We tested open earbuds from Shokz, Sony, Bose, and more — these were our six favorites.
By
Bethany Allard
Lead Shopping Reporter
Bethany Allard is a Los Angeles-based shopping reporter at Mashable covering beauty tech, dating, sex and relationships, and headphones. That basically means she puts her hair through a lot, scrolls through a lot of dating apps, and rotates through a lot of different headphones. In addition to testing out and rounding up the best products, she also covers deals for Mashable, paying an especially obsessive amount of attention to Apple deals and prices. That knowledge comes in handy when she's covering shopping holidays like Prime Day and Black Friday, which she's now done for three years at Mashable.
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Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable
Noise-cancelling earbuds are a popular choice for many people, but if you want to hear the world around you or find an in-ear design uncomfortable, there's a better option: open earbuds. The best open earbuds let you enjoy your workout playlist without losing touch with your surroundings. The open-ear category is growing fast, so we put the most popular options from Shokz, Bose, Sony, and other brands to the test.
Overview
These are the tech, tools, and products — from laptops to e-readers, from earbuds to robovacs, and more — that Mashable ranks best in class.
Table of Contents
Open-ear earbuds sit on the exterior of the ear, but they also come in many shapes and sizes, from clip models to ear hook models. Some are specifically designed for working out, while others are better for everyday use. The Bose Ultra Open earbuds are an especially popular pick, thanks to their sound quality and color options, but at $299, they're hardly the most affordable option.
Plus, since the Bose Ultra Open came out in 2024, big audio brands like Sony have released open earbuds of their own, while Shokz has introduced noise reduction into the category for the first time. To help you find the best open earbud models available in 2026, we tested the latest options from Soundcore, Sony, Shokz, Bose, and more.
Our Pick
The Good & The Bad
- Sound quality comparable to Bose earbuds
- Impressively long battery life
- Clip-design is lightweight and unobtrusive
- Multipoint pairing works well
- Silicone grip helps keep them in place during exercise
- Touch controls are intuitively placed and work well
- Can feel uncomfortable after several consecutive hours of wear
- Not a ton of extra features
Our review
Read our full review of the Shokz OpenDots One.
Who it's for
If you plan on using your open earbuds primarily for working out but want the option of a solid pair of earbuds too, the Shokz OpenDots One provide the best bang for your buck. They have better audio quality than we expected and an impressive battery life.
If you prefer open-ear headphones or bone-conduction headphones, then try the Mashable-tested Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 instead.
Why we picked this
Brands tend to market open earbuds to folks who like to exercise, and for good reason: That's where their use case makes the most sense. Priced at $199.95, we find that the Shokz OpenDots One hit the sweet spot between providing some of the best sound you can find on open earbuds, while giving the major fitness features you want, all without breaking the bank.
The clip-on ear design is secure but not too snug, only causing some discomfort after multiple hours of wear (in other words, probably less time than you'll spend working out). The cuff design is helped by a silicone grip on one side of the earbud, which also acts as a touch panel, in addition to the battery barrel.
As great as their design is, Mashable contributor Alex Bracetti found these earbuds really shone in their audio quality, even comparing them to Bose's open earbuds: "Shokz isn’t known for its sound quality, but the OpenDots One leave quite the impression. The 11.8mm drivers deliver crisp and lively sound to keep runners fueled on long runs." Considering these earbuds are $100 less than the Bose, getting comparable sound is no small feat. And if you're not in love with how they sound out of the box, the equalizer settings on the Shokz app allow you to fine-tune your experience.
Where these earbuds definitively beat the Bose Ultra Opens is in their battery life, boasting 10 hours per charge to Bose's seven (and four with immersive audio). Their case also holds significantly more charge: 40 hours, to Bose's 19.5.
However, that is where their feature list pretty much ends. It's not necessarily a negative, especially if you prefer buds that do the basics, but do them well.
Details
The Good & The Bad
- Solid sound quality for the price
- Tons of equalizer options
- Adjustable ear hook helps you find the right fit
- Has the best battery life and water and dust-resistance rating of all the earbuds we tested
- Case has wireless charging
- Customizable touch controls (and option to turn them off entirely)
- Impressive language translation feature with companion app
- Back-and-forth conversation with translation feature is a little awkward to use
- Sound quality isn't as good as more expensive options
- Didn't feel quite as secure as clip-on earbuds
Who it's for
If you want open earbuds that are excellent for workouts, still great for daily use, and don't cost a ton, then you want the Anker Soundcore AeroFit 2 earbuds. At half the price of the Shokz OpenDots, they're a good way to try open-ear headphones to find out if you like them, though be warned that the hook design doesn't feel as secure as clip-on-style earbuds.
