By Adele Chan
I’ve been living in noise cancellation heaven for a good part of the last decade. ANC — especially in Apple AirPods — has gotten so good, I can’t even hear the hum of a plane engine while sitting in the seat next to it. But these past few months, I’ve discovered the joy of open ear earbuds.
Why Consider Open Ear?
For one, they are super comfortable. You won’t even realise you’re wearing them. I walk around all day at events with a pair in my ears and activate them when calls come in, or when I’m walking by myself listening to music. I’ve been asked countless times about the Huawei FreeClip 2 S that have just sat in my ears during press events. The good thing is that, unlike conventional earbuds, open ear ones don’t look rude. They’re viewed more as a tech accessory than me trying to shut the other person up.
Open ear also means you can hear your surroundings even while playing music (not at full volume, of course). These make them safer for yourself and for students; we all need to hear traffic and announcements when we’re on the go.
I’ve tested out three pairs that were recently launched — all good buys — including the Huawei FreeClip 2 S, Sennheiser Accentum Clip, and Anker sound core AeroClip 2. I’ve done a table below comparing them so you can discover which one is best for you.
| Model | Huawei FreeClip 2 S | Sennheiser Accentum Clip | Anker soundcore AeroClip 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comfort | The Airy C-bridge design is flexible, soft and so easy to use. You definitely won’t need a mirror to wear these, and you can have them on the entire day without any pinch. | You’ll feel these more than the other two brands. It’s sits comfortably in the ear, but you know it’s there, and I felt like I needed to take them out and rest my ears after a few hours of use. | Anker calls it the GoldenFit C-bridge; it’s flexible yet feels secure when worn. Feels almost as “invisible” as the Huawei version, but you’ll still know it’s there. |
| Weight | 5.1g (single earbud). | 6.8g (single earbud). | 6.2g (single earbud). |
| Sound | Decent. Angle the acoustic ball down towards your ear drum and you get a bassier sound. | Best audio of the three here. Bass is strong and overall sound is balanced. Not surprising considering Sennheiser is a dedicated audio brand. | Music sounds a bit more full than the Huawei pair, but it loses out in fullness to the Sennheiser. |
| Unique Features | The bands are made with 25% softer liquid silicone, which makes them the most comfortable of the lot. And you can nod or shake your head to accept or end calls. | The Sennheiser sound, with precision-engineered acoustic tuning and 12mm drivers. There’s also sound leakage prevention so you can listen in privacy. | An AI chip can pick up and distinguish between your voice and background noise, and there’s AI translation through the app. |
| Water resistance | IP57 rating. | IP54 dust and weather protection. | IP57 water resistance. |
| Battery | Up to 9 hours on a full charge / Up to 38 hours with case. | Up to 9 hours on a full charge / Up to 36 hours with case. | Up to 8 hours on a full charge / Up to 32 hours with case. |
| What I liked | You can wear these on either side and it’ll automatically detect which is on your right and left ear. I also like the overall design of these the best; they can almost pass off as jewellery. | Best bass and overall musical sound. It’s balanced, close to an in-ear pair of buds. I like the blocky, industrial design and the matte black finish. | The physical button on both earbuds. Easier to use with no accidental pressing. Also, the case is very compact. |
| What I didn’t like | The case is beautiful, but the round form factor sits weirdly in my pocket. I much prefer a flatter design. | There are dedicated sides (R and L) unlike the Huawei model. The buttons are way too responsive; I keep activating them just wearing or taking these off or adjusting them in my ear. | There are dedicated sides (R and L) unlike the Huawei model. I also have to get used to the criss-cross angle of putting them back into the case. |
| Colours | Space Silver, Deepsea Blue. | Ice Blue, Black, Cream. | Burgundy Red, Midnight Black, Cloud White, Mist Blue (to match the new iPhone 18 Pro colours) |
| Price | $268 | $269 | $249 |
Final Thoughts
Across all three brands, phone calls are very clear. Your decision should be based on whether you’re going to wear these the whole day (you won’t regret the Huawei), want better, fuller sound (that’s the Sennheiser), or save a couple of bucks and match your new iPhone (choose the Anker).
