Baseus Inspire XC1: Two minute review

In every headphone niche there are going to be the big-name players, and there are going to be the little-known challengers offering a more affordable or even more novel take on the form factor, and it’s no different with clip-on, cuff-style sets, which still count among the best open earbuds we've tested.

Open earbuds are a type of headphone which intentionally doesn’t block out surrounding sound, letting you hear what’s going on when you’re working out, going on a run outdoors or are on your commute, and clip-ons are one style which clips onto your ear, in a kind of cuff style, rather than a hook style that snakes behind the curve of your ear.

While this form factor is dominated by names like the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds and, more recently, the Shokz OpenDots One, a few other brands offer something different, and Baseus is now one of them.

The Baseus Inspire XC1 are the third 'clipping' headphone from Baseus, so you’d hope the brand has some expertise it can bring. Their pitch is that they fix open-ears’ common sound quality problems by bringing Bose-tuned audio, support for Hi-Res Audio and LDAC availability, all for a relatively modest price.

To that end it was claimed at launch that the XC1 were the first open earbuds with two drivers per bud, an assertion which the aforementioned Shokz OpenDots One might take issue with, but that certainly shows a focus on sound quality.

It’s ironic, then, that the sound quality was a weaker point for these open earbuds. The sonic profile is warm yet ill-defined, so bass lacks punch and trebles and mids are missing something themselves. While some fitness users might enjoy this kind of indistinct wall of noise (something to tune out with, while focusing on your workout), audiophiles aren’t going to be impressed.

I also found that the buds’ bridge could pinch over long listening periods, which isn’t ideal, but I do mean long – I could listen for several hours before noticing the issue, so it won’t be a problem everyone faces. And the fit is reliable beyond that.

I’m starting this synopsis with two negatives, but there’s a lot to like about the Inspire XC1 beyond these pitfalls. The battery life is longer than on many rivals, for one thing, and the equalizer is advanced with several presets and plenty of customization. Also, the touch controls are easy-to-use and convenient.

That last point in particular is something I want to emphasize. The vast majority of headphones and earbuds do touch controls terribly but Baseus' solution was simple and easy – other brands could learn a thing or two here.

As mentioned above, the Baseus also undercuts both Bose's and Shokz’ alternatives, and offers good value for money when you compare their feature sets and audio qualities. If you don’t want to stretch your budget to reach for those pricier options, the Baseus Inspire XC1 option could be a good compromise.

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Specifications

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Price and availability

• Announced in September 2025
• Priced at $129 (roughly £100, AU$200)
• Undercuts many rivals

The Baseus Inspire XC1 were released at the annual tech conference IFA in September 2025, alongside the XH1 over-ear headphones and XP1 in-ear buds.

At retail price, the Inspire XC1 cost $129 (roughly £100 or AU$200 but TechRadar wasn’t provided international release information prior to launch).

That price is in the ballpark of rivals, confirming that the Baseus product undercuts lots of its competition to a greater or lesser degree; the Huawei FreeClip, Shokz OpenDots and Bose Ultra Open earbuds all cost increasingly more.

But there are some well-respected options for cheaper still, including the JLab Flex Open and Anker Soundcore C40i. And let's not forget, Baseus itself has two other alternatives that undercut this, in the MC1 and BC1.

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Design

• Bud and counterweight connected by small hook
• Lightweight but can pinch after extended use
• Easy-to-use touch controls

For those of you who skipped the intro, the Baseus Inspire XC1 is a clip-style (or cuff-style, if you prefer) open-ear earbud. The latter hyphenation indicates that these are earbuds which don’t block your ear, so you can hear your surroundings, and the former signifies that instead of using a sports loop to hover over your ear, they clip onto your auricle, using a small earbud which nestles into your ear and a counterweight behind the ear which are linked by a plastic bridge.

Clipping earbuds always look frightfully unreliable but that’s rarely the case, and it’s not true for the XC1 either: the buds’ hold is reliable and I went on many hours of runs without any slipping or falling. However, it does pinch a little which, although only noticeable after sustained use, means they can stop being comfortable if you’re listening for long amounts of time. I also found myself knocking the behind-the-ear counterweight with my shoulder on occasion when I was stretching or rolling my head, but those were rare cases.

Each bud weighs roughly 5.5g, so they tip the scales to a similar degree as rivals, and they have an IP66 rating which certifies them against any kind of solid particles like dust, as well as high-pressure water jets… I think. Elsewhere in the information Baseus provided to TechRadar, it referred to the buds as having an IPX7 rating, which offers no proofing against dust but increased water resistance.

