The 10 best open earbuds for awareness of your surroundings

Most people after flexible hook-style open earbuds will get everything they need and more from the Huawei FreeArc. They're rivals to Shokz, with an affordable price, great specs, intuitive controls and a comfortable fit. They work just as well with iPhones as they do with Android handsets and, while there is a companion app, we’ve found we haven’t needed to change any default settings.

They offer responsive and intuitive touch controls with simple taps for play/pause and skipping back and forwards, and then you can swipe up and down on either bud to handle volume. We had absolutely no trouble using this system. They're also really comfortable to wear. The FreeArc are a lot like Shokz models, which have a soft silicone exterior that makes them easy to wear for a long time without irritation. It's a lot better than the harder plasticky feel of some rivals. They come in simple grey, black or bright green colours, they don’t get in the way of glasses, and they look discreet too.

What about sound? We were impressed. The music has enough bass and clarity, and we found the overall performance quite comparable to the Shokz OpenFit Air. It’s very solid – you can get better-sounding open earbuds, but not without spending a fair bit more. These are also good for phone calls, with a more than serviceable microphone quality.

Yes, the OpenFit Air does offer some worthy competition at around this price, but unless you need the thinner hooks of the Shokz, we’d still opt for the FreeArc instead because they’ve got all the same features at a lower price, along with better controls and a better durability rating.

The Shokz OpenFit Air offer 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 have 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.

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 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, and come in at £119 rather than £179.

Overall, we’re big fans of the Shokz companion app, the soft touch silicone material that makes the buds comfortable to wear, and the balanced sound quality. The touch controls can be a little hit-and-miss, but the overall experience is excellent. They offer a secure fit and feel, along with a great battery life and a pocketable charging case.

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 with a 10-minute quick charge.

How do they sound and fit? Well, they're 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 work, offering seamless switching between your phone and work computer 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.

While we'd previously picked Soundcore’s C40i as our top value pick in this clip-on style, the brand’s latest launch – the AeroClip – is better in almost every way. The AeroClip style is a less chunky version of the clip bud that lightly grips onto the outer part of your ear, evenly distributing pressure. They’re a lot like the Bose Ultra Open, but significantly more affordable at £129.99 rather than £299!

They’re more comfortable to wear than most clip-style buds we’ve tried, and they get very close to the “barely there” feeling of the Bose. We can wear these for half a day at our desk without really noticing or minding them being on. At only 5.9g per bud, they’re just as lightweight as the Bose pair too. The “ring” connecting the speaker portion and the part that grips to your ear makes them look like a fashion accessory – it’s something that will suit some, but might not be for everyone.

They also boast simple touch controls that you can customise in the app, plus IPX4 water resistance, which means that they’ll be sweat-resistant and able to handle splashes, and they’ll deliver an impressive seven hours of uninterrupted playback from a single charge. The AeroClip buds come in a simple Midnight Black, Champagne Mist or a Rosy Brown.

While we weren’t quite convinced by the sound quality of Soundcore’s C40i, there are a lot of positives when it comes to the AeroClip. Soundcore says they’ve got an advanced “virtual bass” technology that will make bass more punchy and deliver a natural sound across all frequencies. Bass is where open buds typically struggle, and we’ve found these quite immersive and energetic to listen to.

Overall, the Soundcore AeroClip is a fantastic value option that delivers the majority of what we love about the Bose Ultra Open in a much more affordable package.

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. If you’re looking for a premium pair though, we think they're 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.

Shokz is a brand that’s well-known within the open-ear and bone conduction category, 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, 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. They're 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.

They're great for providing the soundtrack to your day, but we did find it harder to keep up with a podcast in a busy area, as the noise of the environment is often 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 they 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.

If you’re on a tight budget and some of our top value picks aren’t on offer, we’d consider the Soundcore AeroFit 2 as another excellent contender for under £100. They’ve got a good IP55 water and dust resistance rating, impressive battery life, decent sound quality and a slim charging case.

Like all the Soundcore options, they connect to the same handy companion app, which delivers a number of extra features including the ability to customise the tap controls, turn on a low-lag gaming mode, a spatial audio experience, or to pick different sound presets. You may or may not use these, but they’re a nice added benefit.

They’ve got heaps of battery, lasting for a whopping 10 hours of playback on a single charge, and recharging is simple with a speedy 10-minute refuel delivering four hours of use. And they also work with wireless charging pads too.

We like that they come in an appealing range of colours (black, white, blue or green) and the fit is also adjustable between a range of different positions, using a hinge to move the bud portion. This helps with comfort and makes them more adaptable to different ear sizes. The hard plastic material is a little less comfortable than soft silicone on rivals, but we still found them comfortable enough to wear for hours.

The sound performance is also solid for the price, but they’re a bit flatter and muddier in quality when compared to models in the same general price tier. We prefer both the Shokz OpenFit Air and Huawei FreeArc for sound quality, for example. Still, this Soundcore pair is often on offer and has a great set of features overall, for a sensible price.

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.

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 particularly 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 is soft enough for it to not feel awkward after several hours of use.

The speaker driver sits in an ideal position, just outside 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 big 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.

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 when worn 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 will be easy to slip that slim charging case into a leggings pocket.