Why Open Earbuds Might Be the Game-Changer You Need

Seems like everyone has been talking about open-ear earbuds recently, and that’s probably not far from the truth. According to analytics firm Canalys, open earbuds have seen a 68.2 percent increase in quarter-on-quarter growth, and the company expects that growth to continue.

I test earbuds constantly. I’ve tried over-the-ear headphones (like the Apple AirPods Max) and in-the-ear earbuds (like my go-to Denon PerL earbuds). I’ve even tested over-the-ear options and found they have some solid uses.

Most recently, I’ve been testing another pair released in October. I decided to use them exclusively for a week to see if I could replace the in-ear or over-the-ear versions. Here’s what I learned.

Open Earbuds Are More Comfortable

The most obvious benefit—and the thing I love the most—of open-ear earbuds is comfort. Not having something jammed into your ear canal when you need to wear earbuds for hours means (at least for me) less pain. Even my go-to earbuds get uncomfortable after a few hours of wear. I can sometimes wear earbuds for 6 hours or more during work days. Open earbuds alleviate the soreness caused by the pressure of the earbuds on my ear canals.

They’re also often more comfortable to wear when I’m out in public. I like hearing what’s happening around me, and wearing noise-canceling earbuds when I’m out and about leaves me anxious. I find that with open-ear earbuds, I have better spatial awareness, which alleviates some of that anxiety.

But the Sound?

The downfall of open earbuds is that they don’t necessarily offer the best sound. The ones that I’ve tested so far all have some benefits. For example, the H2O Audio Tri Pro Multi-Sport headphones (which are actually earbuds with a neck strap) were great for using when I was in the pool. The Nothing Ear(open) earbuds hook over your ear and are well-weighted, making them comfortable to use while walking or even out shopping.

The sound, however, isn’t the same as it would be if you were wearing in-ear earbuds. The whole point of open earbuds is situational awareness, which is great in some situations but not always what I’m looking for. You can still take calls, hear music or podcasts, and keep tabs on the outside world. But if you want to be immersed in what you’re listening to, these are not the right earbuds.

It comes down to what you’ll use them for. And maybe it’s time to consider that you need more than one pair of earbuds.