The counterweight has a small physical button, and you can customize what this does using the app – but by default, it pauses music. I found it pretty easy to pinch this to control my music once I got used to the position, and I’m glad Baseus isn’t trying to do anything more complex with its controls like some other brands.

The case weighs 54g and it’s fairly small, although that’s not saying much given that most clip-on earbuds have tiny cases. It opens horizontally and accepts either earbud in either hole, saving a lot of faff when you want to put the buds away.

• Design score: 4/5

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Features

• Not as many features as rivals
• Battery life is 8 hours, 40 hours with case
• EQ with lots of useful presets

The Baseus Inspire XC1 will offer you 8 hours of listening time in one go, according to the brand’s figures – my own testing didn’t raise any reasons to doubt this. That just a hair on the long side compared to lots of other rivals using this form factor.

Using the case, you can get an extra 32 hours of listening time, for 40 hours in total, and again lots of the Baseus’ rivals fall a little short.

Due to the form factor, there’s no noise cancellation – it’s not unheard of in open-ears, but it’s incredibly rare and so we don’t expect it.

Baseus offers an app with a few extra features including an equalizer, a low latency mode, the ability to customize touch controls, toggles to high-res audio and a feature I haven’t seen much of on headphones: a battery-saver mode. As someone who gets battery anxiety on long trips, this is certainly a welcome feature.

The equalizer comes with seven presets, including a Bose-designed one, but you can create your own sound mix using an eight-band EQ mode too.

I’ve never written this sentence about an earbud tie-in app before, but the Baseus app felt very slow to use on my powerful Android phone. This shouldn’t dictate your purchase decision but it’s just to say ‘no, your phone isn’t breaking down’.

• Features score: 4/5

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Sound performance

• Two drivers per bud
• Muddied sound profile
• Support for several standards

Each bud of the Baseus Inspire XC1 gets two drivers: a 10.8mm woofer for low-end sounds and a balanced armature tweeter for high-end ones that we weren’t told the size of.

It’s rare to see a dual-driver open-ear, with most manufacturers opting not to kit out earbuds that will be competing with so many background sounds, but that’s not all. The buds also support higher-resolution audio and the LDAC codec if you switch them on in the app.

Listening to music, it’s clear that the sound is good quality, and that’s especially true if you do opt to make the most of the standards offered. And so you’re probably wondering why I criticized the audio before. Well, that comes down to the tuning.

The Inspire XC1 have a warm sound profile, with the woofer coming up clutch to support lots of bass. However it’s an ill-defined kind of bass, muddy and indistinct, a that’s an issue that plagues music as a whole: treble isn’t sharp, mids are mushy.

The result is that music seems to lack a lot of energy and spark. I don’t know about you, but lifeless tunes are the last thing I want with earbuds designed for exercise.

You’re probably wondering why I didn’t just jump into the equalizer to fix the problem; I tried, and it didn’t really work. Other presets beyond the default (the Bose-tuned one, I must add) maintain the issue to a lesser or greater degree. If you’ve got the buds, I’d recommend opting for the Jazz Rock preset, which was the most energetic to my ears.

• Sound performance score: 3.5/5

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Value

The Baseus XC1 undercut a decent amount of the competition, including options which don’t offer substantially more for your money, although you can get alternatives that are a lot cheaper if you shop around.

Bearing in mind the cost and what you’re actually getting for your money, they offer a reasonable value set, letting you get all of the features of pricier rivals with a few downgrades to justify the cost.

• Value score: 4/5

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: scorecard

Baseus Inspire XC1: Should I buy?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Also consider

How I tested

I wore the Baseus Inspire XC1 for two weeks in order to write this review, which is TechRadar's standard testing time for headphones.

The buds were connected to my Android smartphone through the test. I used them on runs, on cycle rides, at the gym, on public transport, at home and on walks around my neighborhoor, mostly for music streaming but for some spoken word too.

I've been testing products for TechRadar since 2019 and this has included plenty of other workout headphones, as well as loads of open earbuds.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed: September 2025

Baseus Inspire XC1: Two minute review

In every headphone niche there are going to be the big-name players, and there are going to be the little-known challengers offering a more affordable or even more novel take on the form factor, and it’s no different with clip-on, cuff-style sets, which still count among the best open earbuds we've tested.

