Given their design quirks, you need to forgive a couple of issues with open-ear buds. However the slam-dunk of the Honor Earbuds Open is that they ship all the things 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 implausible too, which is commonly the realm that ruins otherwise-great open-ears. The Earbuds Open match comfortably and securely, whether or not I used to be lounging at residence, understanding on the health club, biking or occurring runs. It was simple to neglect I used to be sporting them at occasions!
Honor has additionally supplied a function that’s extremely uncommon in open-ears: lively noise cancellation. Once I first noticed that the buds had this, I used to be baffled; in any case, your entire level of open-ears is that they mean you can hear surrounding sounds. Nonetheless in follow, it labored very well, with its light-touch implementation making certain you’ll be able to hear essential 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 just a little annoying to make use of, and you’ll simply mark any earbuds down for a number of the options they don’t provide (an equalizer right here) however none of those are deal-breakers… as you’ll be able to in all probability inform, from the glowing overview rating and verdict.
The unlucky launch proper concurrently a less expensive, better-sounding rival (extra on that within the ‘Additionally take into account’ part) will solely harm the Honors, however they continue to be a number of the greatest open-ear headphones available on the market proper now.
Honor Earbuds Open overview: Specs
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Element
Worth
Water-proof
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: Value and availability
(Picture credit score: Future)
Introduced in February 2025 Priced at £149.99 (roughly $200, AU$300) Not on sale in Australia or US
The Honor Earbuds Open had been introduced at annual tech convention MWC in February 2025, alongside a couple of different Honor devices.
You’ll be able to decide 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 worth barely north of what some spectacular rivals value, (see the Shokz OpenFit Air , priced £119, which is round $150 or AU$229) however there are additionally big-name open-ears that value much more, and the distinction between Honor’s buds and its shut rivals isn’t enormous.
Honor Earbuds Open overview: Design
(Picture credit score: Future)
Lightweight buds which might be comfy 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 huge 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 simple 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 a number of different open-ear circumstances.
Now onto the buds: you’ll be able to see the images, and what open-ear buds are like (hopefully, at the least, in case you’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.
Proof of how easily-bendable the hook is. (Picture credit score: Future)
I discovered the Honors to be a number of the extra comfy 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 in all probability 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 the direction of athletes, the buds are safe sufficient for intense sports activities. I took them for a number of runs and health club exercises and by no means had a problem – they keep in place simply positive.
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 you need to repeatedly hit the a part of the bud that hangs down, I discovered myself repeatedly pushing it into my ear once I needed to pause, which was just a little bit annoying.
Two different issues to notice: firstly, you’ll be able to decide up the buds in black or beige (which Honor calls Polar Gold). Secondly, they’ve an IP54 score, which implies they’re splash- and dust-proof – however don’t get them too moist.
Honor Earbuds Open: Options
(Picture credit score: Future)
ANC is uncommon exhibiting 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 decide to let in outdoors sound I gained’t perceive, nevertheless it labored surprisingly properly, so I can’t complain.
It’s in no way industry-leading noise cancellation, however its ‘less-is-more’ method labored wonders. The open-ear body permits you to hear essential sounds round you want prepare station bulletins, the engines of close by autos or calls from folks in outlets you’ve simply left letting you’ve left your bank card behind. And the noise cancellation removes the unimportant sounds: distant site visitors, annoying screeching trains and horrible climate situations. Honor has discovered the Goldilocks spot for ANC: excellent.
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 if 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 lots of rivals beat it.
(Picture credit score: Future)
When you obtain the Honor AI Area app in your smartphone, you get entry to a couple additional options. One in every of these is the flexibility to toggle the ANC on and off, one other is the flexibility to connect with a number of smartphones, and you may as well 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: ‘Unique’ and ‘Exercise amplifier’, the latter of which I examined once I was understanding and in addition in a extra managed sound atmosphere. 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 swap.
One other function I must flag is AI Translate; Honor’s web site says you want the Honor Magic 7 Pro to make use of it, nevertheless it labored positive on my Realme cellphone. That is principally an interpreter app that allows you to converse with somebody in two of 11 languages, utilizing each your cellphone’s speaker and the earbuds.
From what I can inform, and coming from somebody who’s monolingual, it appeared to work properly. It’s only a curious function to return packaged with earbuds, particularly when you would equally obtain and use Google Translate’s app.
Honor Earbuds Open overview: Sound
(Picture credit score: Future)
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 in some way managed to simply pip them to the publish, however they’re nonetheless nice to hearken to. I repeatedly 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 provide over different open-ears I’ve examined is that they’ve this factor known 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 provide heat and energetic low tones, good for thumping exercise tunes.
However that’s not all: the buds have crisp treble, which is one other helpful element that lets the Earbuds Open minimize via noise, and a pronounced sound stage that makes songs sound detailed and wealthy if you’re desirous to get pleasure from your tunes.
The one audio drawback I confronted was one which’s fairly widespread in all types of wi-fi earbud: mid sounds fell by the wayside just a little in comparison with treble and bass. However within the everlasting phrases of Meat Loaf “two out of three ain’t dangerous”, 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
(Picture credit score: Future)
On condition that the open-ear bud market continues to be quite new, it’s arduous to make decisive statements in regards to the worth classes for this type 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 undoubtedly cheaper choices out there to you, though selecting them up will naturally saddle you with worse-sounding earbuds (besides in a single case; extra on that beneath). 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 sturdy builds.
So in case you’re searching for any satisfactory pair of open-ears, the Honors won’t give you nice worth for cash, however in case you actually care about good-sounding audio they’ll arguably be well worth the increased worth.
Honor Earbuds Open overview: scorecard
Swipe to scroll horizontally
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?
(Picture credit score: Future)
Purchase them if…
Do not buy them if…
Additionally take into account
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Element
Honor Earbuds Open
Huawei FreeArc
OpenRock Professional
Water-proof
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
(Picture credit score: Future)
I used the Honor Earbuds Open for 2 weeks to be able to write this overview. I examined them concurrently two rival open-ears: the Huawei FreeArc and EarFun Openjump, which supplied ample alternative for comparability.
Via the overview I used them alongside my Android smartphone, largely for music streaming on Spotify but additionally for streaming TV reveals and taking part in video games. As talked about via the overview I used them at residence, on walks round my neighborhood, on cycle rides, on runs and on the health club.
I have been testing devices for TechRadar for over six years now, and have reviewed, amongst different issues, many different open-ear earbuds.
Read more about how we test
First reviewed: March 2025
