Best OPEN Earbuds 2024 [Tested & Compared!] – Bose vs Sony vs AirPods vs Shokz..
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Sony Linkbuds 👉 https://mikeobrienmedia.com/linkbuds
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds 👉 https://mikeobrienmedia.com/BoseOpenBuds
Shokz Openfit 👉 https://mikeobrienmedia.com/ShokzOpenfit
Galaxy Buds Live 👉 https://mikeobrienmedia.com/galaxy-buds-live
Apple AirPods 3 👉 https://mikeobrienmedia.com/AirPods-3
Why do all open earbuds look so different? I tested and compared the top open earbuds from Bose, Apple, Sony, Samsung, and Shokz to find out.
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 intro
1:02 Why open earbuds?
2:05 The contenders
Sony Linkbuds (Original)
Samsung Galaxy buds Live
Apple Airpods 3
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
Shokz Openfit Earbuds
3:24 Fits & Comfort
6:00 Sound bleed test
7:13 Microphone test
9:30 Aesthetics
11:22 Best Case Design
13:23 Sound quality
16:44 Best Features
20:18 Water Resistance
21:08 Battery Life
22:55 Personal thought
23:32 Overall Result
25:54 Closing
Disclaimer: This video is purely based on my experiences, research, and opinions. You and only you are responsible for your actions. I made this channel to advise viewers and I truly hope to help you all out. I love making these videos and connecting with my viewers!
One or more of the products shown in this video may have been sent to me at no cost. This does not influence my opinions; I always cover both pros and cons.
This channel is monetized via YouTube ads as well as some affiliate links. If a purchase is made after clicking the link, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to the buyer. Thank you all for watching!
Bose the king of sounds
I’m using sony about a year now, the battery getting drain without using it.
I like them because I can’t keep in ear earbuds in my ears
Buds live are best
Good review. I have the Bose and Shokz and notice you failed to mention a few things. I wear glasses sometimes and readers alot. The Shokz are more difficult fit with glasses, especially if you take the off and put them back on frequently like readers. Bose comes with an option to buy a wireless charging case. Also Bose is more flexible for different earlobes.
Is it just me or do the Samsung sound muffled? I expected much better from them. I just watched one tuber try some ear buds from Temu (under $9) and he said they easily rival sound quality of his Galaxy buds, I’m glad I didn’t waste the $9
The main reason I wear open earbuds is because I get ear infections quite easily & generally have sensitive ears, so in-ear earbuds are absolutely awful for me. Before I found open earbuds I would just wear over-ear headphones, but I still didn’t like that because they hurt your ears when wearing them a lot and its just not super pleasant to have your ear suffocated all day. Open earbuds are perfect; I don’t have to worry about any of those problems anymore.
From my perspective, only 2 of these are open ear — the Shokz & Bose — because I wear them primarily to keep things from touching or blocking anywhere near my ear canal.
I’ve only used the Shokz. The OpenFit were a welcome upgrade for me from the previous bone conduction ones, as those can give you a headache after wearing all day (just from having something pressed against your temples).
The main problem with the Shokz is that they don’t last. I’m looking at this review because my Shokz died and I just found out about the new Bose. My previous bone conduction Shokz also died faster than I would have liked.
I’m really impressed by the style of the Bose, it looks significantly more fashionable than the Shokz — they have kind of a cyberpunk aesthetic. I would love to go for a pair of those, but the mic quality is giving me pause. I like to use mine for work and for other phone calls — Shokz are really nice for calls, as you can hear your surroundings and so you can speak like you were in-person. I suppose its not a big deal for work, as I usually use a Shure mic and just have the earbuds for audio, but it would be annoying for phone calls.. I might try them just to try them
It is also kind of annoying that these are also the 2 that don’t have wireless charging… that would be nice.
I like my beats but they don’t last long
8:56 sounded Like there was about to be a drive by.😅
I know it’s not as popular, but wish you compared Oladance headphones
Miller Laura Davis Elizabeth Gonzalez Gary
I fell that the Sony are the best for the song and the mic
My main score would be sound – comfort( with hat and sunglasses on too)- and charging battery case
For daily runs 3-6 miles and shopping
I’m going with the Bose
Shokz openfit
Airpods fall out man. If anything THEY DO fall out. Literally them fall off of everyones ears on Trails and tracks. They are trash for work outs. Big thumbs down. try running for longer then 10 minutes.
As someone who has had the Shokz open air for 8 months now, I wouldn’t recommend them. Don’t get me wrong, I like how they fit, they have great battery life, fast charging, and good sound quality…at first. The problem I’ve had is in these 8 months I’ve had two pairs, and in BOTH the bass sound begins to blow out and gets worse over time. So if you listen to music with decent base, or just people talking with deeper voices, at first, it sounds great. After a couple months, the bass starts to sound a bit blown out, like a super cheap headphone. By 4-5 months, any audio with a good amount of bass is almost unlistenable.
Now, I wear these a LOT (at reasonable volumes). Every day for many hours, while working out, playing games, or watching stuff on my phone when I don’t want to bug my partner. They get heavy use, so I don’t expect they to last forever. But at the price I’m paying, even with heavy use, having noticable quality loss withing a few months is just unacceptable. Maybe I’ve just had bad luck, but having the same problem with two different sets really put me off of them. I will NOT be getting a third set.