Open earbuds are a type of headphone which intentionally doesn’t block out surrounding sound, letting you hear what’s going on when you’re working out, going on a run outdoors or are on your commute, and clip-ons are one style which clips onto your ear, in a kind of cuff style, rather than a hook style that snakes behind the curve of your ear.

While this form factor is dominated by names like the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds and, more recently, the Shokz OpenDots One, a few other brands offer something different, and Baseus is now one of them.

The Baseus Inspire XC1 are the third 'clipping' headphone from Baseus, so you’d hope the brand has some expertise it can bring. Their pitch is that they fix open-ears’ common sound quality problems by bringing Bose-tuned audio, support for Hi-Res Audio and LDAC availability, all for a relatively modest price.

To that end it was claimed at launch that the XC1 were the first open earbuds with two drivers per bud, an assertion which the aforementioned Shokz OpenDots One might take issue with, but that certainly shows a focus on sound quality.

It’s ironic, then, that the sound quality was a weaker point for these open earbuds. The sonic profile is warm yet ill-defined, so bass lacks punch and trebles and mids are missing something themselves. While some fitness users might enjoy this kind of indistinct wall of noise (something to tune out with, while focusing on your workout), audiophiles aren’t going to be impressed.

I also found that the buds’ bridge could pinch over long listening periods, which isn’t ideal, but I do mean long – I could listen for several hours before noticing the issue, so it won’t be a problem everyone faces. And the fit is reliable beyond that.

I’m starting this synopsis with two negatives, but there’s a lot to like about the Inspire XC1 beyond these pitfalls. The battery life is longer than on many rivals, for one thing, and the equalizer is advanced with several presets and plenty of customization. Also, the touch controls are easy-to-use and convenient.

That last point in particular is something I want to emphasize. The vast majority of headphones and earbuds do touch controls terribly but Baseus' solution was simple and easy – other brands could learn a thing or two here.

As mentioned above, the Baseus also undercuts both Bose's and Shokz’ alternatives, and offers good value for money when you compare their feature sets and audio qualities. If you don’t want to stretch your budget to reach for those pricier options, the Baseus Inspire XC1 option could be a good compromise.

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Specifications

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Price and availability

• Announced in September 2025
• Priced at $129 (roughly £100, AU$200)
• Undercuts many rivals

The Baseus Inspire XC1 were released at the annual tech conference IFA in September 2025, alongside the XH1 over-ear headphones and XP1 in-ear buds.

At retail price, the Inspire XC1 cost $129 (roughly £100 or AU$200 but TechRadar wasn’t provided international release information prior to launch).

That price is in the ballpark of rivals, confirming that the Baseus product undercuts lots of its competition to a greater or lesser degree; the Huawei FreeClip, Shokz OpenDots and Bose Ultra Open earbuds all cost increasingly more.

But there are some well-respected options for cheaper still, including the JLab Flex Open and Anker Soundcore C40i. And let's not forget, Baseus itself has two other alternatives that undercut this, in the MC1 and BC1.

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Design

• Bud and counterweight connected by small hook
• Lightweight but can pinch after extended use
• Easy-to-use touch controls

For those of you who skipped the intro, the Baseus Inspire XC1 is a clip-style (or cuff-style, if you prefer) open-ear earbud. The latter hyphenation indicates that these are earbuds which don’t block your ear, so you can hear your surroundings, and the former signifies that instead of using a sports loop to hover over your ear, they clip onto your auricle, using a small earbud which nestles into your ear and a counterweight behind the ear which are linked by a plastic bridge.

Clipping earbuds always look frightfully unreliable but that’s rarely the case, and it’s not true for the XC1 either: the buds’ hold is reliable and I went on many hours of runs without any slipping or falling. However, it does pinch a little which, although only noticeable after sustained use, means they can stop being comfortable if you’re listening for long amounts of time. I also found myself knocking the behind-the-ear counterweight with my shoulder on occasion when I was stretching or rolling my head, but those were rare cases.

Each bud weighs roughly 5.5g, so they tip the scales to a similar degree as rivals, and they have an IP66 rating which certifies them against any kind of solid particles like dust, as well as high-pressure water jets… I think. Elsewhere in the information Baseus provided to TechRadar, it referred to the buds as having an IPX7 rating, which offers no proofing against dust but increased water resistance.

The counterweight has a small physical button, and you can customize what this does using the app – but by default, it pauses music. I found it pretty easy to pinch this to control my music once I got used to the position, and I’m glad Baseus isn’t trying to do anything more complex with its controls like some other brands.