Why we picked this
Once you start to get to the budget-friendlier end of open earbuds, you realize that it's not a given that they sound decent. Peaking becomes more common, you lose even more of the detail of a song, and audio leaking is more rampant. We didn't have those problems with the Anker Soundcore AeroFit 2 earbuds.
The newer release from the brand improved upon the older model by making the ear hook adjustable. While most ear hook earbuds come with some degree of flexibility, the AeroFits offer four locked-in angles, making them the most comfortable (and snug) open-ear hook buds we've tried so far. Despite sitting in the large case that comes with the ear hook territory, Soundcore's version here is at least lower profile.
As for their performance as workout earbuds, the AeroFit 2s have the best IP rating of any of our picks, being both dust-protected and able to survive jets of water. They have 10 hours of battery life per charge, so even distance runners would be hard-pressed to run them down in one use. The touch controls also hit the right mark for sensitivity, making them great to easily pause and play music (if you prefer, you can also turn them and their sound cue off entirely).
These earbuds surprised us most with their AI language translation feature that you can use through the companion app. Either in real time or with a push-to-talk function, the earbuds were able to accurately translate French and Mandarin to English. Soundcore advertises that it can translate into over 100 languages. While we weren't able to get the real-time translation to work to facilitate a back-and-forth conversation, the push-to-talk allows you to speak in English, and the translation in the opposite language comes out through your device's speakers. The other person's dialogue comes through as text on the app and in audio through your earbuds, with only a slight delay. While the use cases for this feature might be more limited, we found it a clever way to leverage the open-ear design that lets you engage with another person while still wearing earbuds.
Details
The Good & The Bad
- Incredible sound quality, especially in expressing the detail of songs
- Wear very comfortably
- Better battery life than other premium options
- Nice companion app for fine-tuning your listening experience
- All-plastic design doesn't have the most luxurious feel
- A bit too quiet
- No wireless charging
Our review
Read our full review of the Sony LinkBuds Clip.
Who it's for
If you've had your eye on the Bose Ultra Open earbuds but can't quite stomach the $300 price point, the Sony LinkBuds Clip are another excellent pair of cuff-style open earbuds with truly excellent quality. Aside from the Bose buds, if you're looking to get some of the most detail-rich sound out of a pair of open earbuds, you don't need to look any further.
Why we picked this
Bose's open earbuds have been the ones to beat, and Sony's 2026 addition to its open earbuds line may just be the one to do it. While we do want to talk about the Sony buds on their own merit, it's worth mentioning that in Mashable's head-to-head comparison to the Bose Ultra Open earbuds, the Sony LinkBuds Clip came out holding their own — and cementing themselves as likely the better option between the two for most people.
Why? For starters, they're the first to truly rival Bose's rich soundscape. While the Sony earbuds can lean a little on the quiet side (both Mashable's reviewer, Simon Cohen, and I noted we needed to sit around the 80 percent volume mark most of the time), what you can hear is crisp, clear, and dynamic. You won't get quite the same performance with open buds as you would with in-ear buds, but Sony's buds certainly narrow that gap.
As for how they wear, the on-ear controls are simple — touching the band twice or three times activates playback, song selection, or listening modes. These controls had a bit of a learning curve for one of our testers, and another one of our testers found the assigned actions limited, but overall, they do their job and work with gloved hands, which is a huge plus for cooler weather.
Another bonus is their nine-hour battery life, and 37 additional hours found in the case. It's not quite the best battery life on this guide, but it far beats out Bose. For $229.99, they have some flaws, but overall, for some, they may be easier to overlook than the Bose buds, especially for the $70 price difference.
Details
The Good & The Bad
- Excellent, loud sound quality
- Option to use immersive audio
- Comfortable clip design that doesn't pinch, even after hours of wear
- Small charging case
- Plenty of color options available
- Tactile on-ear controls located on battery barrel
- Multipoint connection can be touch and go
- Battery life could be better, especially compared to other options
- Microphone quality could be better
- Lowest water and dust-resistance rating of any option on our list
- Expensive
Our review
Read our full review of the Bose Ultra Open earbuds.
