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Honor Earbuds Open: One minute overview
I’ve lengthy been a naysayer of open-ear earbuds, regardless of (or most likely due to) testing an enormous variety of them. Nonetheless the primary few months of 2025 introduced a slew of spectacular such buds to make me change my thoughts, and the Honor Earbuds Open is among the ringleaders of the operation. Whereas making it onto our record of the best open-ear earbuds is a comparatively low bar, the Honors hurdle over it with ease.
Open-ear earbuds, for these of you who don’t know, are wi-fi earbuds that don’t sit in your ear, however quite very close to your ear canal, to permit outdoors noises to get in too (helpful for if you wish to hear public service bulletins on a commute, the noise of visitors that you just’re close by or gentle dialog). Whereas Shokz popularized the class, most tech manufacturers are actually beginning to reveal their very own takes on an open-fit strategy (manufacturing of such designs is reportedly up 600%, in response to rival Huawei), and Honor is just the newest firm to take up the problem. However the Chinese language electronics agency, maybe finest identified for its aspirational smartphones, has executed an excellent job right here.
Given their design quirks, it’s a must to forgive a couple of issues with open-ear buds. However the slam-dunk of the Honor Earbuds Open is that they ship every little thing you need in regular headphones, not simply gimmicky “Ooh I can nonetheless hear you” ones.
For instance, the Honors sound nice, a praise I’ve by no means as soon as paid to open-ears. They provide energetic bass, bristling treble and a soundstage that’d be most welcome on regular earbuds, not to mention ones that don’t even sit inside your ears.
The match is incredible too, which is commonly the world that ruins otherwise-great open-ears. The Earbuds Open match comfortably and securely, whether or not I used to be lounging at house, understanding on the fitness center, biking or occurring runs. It was straightforward to overlook I used to be sporting them at occasions!
Honor has additionally supplied a characteristic that’s extremely uncommon in open-ears: energetic noise cancellation. Once I first noticed that the buds had this, I used to be baffled; in spite of everything, the whole level of open-ears is that they permit you to hear surrounding sounds. Nonetheless in follow, it labored very well, with its light-touch implementation guaranteeing you’ll be able to hear necessary environmental sounds with out drowning your music within the hustle-and-bustle of metropolis life.
A couple of points have an effect on the Honor Earbuds Open, most annoyingly the restricted battery life which guidelines these out for long-distance runners. I additionally discovered the contact controls a bit annoying to make use of, and you may simply mark any earbuds down for a number of the options they don’t supply (an equalizer right here) however none of those are deal-breakers… as you’ll be able to most likely inform, from the glowing overview rating and verdict.
The unlucky launch proper similtaneously a less expensive, better-sounding rival (extra on that within the ‘Additionally contemplate’ part) will solely harm the Honors, however they continue to be a number of the finest open-ear headphones available on the market proper now.
Honor Earbuds Open overview: Specs
Part |
Worth |
Waterproof |
IP54 |
Battery life |
6 hours (earbuds), 40 hours (whole) |
Bluetooth sort |
Bluetooth 5.3 |
Weight |
7.9g / Charging case: 52.5g |
Driver |
16mm |
Honor Earbuds Open overview: Worth and availability
- Introduced in February 2025
- Priced at £149.99 (roughly $200, AU$300)
- Not on sale in Australia or US
The Honor Earbuds Open have been introduced at annual tech convention MWC in February 2025, alongside a couple of different Honor devices.
You’ll be able to choose up the buds for £149.99 (roughly $200, AU$300). Honor doesn’t appear to have an enormous presence within the US or Australia, so I wouldn’t count on to see the buds go on sale in both area.
That’s a value barely north of what some spectacular rivals price, (see the Shokz OpenFit Air, priced £119, which is round $150 or AU$229) however there are additionally big-name open-ears that price much more, and the distinction between Honor’s buds and its shut rivals isn’t enormous.