The case weighs 54g and it’s fairly small, although that’s not saying much given that most clip-on earbuds have tiny cases. It opens horizontally and accepts either earbud in either hole, saving a lot of faff when you want to put the buds away.

• Design score: 4/5

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Features

• Not as many features as rivals
• Battery life is 8 hours, 40 hours with case
• EQ with lots of useful presets

The Baseus Inspire XC1 will offer you 8 hours of listening time in one go, according to the brand’s figures – my own testing didn’t raise any reasons to doubt this. That just a hair on the long side compared to lots of other rivals using this form factor.

Using the case, you can get an extra 32 hours of listening time, for 40 hours in total, and again lots of the Baseus’ rivals fall a little short.

Due to the form factor, there’s no noise cancellation – it’s not unheard of in open-ears, but it’s incredibly rare and so we don’t expect it.

Baseus offers an app with a few extra features including an equalizer, a low latency mode, the ability to customize touch controls, toggles to high-res audio and a feature I haven’t seen much of on headphones: a battery-saver mode. As someone who gets battery anxiety on long trips, this is certainly a welcome feature.

The equalizer comes with seven presets, including a Bose-designed one, but you can create your own sound mix using an eight-band EQ mode too.

I’ve never written this sentence about an earbud tie-in app before, but the Baseus app felt very slow to use on my powerful Android phone. This shouldn’t dictate your purchase decision but it’s just to say ‘no, your phone isn’t breaking down’.

• Features score: 4/5

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Sound performance

• Two drivers per bud
• Muddied sound profile
• Support for several standards

Each bud of the Baseus Inspire XC1 gets two drivers: a 10.8mm woofer for low-end sounds and a balanced armature tweeter for high-end ones that we weren’t told the size of.

It’s rare to see a dual-driver open-ear, with most manufacturers opting not to kit out earbuds that will be competing with so many background sounds, but that’s not all. The buds also support higher-resolution audio and the LDAC codec if you switch them on in the app.

Listening to music, it’s clear that the sound is good quality, and that’s especially true if you do opt to make the most of the standards offered. And so you’re probably wondering why I criticized the audio before. Well, that comes down to the tuning.

The Inspire XC1 have a warm sound profile, with the woofer coming up clutch to support lots of bass. However it’s an ill-defined kind of bass, muddy and indistinct, a that’s an issue that plagues music as a whole: treble isn’t sharp, mids are mushy.

The result is that music seems to lack a lot of energy and spark. I don’t know about you, but lifeless tunes are the last thing I want with earbuds designed for exercise.

You’re probably wondering why I didn’t just jump into the equalizer to fix the problem; I tried, and it didn’t really work. Other presets beyond the default (the Bose-tuned one, I must add) maintain the issue to a lesser or greater degree. If you’ve got the buds, I’d recommend opting for the Jazz Rock preset, which was the most energetic to my ears.

• Sound performance score: 3.5/5

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: Value

The Baseus XC1 undercut a decent amount of the competition, including options which don’t offer substantially more for your money, although you can get alternatives that are a lot cheaper if you shop around.

Bearing in mind the cost and what you’re actually getting for your money, they offer a reasonable value set, letting you get all of the features of pricier rivals with a few downgrades to justify the cost.

• Value score: 4/5

Baseus Inspire XC1 review: scorecard

Baseus Inspire XC1: Should I buy?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Also consider

How I tested

I wore the Baseus Inspire XC1 for two weeks in order to write this review, which is TechRadar's standard testing time for headphones.

The buds were connected to my Android smartphone through the test. I used them on runs, on cycle rides, at the gym, on public transport, at home and on walks around my neighborhoor, mostly for music streaming but for some spoken word too.

I've been testing products for TechRadar since 2019 and this has included plenty of other workout headphones, as well as loads of open earbuds.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed: September 2025

Shokz OpenDots One: Two minute review

Shokz is one of the best-known names in the fitness headphone space and finally it has turned its attention to a burgeoning new market and thus challenge a big rival: clip-on open earbuds (and Bose).

Clip-ons are a kind of the best open earbuds that don’t loop all the way around your ear, but ‘clip’ onto your auricle to take up less space and hold the sound drivers further into your ear itself. Companies haven’t taken to the design quite as readily as the now-standard sports loop open-ears (production of that design is through the roof in 2025), but perhaps Shokz’ attention is about to change that.

So meet the Shokz OpenDots One, new clip-style (cuff style?) headphones which are here to challenge the big name on the market, the Bose Ultra Open. They’re Shokz’ first readily-available bud in this form factor, not counting a limited-run beta product. And due to a few smart decisions, they are a big success.