Who it's for
If you want to use open earbuds but don't want to sacrifice having the best sound quality possible, the Bose Ultra Opens easily compare to in-ear options. You'll just have to shell out. And as you'd expect from Bose, they're more comfortable than the alternatives.
Why we picked this
It's hard not to be at least a little floored the first time you try the Bose Ultra Open earbuds — they simply sound way better than any pair of open earbuds has a right to. Sure, they can be a little more distant depending on the angle (easily adjustable) and have less of a booming bass than some in-ear designs (a plus for some people), but despite their quirks, they more than deliver on the sound front. Mashable contributor RJ Andersen writes in her review, "The sound was well-balanced, and even with my ear completely uncovered, I didn’t notice any issues with the audio sounding distant or muddy. Instead, the Ultra Open Earbuds sounded clear, natural, and pretty lush."
While they sound great out of the box, Bose gives you the option between stereo and Immersive Audio (aka Bose's spatial audio setting) once you connect it to the companion app. Of course, you'll also have access to four equalizer presets and one custom equalizer setting. For $300, we expected to be impressed, and based on the sound alone, we were.
But Bose didn't stop there. Although the Ultra Opens share the same cuff-like design as our top pick earbuds, we didn't find any uncomfortable pinching or squeezing, even after hours of wear. They stood out as the most comfortable pair of open earbuds we tested. The design thoughtfulness extended to the on-ear controls, which feature a button at the top of the battery barrel that sits on the outside of your ear. The result was a control that was just as easy to use as a touch control, but way less likely to be triggered by accident.
For all their good, the Ultra Open earbuds aren't quite perfect. Their battery life is on the lower end, their mic quality wasn't great on calls, and their IP rating makes them the least outdoor workout-friendly. (As IPX4 earbuds, they have an unknown amount of dust resistance and splash resistance, meaning they can handle sweat fine, but might not fare as well if you're out in heavier rain). Still, while they're not the most rugged pair, they are the most premium-sounding — if you mainly work out indoors, and don't find yourself on extra-long runs all that often, these drawbacks are workable.
Details
The Good & The Bad
- Noise reduction greatly improves listening experience in noisy environments
- Surprisingly robust sound profile, especially for open earbuds
- Still less expensive than Bose Ultra Open earbuds
- Battery life halves with noise reduction on
- Ear hook design may be less comfortable depending on the wearer
- Priced like premium earbuds with ANC
Our review
Read our full review of the Shokz OpenFit Pro earbuds.
Who it's for
The standout feature of the Shokz OpenFit Pro is definitely their noise reduction, which lowers the volume of the world around you to let your music come into focus. Not to be confused with noise cancellation, this feature balances awareness and sound quality in a way we haven't experienced on another pair of open earbuds.
With that said, these earbuds are the right choice for anyone who often finds themselves using earbuds in busy environments or simply wants their music to sound the best it can in most situations.
Why we picked this
Great as the Bose and Sony open earbuds sound, the ear cuff design isn't for everyone. An ear hook can offer even more stability during exercise, or simply be more comfortable for the wearer.
With that in mind, we've been on the lookout for an open earbud with ear hooks that impressed us with its sound quality, and we found that in the Shokz OpenFit Pro. In addition to the noise reduction — which is adjustable — Shokz optimized these earbuds for Dolby Atmos and offers head tracking, meaning the wearer can really customize their spatial audio experience. (And this spatial audio was noticeably missing any hollowed out sound or overuse of resonance — huge pluses in our book). Further customization comes in the form of a 10-band equalizer, which beats the customization we've seen on more premium in-ear buds (including Bose's QuietComfort Ultra 2 earbuds).
Apart from the listening experience, Shokz nails the design. The case feels surprisingly sleek considering the size of the earbuds. The buds themselves feature a soft silicone on the hooks, and well-placed tactile controls that make it easy to adjust settings without opening up the app (which comes in handy for any exercise scenarios). Speaking of exercise, the IP55 rating makes them suitable for sweating and running — plus, it offers more protection than you'll find on the Sony and Bose buds. Their battery life with noise reduction is decent, at about six hours per charge, but toggled off, you'll squeeze out 12 hours.
Details
The Good & The Bad
- The only real dual-form open/ANC earbuds option
- Relatively affordable considering their dual functionality
- Solid sound quality with options for customization with the companion app
- IP rating that makes them a good option for exercise
- The ANC is just OK
- Can take a minute to find the right fit
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