'Could be the best open earbuds yet' — Honor's new clips solve my biggest open earbud problem, and I'm already ready to hand out awards | Tech Radar
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'Could be the best open earbuds yet' — Honor's new clips solve my biggest open earbud problem, and I'm already ready to hand out awards
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Since I started testing the best open earbuds several years ago, the form factor has advanced leaps and bounds. No longer do these anti-noise-cancelling earbuds struggle with poor sound transmission, unreliable fits or huge carry cases. But a few problems linger.
Because each earbud is held outside of your ear canal, this kind of bud has natural sound leakage, so people around you can hear your music if it's quiet, such as in an office. But Honor's new earbuds promise a solution to the problem.
The Honor Choice Earbuds Clip 2 Pro were announced at the end of 2025 in China, but have finally received a global release as of April 2026. They're priced equivalent to around
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Beyond that essay of a name, they come with a few specs which make them seem competitive as clip-style open-ears. Their 12mm driver is bigger than many we see in this style of bud, and the 10-hour battery life again is competitive.
The case charges wirelessly, the arch is designed to survive bends, and the buds automatically detect which ear they're in, so you don't have to think about it. All very handy features.
But beyond that list of useful but familiar specs, there's one tool that stands out.
As I mentioned, there's natural sound leakage with open earbuds, so people around you can easily hear what you're listening to. The pair I'm testing currently are easy to make out if you're within several meters of the listener. It's pretty embarrassing that everyone at Parkrun can hear all the Backstreet Boys I'm listening to.
We did see the Xiaomi Open Wear Stereo Pro come with a driver designed to mitigate this problem, but those were on hook-style open buds, not clip-style like the Honor. Oh, and as my 3-star review (linked above) attests, they weren't especially good.
The Earbuds Clip 2 Pro, however, have a driver on the back of the bud, which emits sound to cancel out the music you're listening to, working basically the reverse of how noise-cancelling headphones operate.
In theory, these solve open earbuds' remaining major pain point, and I'm really curious to test them out and see how well it works (or, more accurately, let my partner discover how well they work, as I'll no longer be annoying her with my music… in theory).
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Shokz Open Fit Pro are a great-sounding contender for the open earbuds crown
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Clip-style earbuds are quickly proving themselves more popular than hook-style ones, at least judging by how many new pairs are released, and I've previously been impressed by the company's offerings, such as the Honor Earbuds Open.
So I'm holding out hope that, if this clippy problem-solver works as well as I think, the Clip 2 Pro could be the best open earbuds yet — at least, for those who share a workspace.
➡️ Read our full guide to the best open earbuds
- Best overall: Shokz Open Fit 2+
- Best cheap around-ear design: Huawei Free Arc
- Best cheap clip design: Shokz Open Dots One
- Best high-end clip design: Bose Ultra Open
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Tom Bedford is a freelance contributor covering tech, entertainment and gaming. Beyond Tech Radar, he has bylines on sites including Games Radar, Digital Trends, Android Police, Tech Advisor, Whatto Watch and BGR. From 2019 to 2022 he was on the Tech Radar team as the staff writer and then deputy editor for the mobile team.
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'Could be the best open earbuds yet' — Honor's new clips solve my biggest open earbud problem, and I'm already ready to hand out awards
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