The OpenDots aren’t cheap headphones but they do undercut the Bose by a significant margin, releasing at a competitive price point that sees them match Shokz’ sports-loop and bone conduction options. In fact they also beat the recent Shokz OpenFit 2+ which may push some prospective buyers of those open-ears into the clip instead.

Shokz has given the OpenDots a more natural curved, ergonomic look than certain rivals, both ensuring that they look a little more understated and classy, and helping them fit the shape of an ear for a reliable hook and comfortable fit. And it totally works, with these Shokz some of the most pleasant open-ears I’ve ever used. I could easily forget I was wearing them when I wasn’t listening to music.

The sound profile is pleasing too, which may sound like a muted word if not for how low expectations for open earbuds can be. Shokz has fine-tuned the sound to ensure there’s hearty but well-defined bass, which sits in harmony with treble instead of blowing it out. Audiophiles who need open-ears will find these some of the best picks on the market.

Even when you’re not using the Shokz OpenDots One, you’ll find them easy to tote around with a tiny carry case that totally disappears in pockets. Banish the thought of the giant carry cases sports-loop open-ears come in.

I’ve avoided prolific comparisons to the Bose in this intro because you may come to the Shokz without having ever heard of their competition; and the OpenDots One stand apart for being significantly cheaper than the Ultra Open. They ask you why you need to pay extra, even if Bose offers some advanced audio modes.

The OpenDots One might be a harder sell for people who’ve not used a clip-on earbud before, especially with many other options on the market that are a cheaper option to experiment with. But if you’re going to try a new form factor, why not buy an option that nails it?

Shokz OpenDots One review: Specifications

Shokz OpenDots One review: Price and availability

• Announced in May 2025 (available in many markets August 2025)
• Priced at $199 / £179 / AU$339
• Undercuts Bose, but pricier than many other rivals

The Shokz OpenDots One were announced in May 2025 and went on sale in the US immediately, though they took a few months to release globally (the UK is only just seeing them now, at the time of writing: August 21, 2025).

You can pick up the OpenDots for $199 / £179 / AU$339. While they’re more expensive than many other types of clip-on earbud like the Huawei FreeClip, JLab Flex Open or Soundcore C40i, they undercut their big rivals.

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds sell for $299 / £299 / AU$449 so the Shokz aren’t just a hair cheaper, but a fair way more affordable.

Shokz OpenDots One review: Design

• Small charging case which is easy to use
• Lightweight buds that cling to the ear well
• Handy touch controls

The Shokz OpenDots One come in two color options: Black or the curiously-named Gray, which is actually beige with silver highlights. The latter is what my tester units were.

The case is pretty small and lightweight, as you’d imagine for micro-headphones like these, tipping the scales to 52g. It’s rather featureless, bearing only a small pairing button and USB-C charging port, but there’s elegance in simplicity. It opens with a horizontal divide; in a neat twist you can put either earbud in either gap, cutting down on all the faff headphone users can face (or, at least, I can face) when trying to work out which bud to put on which side.

Now onto the buds. They consist of a cylindrical counterweight and spherical bud which sits in your ear, all joined by a band made of titanium alloy according to Shokz. This middle is lovely and flexible and I never felt at risk of accidentally snapping it or bending it too far.

It’s hard to believe for any open earbuds, especially clip-style ones, but the OpenDots fit like a dream. I barely felt them during many hours of testing and, although I ran, cycled, rowed and did various gym workouts with them in, they never fell out or moved around enough to affect my listening experience.

Another benefit over Bose’s alternatives is that they don’t look like a cyborg accoutrement, with the nice flowing design making them appear more like jewelry than a piece of robotic equipment.

Following on from my praise about the versatile any-bud-in-any-case-side compliment, you can actually also put either bud in either ear with no issue. The Shokz will automatically detect which ear they’re in to deliver music.

Like most earbuds, the OpenDots One have touch controls: you can double- or triple-tap the connective band, double-pinch the spherical counterweight or pinch and hold, for four triggers in all (it doesn’t matter which side you use, both do the same). You can customize what each control does and I found each relatively easy to trigger (which isn’t saying much compared to the competition) though I did take a while to remember that single-tapping or single-pressing didn’t do anything: double or nothing!