Honor Earbuds Open overview: Design
- Lightweight buds which are snug to put on
- Is available in black or beige
- Cigarette-case holder
The Honor Earbuds Open case jogs my memory of a cigarette case from an outdated film. It’s large and flat, extremely slim and opens in a clamshell-style to disclose the curled earbuds hidden beneath. Extra virtually, this compact design makes the case notably straightforward to slide into pockets with out it being a burden.
The case weighs roughly 80 x 61 x 20mm, and weighs 52.5g, so it’s smaller than quite a lot of different open-ear instances.
Now onto the buds: you’ll be able to see the images, and what open-ear buds are like (hopefully, not less than, for those who’re contemplating shopping for some!). Like sport earbuds, they’ve a round-the-ear hook, holding the bud itself near your ear and, hopefully, steadily in place.
I discovered the Honors to be a number of the extra snug open-ears I’ve examined, because of the sunshine weight (7.9g) and their comfortable plastic materials. Additionally they held the bud surprisingly near the ear, which most likely helps clarify the superior audio high quality which we’ll get to.
Hardly ever, for a pair of open-ear buds that isn’t being marketed in direction of athletes, the buds are safe sufficient for intense sports activities. I took them for a number of runs and fitness center exercises and by no means had a difficulty – they keep in place simply superb.
Every bud has a contact management, which you’ll be able to toggle by double- or triple-pressing the physique of the bud (the silver bit within the photographs). It readily picked up my contact each time, however since it’s a must to repeatedly hit the a part of the bud that hangs down, I discovered myself repeatedly pushing it into my ear after I wished to pause, which was a bit bit annoying.
Two different issues to notice: firstly, you’ll be able to choose up the buds in black or beige (which Honor calls Polar Gold). Secondly, they’ve an IP54 score, which suggests they’re splash- and dust-proof – however don’t get them too moist.
Honor Earbuds Open: Options
- ANC is uncommon displaying for open-ears
- A couple of additional options with Honor app
- Battery life is simply 6 hours (40 for case)
The Honor Earbuds Open are the primary open earbuds I’ve ever seen which have noise cancellation. What the purpose of noise cancellation is on an earbud type issue that individuals choose to let in outdoors sound I gained’t perceive, however it labored surprisingly nicely, so I can’t complain.
It’s in no way industry-leading noise cancellation, however its ‘less-is-more’ strategy labored wonders. The open-ear body enables you to hear necessary sounds round you want practice station bulletins, the engines of close by automobiles or calls from folks in retailers you’ve simply left letting you’ve left your bank card behind. And the noise cancellation removes the unimportant sounds: distant visitors, annoying screeching trains and horrible climate circumstances. Honor has discovered the Goldilocks spot for ANC: good.
I personally selected to maintain ANC off, not as a result of I like listening to winds asserting that it was about to rain half-way via my 15k run, however as a result of the battery life wants it. The buds solely final for six hours of listening time once you’ve obtained ANC off, and even much less when it’s on – I’d estimate about 4.5 hours. The charging case brings that whole as much as 22 hours which once more isn’t nice, and plenty of rivals beat it.
In case you obtain the Honor AI House app in your smartphone, you get entry to some additional options. Certainly one of these is the power to toggle the ANC on and off, one other is the power to connect with a number of smartphones, and you too can discover your earbuds or change what the gesture controls do.
There’s technically an EQ toggle, however you’ll be able to solely change it between two modes: ‘Authentic’ and ‘Exercise amplifier’, the latter of which I examined after I was understanding and likewise in a extra managed sound surroundings. From what I can inform, the latter reduces the bass and the audio high quality in favor of extra quantity and treble; I can see the reasoning for these adjustments, however they’re not pronounced sufficient for it to be well worth the change.
One other characteristic I must flag is AI Translate; Honor’s web site says you want the Honor Magic 7 Pro to make use of it, however it labored superb on my Realme telephone. That is principally an interpreter app that permits you to converse with somebody in two of 11 languages, utilizing each your telephone’s speaker and the earbuds.
From what I can inform, and coming from somebody who’s monolingual, it appeared to work nicely. It’s only a curious characteristic to come back packaged with earbuds, particularly when you would equally obtain and use Google Translate’s app.
