I tested the best open-ear headphones for 2024, and I'm genuinely surprised

Bluetooth: 5.3 | Ear detection: No | Spatial audio: No | Multipoint connectivity: Yes | Case charging: USB-C | Max battery life: 19 hours on a charge | Water-resistance: IPX4

With impossibly good battery life, reasonable pricing, some lovely color options and serious sound quality, the Oladance OWS2 is my favorite open-ear headphone in the group. They're a little bulky, maybe even ostentatious, but don't let that stop you.

About that battery life: Oladance promises a whopping 19 hours on a charge, nearly triple what you get from most open-ear headphones. There's a weird catch, though: The charging case doesn't have a battery of its own, so it can't recharge the earbuds without a USB-C connection. The case is also unusually long, more closely resembling an eyeglass case, and therefore less pocket-friendly.

Oladance actually provides printed instructions, a refreshing and welcome addition, and save for one mystifying illustration, they're helpful for getting started, learning the touch controls and setting up multipoint pairing. The print is pretty tiny, though.

I have mixed feelings about the Oladance app, which is logical and straightforward in some areas (like basic earbud controls) and mystifying in others. None of the icons have text labels, and some of them are impossible to identify without tapping. For example, there's a hexagon with a dot in the center; it takes you to earbud settings, but why didn't Oladance use a standard "gear" icon instead — or at least label it "settings"? Similarly, there are four impossible-to-identify icons across the bottom; three of them don't do anything unless you create and sign into an Oladance account.

I did that; the second icon is for something called Ola Talkie, which isn't explained anywhere in the instructions or Oladance's support pages. Even a web search yielded no information about this feature. Equally confounding: In the settings menu there's something called Buddy a Bud, which combines "two stand-alone buds into one set of buds." Huh?

Fortunately, all this nonsense doesn't get in the way of using or tweaking the earbuds themselves. The app provides basic equalizer settings and lots of customization options for the touch controls — which, by the way, work extremely well. You tap one or more times for things like play/pause and skip-track, and you slide your finger along the touch area to raise or lower volume.

The app also offers a hearing-protection toggle designed to help you avoid listening for too long at volumes that are too high. For example, if you're walking on a noisy city street and you crank the volume to better hear your music, the app will "dynamically adjust the sound energy." Not sure what that means, but the option is there for those who want it.

On the whole I think the OWS2's sound quality rivals that of the Bose Ultra (which costs twice as much), with superb balance and an impressively well-rounded soundstage. Bose wins the day only because of spatial audio, which isn't available here, but for straight-up stereo listening, they're very comparable. 

So if you want earbuds that don't have to recharge every 6 to 7 hours and deliver some of the best sound this side of over-the-ear headphones, check out the Oladance OWS2.

Bluetooth: 5.3 | Ear detection: No | Spatial audio: No | Multipoint connectivity: Yes | Case charging: USB-C | Max battery life: 7.5 hours on a charge | Water-resistance: IPX4

Baseus makes my favorite budget earbuds, the Bowie MA10, so I was eager to try the company's take on open-ear design. Good news: The Eli Sport 1 doesn't disappoint, offering solid performance for a very reasonable price ($80 list, currently discounted a hefty 30% with coupon).

Available in black, white or neon green, these buds have a straightforward ear-hook design that I found comfortable to wear for a couple of hours. The charging case is the largest one here, but it's not bulky; I found I could easily slip it into a pocket. Baseus provides a corded neckband with little plastic tips that screw into each earbud, a great option if you want to take them off your ears for a while without having to return them to the case. No other headphone here comes with anything similar. The only downside is you have to remove the cord before returning the earbuds to the case, otherwise they won't dock properly.

I had some initial difficulty with the touch controls, as the illustrations in the printed quick-start guide indicate tapping within a small circle on each earbud. Doing so is difficult without being able to see where you're tapping, and it rarely yielded the proper results. Turns out, that's not where you tap; the entire outward-facing side of each earbud is touch-sensitive. After realizing that, I had a much easier time.

Unfortunately, the instructions don't even mention one key feature: multipoint pairing. Although the initial pairing with my phone was quick and easy, I had to reach out to Baseus to learn how to add a second device (my laptop). And even then I was referred to a video from a third-party user. This is a rather ridiculous oversight on the company's part.

The good news is the Eli Sport 1 earbuds sound pretty good overall, with a nicely balanced profile and lots of equalizer choices (including a custom option) within the Baseus app. Bass is a bit lacking unless you toggle "low-frequency enhancement," which boosts it considerably. My sole complaint is that music can get a little muddy at higher volumes — not unusual for lower-priced open-ear headphones. (See the Soundpeats GoFree2, below.)

Battery life is about average, though I was hoping it would be closer to the Oladance OWS2 given that the earbuds are roughly the same size. Even so, 7.5 hours on a charge is decent, and Baseus says you can get two more hours after just 10 minutes inside the charging case.

If you're looking to test the open-ear waters and don't want to spend a lot, the Baseus Eli Sport 1 is a fine choice.

Bluetooth: 5.3 | Ear detection: No | Spatial audio: Yes | Multipoint connectivity: No | Case charging: USB-C | Max battery life: 7.5 hours on a charge | Water-resistance: IPX4

With its price tag that's double or even triple that of other open-ear headphones, you'd expect the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds to be at least two or three times as good. However, while the sound quality is virtually unrivaled, I'd expect a little more for my $299 — most notably ear detection, noise-canceling microphones, wireless case-charging and multipoint connectivity.