Shokz has certified the OpenDots One at an IP54 rating, which means the buds are protected from dust and limited water splashes but not full immersion or even beams of water. Basically, don’t take them swimming.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Shokz OpenDots One review: Features

• Battery life is 10 hours, 40 hours with case
• App brings EQ but not that much else
• No connectivity problems in testing

If you thought it was time to start finding something to criticize the Shokz OpenDots One about, it’s not yet. The battery life is above average and you can even charge the case via wireless powering.

According to Shokz, the OpenDots last for 10 hours of listening on a single charge, and while I didn’t listen for that long in one burst, the power drain for the periods I did listen for suggests it’d hit that figure almost dead on. The charging case brings three extra charges, for a full listening total of 40 hours, which is better than lots of open-ear options on the market.

You won’t get noise cancelling here, though surprisingly some open earbuds do offer that (see the Honor Earbuds Open, although granted, they're not the cuff-style type). Throughout my testing period I had no connectivity issues to speak of.

As with any good headphone, there’s an app you can download to get extra features. In this case it’s just called Shokz, with the company using one platform for all its earbuds.

Perhaps the main reason to download the Shokz app, beyond customizing the touch controls, is for the equalizer it provides access to. There are four modes: Standard, Vocal, Bass and Private (designed to reduce audio bleed, although that basically just muffles your music), but you can also create a custom mode via a five-band equalizer.

A few other features available via the app include the ability to toggle wear detection, find your lost earbuds, customize multipoint pairing and enable Dolby Atmos (though toggling this just seemed to boost the treble when playing music). It’s not the biggest feature-set I’ve ever seen at earbuds at this price, but it offers everything you need or would expect.

• Features score: 4/5

Shokz OpenDots One review: Sound performance

• Two 11.8mm drivers per bud
• Decent sound, though lack of spacing
• Lots of bass

You’re totally right to assume that an open-ear headphone would sound poor, because that’s generally the case, but the Shokz OpenDots One buck the trend: they’re the rare case that sound good.

A highlight of the buds, which Shokz leans into in its marketing and promotion, is the bass. This is something oft lost by open-ears, but the OpenDots enjoy a well-defined lower-register, giving your music a meaty tone but without ever blowing it out with overwrought thumping or booming. I opted to listen in the bass enhancement mode when working out for that little extra kick, but you’ll enjoy loads of bass even if you don’t.

Unlike some super-bass earbuds, the treble still holds its head high, offering crisp and clear vocal lines and letting you hear the spacing between instruments a little. As sound gets towards the mids they do lose some detail and clarity, but you can still enjoy tunes beyond their bassline.

Fixing another open-ear problem, the OpenDots have a nice high max volume so they can fight against noisy traffic if you want to hear your tunes.

Shokz uses a lot of home-brewed tech in the OpenDots One. Highlights include Bassphere, which has the effect we’ve already discussed, and DirectPitch designed to stop sound leaking from the buds and everyone around you having to hear your embarrassing music choice.

These are some of the better open earbuds I've used for audio quality, and they compare to your average in-ear headphone, but it's important to be clear: audiophile-grade favorites shouldn't feel any heat from the Shokz.

• Sound performance score: 4.5/5

Shokz OpenDots One review: Value

Despite not being that expensive in the grand scheme of things (and in a crowded market), it’s still worth considering the Shokz OpenDots One are some of the more premium open or clip-on earbuds out there, simply due to how cheap the rivals are.

With that in mind, the OpenDots have a lot to prove – but they largely succeed. They provide great sound and a flawless design and cost a hearty amount less than their big-name rivals.

Of course you’re paying for their quality with many other similar-form-factor options available for a fraction of the price, so if you want clip-ons and quality doesn’t matter, you can get better value for money with cheaper options. It's just a question of whether you should.

• Value score: 4/5

Shokz OpenDots One review: scorecard

Shokz OpenDots One: Should I buy?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Also consider

How I tested

My testing period for the Shokz OpenDots One cover just over two weeks of use, which is our standard review period for headphones.

The buds were paired to an Android phone for the entirety of the testing. I used them at home at work and also on runs, at the gym and while cycling, and I also tried to use them while playing tennis like promotional images show but this felt incredibly rude to my fellow players.

I've been testing products for TechRadar since 2019 and this has included plenty of other workout headphones.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed: August 2025

OpenRock S: One minute review

Audio brand OneOdio is back with its second-gen air conduction headphones – the OpenRock S are more affordable and longer-lasting than their predecessors the OpenRock Pro, but include quite a few extra features that unfortunately don’t work too well.

