7 Best Open Ear Wireless Earbuds to Buy
Not everyone prefers the in-ear earbuds that block your surrounding noise. Some people prefer a more open soundscape that lets them listen to music while keeping an ear out for the things happening around them. Open ear wireless earbuds are also great for joggers and outdoor athletes, as they let them listen to their favorite music and podcasts without jeopardizing their safety. Whether you don’t like the uncomfortable silicon tips sticking in your ear or want earbuds you can wear while jogging, here are the 7 best open ear wireless earbuds you can buy in 2023.
But first,
- Check out our favorite accessories for AirPods Pro 2
- Take a look at these best MagSafe accessories for iPhone
Best open ear wireless earbuds in 2023
In the list below, we have mentioned open ear wireless earbuds that go inside your ear, stay on the periphery of your ear, and a neckband style earbud that is best for sports athletes. You can use the table of content below to switch to the earbuds you find more interesting.
- 1. WPOW open ear sports earbuds
- 2. EASARS open ear earphones
- 3. Shokz OpenMove
- 4. Cleer Audio ARC open ear true wireless earphones
- 5. Sony LinkBuds
- 6. Oladance Wearable Stereo open ear wireless earbuds
- 7. Apple AirPods 3
1. WPOW open ear sports earbuds
If you are looking for budget open ear wireless earbuds, you should consider buying the WPOW open ear sports earbuds. The earbuds don’t go inside your ear canal and hang directly on the ear, making them comfortable for long durations. The earbuds offer a secure fit thanks to their ear buckle support and ear hook that goes behind the ear.
The earbuds have Bluetooth 5.0, so connectivity and range won’t be an issue. The earbuds are also IP4 rated and can handle splashes of water. It means you can use them in the gym or out on the run without fearing them getting damaged by sweat or rain.
Other features of the earbuds include an all day battery life with quick charge, a click control mechanism on the earbuds, an easy pairing experience, and a binaural separation design. For the asking price, these are one of the best open ear wireless earbuds you can buy.
2. EASARS open ear earphones
Another good affordable choice for open ear earphone users is the EASARS open ear earphones. The earbuds hook securely above your ears, leaving your ear canal free. The earbuds feature 16.2mm drivers, delivering good audio quality. The earbuds are equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.2, so you will not notice any connection issues with these.
The earphones offer up to seven hours of battery life and take up to two hours to charge from zero to full. You also get touch controls for music, volume, and calls. While not the best open ear earbuds on the market, the EASARS earphones are quite good if you consider their price.
3. Shokz OpenMove
Shokz, previously known as AfterShokz, is one of the pioneers of bone conduction open ear wireless earbuds. Unlike other earbuds that produce sound, Shokz earbuds leave the ear unobstructed and deliver music via bone conduction. The Shokz OpenMove is powered by patented 7th-generation bone conduction and PremiumPitch 2.0 that deliver precise audio.
The neckband style earbuds are perfect for exercising and running as they don’t fall out no matter how rigorous the exercise. The OpenMove earbuds are also IP55 certified, meaning they are water and dust resistant to a degree, and will not die when exposed to water of water from any direction. Other features include Bluetooth 5.1 and dual noise-canceling microphones.
Along with OpenMove, Shokz also offers two more bone conduction headphones, Shokz OpenRun and Shokz OpenRun Pro. The Shokz OpenRun offers 8th-generation bone conduction technology, which improves the sound quality, and weighs only 26 grams (the other two weigh 29 grams), making it the lightest of the three. OpenRun is also the most water-resistant, with IP67 waterproof rating. It offers 8 hours of battery life.
The costliest of the three, the OpenRun Pro is powered by 9th-generation bone conduction technology and offers 10 hours of battery life. We don’t think that the OpenRun Pro justifies its excessive pricing, however, if you can afford it, we recommend the OpenRun over the OpenMove headphones as the former offers drastic enhancements.
Buy from Amazon: Get OpenMove / Get OpenRun / Get OpenRun Pro
4. Cleer Audio ARC open ear true wireless earphones
The Cleer Audio ARC delivers rich and detailed audio without sacrificing volume and bass thanks to Arc’s 16.2mm neodymium drivers that beam audio toward your ears. Cleer also provides the Cleer+ app that you can use to get personalized audio by adjusting the EQ for your preferred music playback.
You also get music, call, and volume controls on the earbuds themselves, so you don’t have to take out your phone every time you want to adjust the volume of your music or pick up and cancel a call. The earbuds offer up to seven hours of playback on each charge, and a 10-minute quick charge can give you an extra hour of listening time.
The earbuds also maintain a good connection when taking calls, however, the callers on the other side could hear some interference, resulting in slightly poor call quality. When it comes to sound leakage, you get about the same sound leakage as you get with other open ear earbuds, so that’s not an issue. Overall, the Clear Audio ARC is an excellent pair of open ear earbuds and gets its place on the list.
5. Sony LinkBuds
The Sony LinkBuds features an open ring design that lets the outside noise through, allowing you to listen to the ambient sound while listening to your favorite music. It comes with an integrated V1 Processor for balanced high-quality sound, and we actually prefer its quality over most of the open ear earbuds on the market.
The earbuds claim 5.5 hours of battery life (17.5 hours together with the case), and in our testing, we got about the same time while playing music. We also love that a quick charge of 10 minutes can add up to 90 minutes of listening time. The Sony Linkbuds is IPX4 water resistant, meaning it can easily handle light rain and exercise sweat. Sony LinkBuds also offer multi-point connections, allowing you to connect two devices simultaneously.
That being said, the open ring sits inside your ear, so it might not be the first choice for you if you are looking for truly open ear earbuds. Also, we recommend that you do not go by its Amazon rating as consumers who want normal earbuds have rated it quite low. And while they are not the most highly-rated open ear earbuds on Amazon, the Sony LinkBuds are one of our favorite earbuds to release in 2022.
6. Oladance Wearable Stereo open ear wireless earbuds
The Oladance Wearable Stereo is one of the best open ear earbuds you can buy. These truly wireless earbuds feature a completely open ear design, with the earbuds resting gently and securely on top of your ear. We love the unique look of these earbuds, and the earbuds even won the prestigious Red Dot Design awards in 2022.
The earbuds pack dual 16.5mm dynamic drivers that deliver one of the best open ear music listening experiences of all the earbuds we have tested. The best part about these earbuds is that you get a clear and crisp listening experience at any volume. Another thing we liked about the Oladance Wearable Stereo earbuds is their call quality. Thanks to the adoption of Bluetooth 5.2, the calls rarely dropped, and callers on the other side didn’t experience any stuttering or interference.
Other features of Oldadance earbuds include multi-point support for better weight distribution, and up to 16 hours of continuous playback per charge (at 50% volume). That said, you don’t get any battery in the case, so you cannot charge it on the move.
7. Apple AirPods 3
If you are an iPhone user (which most of our readers are), you can also consider the new Apple AirPods 3. While these are not truly open ear earbuds, thanks to their clever acoustic maze, they feel like one. It lets enough outside noise in, so you can use it while jogging and still be appraised of the traffic around you.
With AirPods 3, you also get the benefit of the Apple ecosystem. That means effortless pairing, automatic switching between devices, Siri integration, and more. Not to mention, you get personalized spatial audio, pinch controls, and up to 30 hours of licensing time (including the case battery). If you are entrenched in the Apple ecosystem, AirPods 3 is a good option that you should consider.
Top open ear earbuds you should buy
That ends our list of the best open ear earbuds you can buy. We have included regular open ear earbuds, bone conduction earbuds, and more choices, so buy the one that best fits your needs. Do let us know which one chose in the comments below.
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