Best open-ear earbuds 2025

Open-ear earbuds can be a great option on outdoor runs, that open office co-working space, or if you simply want your ears unobstructed by a silicon or memory foam ear tip lodged inside your ear canal. It's just that you might encounter an issue called “auditory masking.” Simply put, when listening to a pair in a quiet environment, they may sound great but as soon as you introduce city traffic noise, or indoor cafe/restaurant noise, those new sounds tend to drown out the music. Bass response all but goes away. Vocals become hard to hear. Traditionally, those have been the trade-offs for having nothing sitting in your ear canal.

This collection of the best open-ear earbuds, led by the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, stands out from a growing pack now that various brands are entering the fray as well. They are the best picks for your ears when you want to set your ear canals free.

Meet the best open-ear earbuds

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Picking what works for your open ears

Auditory masking is the biggest issue you’ll encounter when deciding which open-ear style earbuds you’re going to rock with. You’re more likely to be listening to them at lower volumes so you don’t dull your situational awareness, and that's why it's important they perform well under those conditions.

This list is a clear example of how this particular earbud category is growing more popular. Improvements are obvious when hearing the Shokz OpenFit 2 or Sony LinkBuds Open. Not to mention admirable performance from the 1MORE Fit S50 and Soundcore’s AeroFit Pro.

What sets Bose apart in terms of situational awareness is that they don’t cover your ear canal at all, allowing for the most unobstructed environmental sound. Since open-ear style ‘buds are so niche, the primary consideration in choosing a pair is likely going to be battery life. Since 11 to 14 hours is far more than you’re going to get out of any active noise canceling earbuds, some shoppers may look at those with battery life comparable to the best ANC earbuds and ask, “What’s the point?” A fair question.

Though Bose had the shortest battery life with Immersive Audio turned on, they are the best overall because when off, they get 7.5 hours (depending on listening conditions). Just 10 minutes in the case gets you two more hours of playback. So, even at 4.5 hours with Immersive Audio on, 20 minutes of case time gets you four more hours, getting you through an eight-hour workday. If you don’t want to fuss with that though, you have my insights and battery stat info to power your purchasing position.

Tshaka Armstrong
Contributor

Tshaka Armstrong is a nerd. Co-Founder of the non-profit digital literacy organization, Digital Shepherds, he’s also been a broadcast technology reporter, writer and producer. In addition to being an award-winning broadcast storyteller, he’s also covered tech online and in print for everything from paintball gear technology, to parenting gadgets, and film industry tech for Rotten Tomatoes. In addition to writing for Android Central, he’s a video contributor for Android Central and posts everything else to his own YouTube channel and socials. He blathers on about his many curiosities on social media everywhere as @tshakaarmstrong.