Honor Earbuds Open overview: Sound
- Giant 16mm drivers
- Spectacular treble and bass
- No equalizer
I used to be able to declare the Honor Earbuds Open the best-sounding open earbuds I’d ever tried; sadly, one other pair of open-ears I used to be testing alongside them one way or the other managed to simply pip them to the publish, however they’re nonetheless nice to take heed to. I recurrently forgot that I used to be listening to open-ear buds!
Tech-wise, the Honors every boast a 16mm dynamic driver every, which is larger than on most rivals I’ve examined. And it tells.
Maybe probably the most noticeable enchancment the Honor Earbuds Open supply over different open-ears I’ve examined is that they’ve this factor referred to as ‘bass’ – I can’t keep in mind the final buds with this manner issue that I’ve examined which have any noticeable quantity of bass, a pure side-effect of buds hovering above ears. Nonetheless the Honors supply heat and energetic low tones, excellent for thumping exercise tunes.
However that’s not all: the buds have crisp treble, which is one other helpful part that lets the Earbuds Open reduce via noise, and a pronounced sound stage that makes songs sound detailed and wealthy once you’re eager to take pleasure in your tunes.
The one audio downside I confronted was one which’s fairly widespread in every kind of wi-fi earbud: mid sounds fell by the wayside a bit in comparison with treble and bass. However within the everlasting phrases of Meat Loaf “two out of three ain’t unhealthy”, and the Honors are the primary open-ears I’ve examined that I’ve really been glad to placed on my ears.
- Sound efficiency rating: 4.5/5
Honor Earbuds Open overview: Worth
On condition that the open-ear bud market continues to be quite new, it’s exhausting to make decisive statements in regards to the value classes for this sort of audio product. However I’d roughly say that these are on the cheaper finish of the mid-range market.
With that in thoughts, there are positively cheaper choices obtainable to you, though selecting them up will naturally saddle you with worse-sounding earbuds (besides in a single case; extra on that under). However there’s extra to life than audio high quality and a few extra reasonably priced buds are higher for sure makes use of, with longer battery life or extra strong builds.
So for those who’re on the lookout for any satisfactory pair of open-ears, the Honors won’t give you nice worth for cash, however for those who actually care about good-sounding audio they’ll arguably be well worth the greater value.
Honor Earbuds Open overview: scorecard
Class |
Remark |
Rating |
Worth |
They are not probably the most competitively-priced buds on the market, however consumers will not really feel ripped off. |
4/5 |
Design |
They’re light-weight and comfy to put on, with a svelte case. |
4.5/5 |
Options |
The presence of ANC and a translator app are novel, even when the battery life is restricted. |
4.5/5 |
Sound |
They sound nice for open-ears, even with out an equalizer. |
4.5/5 |
Honor Earbuds Open: Ought to I purchase them?
Purchase them if…
Do not buy them if…
Additionally contemplate
Part |
Honor Earbuds Open |
Huawei FreeArc |
OpenRock Professional |
Waterproof |
IP54 |
IP57 |
IPX4 |
Battery life |
6 hours (earbuds), 40 hours (whole) |
7 hours (earbuds), 28 hours (whole) |
19 hours (earbuds), 46 hours (whole) |
Bluetooth sort |
Bluetooth 5.2 |
Bluetooth 5.2 |
Bluetooth 5.2 |
Weight |
7.9g / Charging case: 52.5g |
8.9g / Charging case: 67g |
13g / Charging case: 64g |
Driver |
16mm |
17x12mm |
16.2mm |
How I examined
I used the Honor Earbuds Open for 2 weeks with a purpose to write this overview. I examined them similtaneously two rival open-ears: the Huawei FreeArc and EarFun Openjump, which offered ample alternative for comparability.
Via the overview I used them alongside my Android smartphone, largely for music streaming on Spotify but in addition for streaming TV exhibits and taking part in video games. As talked about via the overview I used them at house, on walks round my neighborhood, on cycle rides, on runs and on the fitness center.
I have been testing devices for TechRadar for over six years now, and have reviewed, amongst different issues, many different open-ear earbuds.
- First reviewed: March 2025