Air conduction is a tech intended to let you listen to music while exercising without impacting your awareness of your surroundings, and it features heavily in our guide to the best open earbuds (often called the best open ear headphones). While the AirPods Pro 2 have Transparency Mode to intentionally boost the sounds of your surroundings and Shokz has its bone conduction, OneOdio’s solution is to dangle a mini speaker over your ear, so it’s not blocking out all your surrounding noises but instead traversing a bit of open space and still getting the job done.

While air conduction hasn’t historically leant itself to fantastic audio fidelity, the feature works for its intended purpose, and you can enjoy music while also being aware of vehicles, people, aggressive dogs or other hazards. Too aware, perhaps, as one of the S’ big problems is that its max volume is just too low. Lots of the time during my testing, music was all but drowned out by noises such as cars, treadmills or, as my parkrun testing will attest, the sounds of other runners!

That’s doubly true if you’re riding a bike or somewhere windy, as the sounds of gusts of wind rushing past your ears will all but drown out your tunes.

If you can get around this volume issue (if perhaps you listen during a yoga class, say), then you may well be impressed by the OpenRock S. Like their predecessors, the OpenRock Pro, they have an incredibly comfortable fit that keeps them secure on your ear; they’re lightweight too, and it’s easy to forget you’re wearing them.

Plus, the battery life here is absolutely incredible. You can listen to music for 19 hours non-stop before you need to charge the earbuds, and when you factor in the charge of the carry case itself, that number goes up all the way to 60 hours. You’d be hard-pressed to find a rival sports earbud that comes even close to that figure.

These are some of the most affordable sports earbuds too, costing roughly half the price of some of the best-known rivals from the likes of Shokz. A great pick for people on a budget.

As you can tell from that description, these are some solid sports earbuds at heart. OneOdio has added quite a few features which don’t work too well – the touch controls perform poorly and the EQ modes seem to have little effect whatsoever – but if you can ignore these, the OpenRock S are decent buds for fitness fans.

OpenRock S review: Specifications

OpenRock S review: Price and availability

• Announced and released in October 2023
• Cost $99 / £89 (roughly $150)
• Some of the most buds with this kind of tech

The OpenRock S was announced in mid-October 2023 as the newest entry to OneOdio’s line-up of over-ear sports headphones.

You’ll pay just $99 / £89 (roughly $150) for them, which is a competitive price compared to rivals within and without of the company. This is the price that OneOdio announced them for, and that they’re selling for, but Amazon US lists this as a discounted cost down from $129. As far as we can tell, they’ve never actually sold for this price.

At this price, the S undercuts OneOdio’s own previous entry into the running earbuds space, the OpenRock Pro, which cost $119/£119 (around AU$185). For the most part, those are more premium, though in some areas (like battery life) the S is the better buy.

Most rivals cost more, like the Shokz Openfit which sells for $179.95 / £179.99 / AU$289. So you could well consider these budget options if you’re looking for air conduction earbuds, though of course, you can buy fitness earbuds for much cheaper if you don’t need this tech.

• Value score: 4/5

OpenRock S review: Design

• Solid and light earbuds build
• Temperamental touch controls
• Carry case is big, bulky and heavy

There are two aspects to the OpenRock S’ design: the earbuds themselves and the carry case.

I’ll touch briefly on the carry case because you can't miss it: it’s a big sturdy plastic shell that charges the buds and keeps them safe when you’re not using them. However, it’s pretty long and wide, so it may not slip into your backpack’s side pocket like most other buds' charging cases will.

Now the buds: these are very comfortable. They’re lightweight at just 12g each, and have the hooked design common in sports earbuds that means they stay lodged on your ears whether you’re on a mountain bike or running around on an uneven surface.

The best testament to the design is to point out that not once during testing did they fall out. I will say, though, that the OpenRock Pro did feel even more robust on the ear, thanks to a tighter grip.

Ostensibly there are touch controls on the buds, but in testing these rarely worked reliably. You’re meant to be able to tap the OpenRock logo on the buds to control your music or calls, but I found it often failed to pick up touches. That was doubly the case if my hands were damp from rain or sweat, and I would sometimes end up just hammering at my ears trying to stop a track. I found it much easier to just use the paired phone to change tracks or hang up a call.

The OpenRock buds are IPX5 water resistant, which in theory means they’re protected from water jets and low-pressure streams. They’re certainly sweat-proof, which is the most important thing, but I wouldn’t recommend using them in heavy rain if you’re hoping to use the touch controls.

