OnePlus Buds Clip: open-ear earbuds that fit either ear

OnePlus has joined the clip-on earbud trend. The company has revealed the OnePlus Buds Clip, its first open-ear wireless earbuds, and listed them on its global website, Android Authority reports. They take aim at rivals such as the Sony LinkBuds Clip and Bose Ultra Open Earbuds.

No left or right

Open-ear clips hook around the edge of the ear instead of sealing the ear canal, so you can still hear traffic and colleagues. OnePlus's twist is that the two buds are symmetrical: put either one on either ear and built-in sensors work out which side it's on, then route the left and right channels to match.

The clip uses a flexible nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) C-bridge that adapts to different ear shapes without squeezing hard, and each bud weighs 5.2 g. Android Authority says the design has a TÜV Rheinland "Comfortable Fit" certification.

Sound and calls

• Dual drivers per bud, an 11 mm woofer and a 9 mm tweeter, with dual DACs and tuning by Danish audio company Dynaudio;
• LHDC 5.0, AAC and SBC codecs;
• Dipole Sound-Field technology that sends inverted sound out of rear vents to reduce leakage, a common weak spot of open-ear designs;
• six microphones plus a bone-conduction voice pickup for calls, a 6 nm AI audio chip and an on-device translation feature;
• Bluetooth 6.1 with connection to two devices at once, and IP55 dust and water resistance.

Battery life

OnePlus's product page lists 9.5 hours per charge and 40 hours with the case in AAC mode. With LHDC, the figures drop to 8 hours and 36 hours. Those are the company's own numbers; real results depend on volume and codec.

Price and availability

The Buds Clip come in Pearl White, Pebble Gray and Twilight Rose. OnePlus hasn't announced pricing or a release date. GSMArena notes that the global listing points to sales in some regions, although OnePlus no longer sells its phones in the US and EU.

Should you want open-ear buds?

Open designs trade isolation for awareness: they are comfortable for long wear and safer for running or cycling, but they can't block noise on a train or plane. If quiet matters more, compare them with sealed buds in our wireless earbuds buying guide and our noise-cancelling headphones guide.