This last is coming later this year via software update, according to a Bose representative, but at this writing it's not available. And those other features will remain MIA. They aren't deal-breakers, but there's something else that might be.

Styled more like earrings than earbuds, the Ultras don't hook over the tops of your ears, but rather clip onto the sides. It's a unique design, one that doesn't interfere with hats, glasses or earrings and does look kind of cool. (I'd love to see these in colors other than black, though.) 

In my experience it took a little practice to get them properly seated and some additional fiddling to get an optimal fit. That's no big deal, but this is: Around 30 minutes into an outdoor walk, the Ultras started to feel uncomfortable — a little too much pressure on the ears' lower concha — and then actually hurt a bit. The next day, I wore them for over an hour (while sitting at my desk) and experienced no discomfort at all.

Then I went for a run and noticed that with every footfall, I could definitely feel the Ultras pulling on my ears. Verdict: These aren't ideal for activities that involve impact: walking, running, etc.

Now, your mileage may vary depending on the size and shape of your ears. I'd recommend borrowing a pair if possible to see if you find them comfortable for extended wear; otherwise, make sure the store you buy them from has a generous return policy.

This is definitely disappointing, because in most other respects I really like these earbuds. For starters, they sound extremely good, even borderline amazing when you turn on spatial audio (which Bose dubs Immersive Audio). The effect is dazzling — you get a real sense of "presence" when listening to music or watching movies. I'm amazed Bose managed to pull off this magic trick in headphones that barely venture inside your ears. (Take note, though, that enabling Immersive Audio will take a toll on battery life; you're more likely to get about 4.5 hours on a charge instead of 7.5.)

I also like the mechanical button that's embedded into each earbud. While it can be a little difficult to locate by feel, it's much more precise than typical touch controls. One click to play/pause, double-click and hold to raise or lower volume, etc. You can even program one of them to switch between previously paired devices, a workaround for the lack of true multipoint support.

Bose backs the Ultras with a two-year warranty, double the industry standard. But I'm still struggling with the price tag, especially considering the aforementioned missing features. These open-ear headphones sound better than any others here, but there are some definite compromises that go with them.

Bluetooth: 5.2 | Ear detection: No | Spatial audio: No | Multipoint connectivity: Yes | Case charging: USB-C | Max battery life: 7 hours on a charge | Water-resistance: IP54

Shokz all but pioneered bone-conduction headphones, so I expected good things from the company's open-ear product, the OpenFit. And some things are indeed good — but a few aren't.

For starters, I appreciated the small but detailed setup guide that covers pairing, wearing and basic touch controls. There's no scannable QR code that takes you straight to the Shokz app, but that's a minor quibble; it's easy enough to find in your app store.

I especially appreciated the fit: The headphones have slimmer ear hooks than either the Baseus or Oladance, meaning they feel a little less "there" — especially for those of us who wear glasses. They're also a little slimmer at the earpiece, looking more streamlined overall than most of the others.

Available in black or beige, the OpenFits support Bluetooth 5.2, a slightly older variation of the technology. All the other products in this roundup use Bluetooth 5.3. Although multipoint pairing is available (and easy to configure, thankfully), I did notice a slight audio lag when watching YouTube videos and similar content. With Bluetooth 5.3, you get lower latency, which is why this issue didn't arise with the other headphones. 

The Shokz app is admirably easy to use; everything is clearly labeled and logically organized. With one tap you can choose between four equalizer presets or customize one of your own. However, while you can also customize the earbuds' touch controls, there are only two options available: double-tap and press-and-hold. Why no single- and triple-tap settings?

How do the Shokz OpenFit sound? At the risk of getting overly technical: They're fine. When I listened closely and critically, music sounded a bit flat and muted, with little range or brightness. But when I stopped paying attention, listening to playlists and podcasts throughout the day, I never gave sound quality a second thought. For outdoor walks, exercise and the like, when audio fidelity isn't critical, they're perfectly acceptable.

And if you prize comfort above all else, you'll definitely like these headphones. They're among the few I can wear all day and barely notice they're there.

Bluetooth: 5.3 | Ear detection: No | Spatial audio: No | Multipoint connectivity: Yes | Case charging: USB-C | Max battery life: 9 hours on a charge | Water-resistance: IPX5

On paper, the Soundpeats GoFree2 headphones seem like an outright winner, offering some best-in-class amenities for a price that's surprisingly low: Just $63, with coupons and other discounts often knocking them even lower. (At this writing, for example, they're discounted to $53, and there's a 10%-off coupon you can clip to get out the door for $48.)

However, it doesn't matter that they can last longer on a charge (about 9 hours) than other open-ear headphones or survive a blast of water (like from a hose) rather than just a few splashes — not if they don't sound good. Unfortunately, these headphones just don't.

Despite supporting high-resolution audio (courtesy of Sony's LDAC technology), the GoFree2 produced music that sounded harsh and tinny, not much better than AM radio. In test after test, I found myself eager to take them off — not because they were uncomfortable (they actually came close to rivaling the Shokz OpenFit in terms of comfort) but because the sound was grating to my ears.

I've tested other budget Soundpeats earbuds that sounded much better; the GoFree2 is just a misfire, making the headphones hard to recommend.