I wonder why you like the apple iPods the most😅 (please listen to your own video)
I want to buy earbuds for gym purposes to counter gym music
Can anyone tell me which earbuds are best to counter gym music?
I am a samsung user.
Sony?
Bose?
Sennheieser?
Apple?
Beats?
Any other?
FYI in ear headphones are terrible for your ears. Especially if you wear them for long periods
Walker Michael Harris Charles Rodriguez Timothy
JLab Flex open earbuds, Soundcore C30i.
The sony and the shockz have the clearest microphone. The Apple and samsungs seem to let way to much background noise bleed through and overpower the voice. The shockz do have some white noise coming in but it doesn’t drown out the speaker
I have to only agree with the Comfort. Oh my word, super Comfort for the boss i fall asleep with them on forgetting them. But please don’t buy if you’re looking for them to use for a phone call. So sad I love bose but the fact that I you can’t used on my calls they are going back
No Huawei Freeclip?
I personally prefer the the mic performance of airpod3 and Samsung LiveBuds. 😊
I bought the Sony earbuds, I find they fall out quite easily. Good sound quality but the charge doesn’t last very long, and now I’m finding one of them isn’t charging at times. I’ve always struggled to find anything that will stay in, Bose look favourite but not at that price.
I’d like to see a review of the C-shaped ones like the Huawei FreeClip, I know they’re not available in the US but they’re louder, better sound quality and wireless charging for half the price of the Bose. I don’t really care how they look and cases are all pretty similar.
My live buds have never fallen out, but yes the touch is sensitive. Still, they are my favs!
Open earbuds are mainly aimed at people big into fitness like weight lifting and running. Since they are an open design there is no risk pressure build up in your ear when wheight lifting which can rupture your ear drum (Yes it can happen). On the running side they give you more situational awareness and certain races have a ban on in the ear earbuds.
I had two pairs of the Sony Linkbuds but they both failed after a few months of use. The sound became crackly and distorted, which I could temporarily fix by squeezing them really hard. Clearly a design fault, especially judging from reading the forums where others experienced the same. I managed to exchanged them and paid extra for the Bose Ultra Earbuds and got to say, I’m really pleased with them.
Honestly feels like I’m not wearing them – they are so light. Bass is a bit lacking and I would love to be able to track them if they ever become lost, similar to how you can with Apple AirPods.
BOSE👍😍👌
Huawei Freeclips by far the best.
You can’t even feel them and they have a bunch of mics with like some amazing noise filters. I can talk to people while my windows down on the highway.
Only downside is little to no base but for that I have badass headphones.
OMG the apple airpods have NEVER been comfortable for me and many other people I know -from inception.
A secure Fit and reliable, quality performance is everything! I need a battery life of 10hrs with noise canceling, great sound, a secure fit, and reliability. That shouldn’t be too much to ask in today’s tech. I don’t care about a fashion statement or having the fanciest, that’s just dumb. Fix the necessities and then offer different options. Most electronics today do not have reliable quality, just check all reviews. The most reliable electronic item I have had is my Galaxy Ultra phone; it does have minor nuances but still the best in electronics. My Galaxy Buds Pro had good noise canceling but the worst fit, constantly falling out of my ears until one fell in the toilet while urinating and I had to flush it. Shokz OpenRun Pro are good but can’t noise cancel and can’t be heard well enough in loud environments. Shokz Fit are nicer than OpenRuns. Sony Linkbuds S have mediocre noise canceling which also crackles with harsher sounds. Noise canceling on all I tried only lasts 3 hours on average.
Suuuureeee. Comparing open earbuds vs to not open ones is funny
Using the Bose currently to watch this video. These shine as a podcast earbud less so music
Feels like the podcast is actually taking place in your vicinity. Music quality is very good too but podcasts have been a surreal experience with these.
shokz are Chinese, if you buy them you are supporting Chinese communist party and their concentration camps, murders, dictatorship, etc
Sad to see that Anker c30i is not on here. It’s similar to the Bose buds but way cheaper, sounds just as good and BETTER mic. Another cheaper alternative would be the Rockspace earcuffs. Similar design, sounds great if you’re not picky.
Airpods should not be here sorry
It’s healthy to have open ear
really good diverse and detailed reviews – thank you
I went with the Shokz Openfit Air. A little lighter weight than the Openfit. Better price point: $119. Cross platform multi-point connectivity: I can connect my personal iPhone and my company Samsung/Android simultaneously. The ability to wear only one while the other charges in the case allows me to stretch out the runtime on days of long conference calls.
I swear by the Sony earbuds I’m on my third pair and knocks on audio sounds like it’s someone at your door I’ve freaked out plenty of times hearing a random knock at the door so many times 😅😅😅😅
Hi dear…. Why did you miss the huawei freebuds 5 on this video?
You should put freebuds 5 on this test
Airpods are ugly, in all honesty. Bose look like some kind of earring
If someone wants to make timestamps, I will add them to the video! Thank you all for watching 🙂
Nicholas Hoult is it YOU ? lol
I think everyone who had the discomfort of dropping a magnetic case should appreciate a snapping case that does not loose the earbuds so easily 😀
I had the SHOKZ but sadly lost one of the ear pieces and SHOKZ refuses to offer single earpiece replacements. Also the audio quality isn’t a patch on over ear headphones or in ear ones. If you’re looking for hi-fi quality avoid these types.
We need to see the workout videos with These in