides when it comes to sound quality.
Open-ear headphones: Alternatively, these designs do sit near the outer ear but are careful not to obscure it. Rather than sitting on the cheekbones, these will use hooks or clips to keep them in place near your ears. We find that the sound is more natural compared to a bone-conduction approach, as these are essentially tiny speaker drivers outside your ears, so music playback mixes with exterior sounds.
What to consider when buying open earbuds
When shopping around for the best open-ear headphones, there are several key specifications to consider. These are the crucial ones that we keep in mind, though:
Battery life
Many of these earbuds are designed for all-day wear, so you’ll want to make sure that they have a battery life that works for that amount of time. Whether these are providing the soundtrack to your day out or allowing you to listen to audiobooks while waiting for the doorbell to ring, you’ll want to make sure they can stay powered on and play for several hours at a time. Most options in this category should deliver at least seven hours of uninterrupted playback, but some can manage double that.
Like other true wireless earphones, they’ll also top themselves back up with juice when you return them to their convenient charging cases. These may offer you two or three additional charges, so you shouldn’t have to worry about recharging them at the mains plug too often. When you do, it’s worth looking out for models that have a “quick charge” as this will tend to mean that they can restore several hours of playback from about ten minutes of being plugged in – ideal if you’ve run out of battery ahead of a long journey.
Water and dust resistance
This is important when looking for gadgets that you’ll use outside, whether you’re buying a portable speaker, a smartwatch or a phone.
Look for the “ingress protection” or “IP” rating. This will always feature “IP” followed by two numbers, such as “IP54”, and the first number (ranging from 0 to 6) indicates the level of protection against solids like dust while the second number (ranging from 0 to 9) tells you how sealed the device is from liquids like water. If you see a rating like IPX5, the “X” means that it hasn’t specifically been tested for dust protection while the “5” tells us that the gadget can deal with water splashes and some jets, so it will be reliable for use in light rain.
Shokz makes waterproof bone-conduction pairs with super-protective IP68 ratings, but it is rare to find such a rating on open designs at the moment.
Controls and ease of use
You’ll find controls on the earbuds themselves, and you can use these to take charge of the playback and access the features of the earbuds. These tend to be either touch controls or physical buttons, and while we tend to prefer the clicky responsiveness of buttons, it’s going to be a personal preference and a quick tap to change the song might be more convenient for runners.
Through these controls, you won’t only be able to skip ahead in your playlists, you may also be able to put the volume up or down, call on your smartphone’s voice assistant, or enter a more immersive mode with dynamic head tracking.
Companion apps
Like a lot of Bluetooth products nowadays, you’ll be able to link most open earbuds to a companion app that you download on your phone. With this, you should be able to tweak controls, customise the sound signature and update the firmware on the buds to deal with any potential bugs or issues that the manufacturer notices.
While it’s possible to use the earbuds without the app at all, we’d always recommend having the app to troubleshoot any issues that you have and to get your earwear working exactly the way you’d like it to.
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