• Design score: 4/5

OpenRock S review: Features

• Air conduction makes sure you can hear your surroundings
• Possibly the best stamina on the market
• EQ modes have little impact

As was mentioned in the introduction, the OpenRock S are air-conduction earbuds. This means that a speaker on the bud hovers over your ear canal and ‘projects’ the music in – the whole point is that you can wear these and also hear surrounding sound, perfect for if you’re on a road or somewhere else where awareness is important.

For this purpose, the OpenRock S works really well – I could hear my music while also having situational awareness. The main issue would be that this is often too much the case – sometimes I couldn’t actually hear music, for reasons I’ll get into in the ‘Performance’ section.

There’s also fairly little audio spilling, so people around you aren’t going to hear you working out to an hour-long loop of Mambo No. 5 (unless you sing along, of course).

The best feature of the OpenRock Pro is back and even better for the S, and that’s the battery life. The Pro version of these sports headphones had incredible lasting power but OneOdio has turned that up to 11 for the OpenRock S.

The OpenRock S buds last for 19 hours straight of music or calls, but when you factor in the battery in the case, you can get a whopping 60 hours of use time before you need to power them back up. That’s an incomprehensibly long battery life when you consider that many sports headphones only last for 10 hours or less before needing a boost.

With this one feature, the OpenRock S make themselves invaluable for people doing long expeditions and trips, who want to listen to music but might not have reliable access to a charging point.

Not all the features of the headphones are this commendable though. One I’ll flag is OneOdio’s attempt to utilize adjustable EQ: pressing and holding both buds’ touch controls at once will toggle you between ‘Rock’ and ‘Relax’ modes. Sounds useful for whatever kind of exercise you’re doing, right?

Not quite right. Ignoring what I’ve already said about the messy touch controls, the difference between these two modes is incredibly minor. What’s worse, is that you can’t actually change the mode when you’re on a call or listening to music – you have to turn that off before you change the mode, making it harder to perceive the EQ changes. An app would work so much better for this function, but the OpenRock doesn’t have one.

• Features score: 3.5/5

OpenRock S review: Performance

• The design doesn't lend itself to great audio fidelity
• OneOdio's TubeBass only succeeds ensuring there's any bass
• Max volume is very low

Given the nature of air conduction technology, it’s understandable if you’d expect the OpenRock S to struggle in the audio performance department compared to other fitness bud rivals… and you’d be right.

The biggest issue I faced during the testing period is that the OpenRock S was just too quiet, even at max volume. The point of the tech is to let you hear surrounding sounds, but sometimes that’s all I could hear – for example at the gym, it was sometimes hard to hear parts of a song over the sound of surrounding treadmills, and when wearing the buds near a road, traffic could drown out a song. To be clear, this isn’t an issue I had with the OpenRock Pro to the same degree.

Of course, you don’t want to be deafened by earbuds, especially since air conduction tech could easily disturb people around you if it were too loud. But OneOdio would only have improved the buds by letting them crank out a few more decibels.

When you can hear them properly, the OpenRock S sound just fine – audiophiles won’t be impressed but with the drivers dangled close to your ears instead of directly in them you’re not getting the same treatment as you would for in-ear earbuds or headphones. Yes, the tech is improving a lot, but these earbuds aren't the best example of great sound in an open design.

OneOdio has a tech called TubeBass which offsets some of the issues of air conduction, as it’s designed to enhance bass. However its benefits can only go so far.

As I mentioned before, there are two sound profiles you can toggle between. Rock mode is the one I’d recommend – relaxed is just too tinny.

• Performance score: 3/5

OpenRock S review: scorecard

OpenRock S: Should I buy them?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

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How I tested

The full testing period for the OpenRock S ended up being well over a month, and while that was partly due to an illness which meant I couldn't test these buds for exercise purposes for the entire period, it does mean I got to use them a lot.

I tested the buds in the following ways: while cycling through a city along roads, while running in busy and quiet areas, while in gyms on various pieces of equipment, and also when at home in an otherwise-quiet area. I really put the OneRock S through their paces, with different activities and in different environments.

Mainly I streamed music through an Android smartphone, but I did test calling and video calls with them too. I also tested them side-by-side with the OpenRock Pro, to fully test out how they compare.

I've been writing for TechRadar for almost five years now, for several as a full member of team and several more as a freelance tester. I've tried various pieces of fitness equipment including earbuds, headphones, smartwatches, fitness trackers and sleep headphones and also tablets, smartphones, ereaders, speakers, scooters and a lot more.

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