soundcore C40i | Flexible and Comfortable Clip-On Earbuds

I think this one is a good purchase, specially with it’s price point. A good alternative if you are a airpods user but do not expect that you won’t hear the surrounding sound.

The sound quality is surprisingly good, especially compared to Sony's open earbuds. When they're positioned just right, the sound is full and there's even some bass.Thankfully for me, the best position for these is just above my ear lobe and these sit naturally there. I often forget I'm wearing them. There's another spot about halfway up my ear where they sit more securely and sound as good or better. they only stay there with the large fit sleeves though and those hard plastic sleeves get uncomfortable quickly. Would love to see silicone sleeves in the next version.The open ear Sony buds I used to have cost >CA$200 and they failed on me fast, 6 months to a year at most. If these last a year I'll be happy.

Overall, for my purpose I am quite happy with these earbuds. I was wanting something to help with safety and still be able to listen to music/audio books while walking the dog or out for a run. I have really small ears and I was worried that even with the thickest silicone peice that they might just slide off (as they didn't *feel* secure). I wore them every day most of this past summer, and frequently this fall, and haven't even had one slip off yet.The audio is fine: clear enough and loud enough to hear outside over traffic without blocking it. The app features work well enough, I have not run into any issues there. The button features on the earbuds (I have set for play/pause) works well and comes in handy when I run into people to talk to at the dog park.I didn't purchase them for taking hands free phone calls, but I have used them for that while walking the dog. I can hear the other person well and when I've asked them about how I sound they are usually surprised to learn I'm not speaking directly on the phone.Even with using them for daily dog walking sessions, I don't have to charge the case too often which is also handy.

I decided to try open earbuds, did my research, landed on these. The clear ones look pretty cool and fit right out of the box. They stay secure, I can feel them at first, but not as uncomfortable as in ear buds. After a while I get used to it and can almost forget I'm wearing them. The app from Play store is polished. The sound actually surprised me. I was prepared to be underwhelmed compared to in ear type. The bass/low end is definitely weaker but the separation and soundstage are pretty nice. So far, I'm impressed. It's great to be aware of your surroundings, bike riding, shopping, walks, there are many use cases, even in the dentist chair.

I wore these buds almost every day for several hours, for about three weeks. I kept wanting to love them but they just missed the mark for me. However, the main cons may be mitigated for those with a different ear shape. So still worth a try. I mainly used these for audiobooks and voice calls.Pros:1. Physical button functionality was good. No accidental actions. However there's a noticeable delay between pressing the button and the command taking place; keep that in mind so you don't turn your music on-off-on-off trying to get it to work. This was mildly annoying but not a deal-breaker.2. Does not fall off. Can wear for a few hours at a time usually.3. Battery life good. Wore for several hours a day for a couple weeks before having to charge the case.4. Good call quality. No issues hearing others or being heard. Handled wind noise very well.5. Audio quality quite good, aside from the positioning issue (see below).Cons:1. Fit just wasn't right for me. I have small ears, and I found these pinched. By which I mean, they caused my earlobes to get folded over and squished. The look is not nice, and it gets uncomfortable after 1-3 hours.2. A LOT of sound leakage. Perhaps a different ear shape would have better luck, but for me I couldn't get the buds aimed at my ear canal. Noticeable volume difference when I physically tilted the buds inward. Such that to hear well, the volume was high enough that others could hear what I was listening to.Comparisons:I've tried a number of open-ear buds now. Here's the gist of the comparison to each:1. Monster Open Ear AC228. These buds were far too lose. The connecting arch is so flexible that they just couldn't get a good grip. The touch controls were also very finicky. There's a small touch sensitive area and it was hard to find.2. SoundCore AeroClip by Anker. These were also a near-miss for me. They were the most comfortable open-ear buds I've tried. I could wear them all day no problem. No complaints on sound quality. Con: The touch controls were actually not sensitive ENOUGH; I often had to tap several times or very hard in order for it to work, which was inconvenient/uncomfortable. Voice calls were the other major con; I would regularly get interference that made both myself and the other caller sound like robots.3. SHOKZ OpenFit 2. These were an instant no. The over-ear clip, rather than increasing stability, made these laughably easy to knock off my ears. Just pushing my hair back knocked them off, as did leaning over. They were also just overall uncomfortable. Felt bulky and heavy on my ears compared to the clip-style buds. Caveat: I have small ears AND I wear glasses. Someone with larger ears and no obstructions may have a different experience.

I think this one is a good purchase, specially with it’s price point. A good alternative if you are a airpods user but do not expect that you won’t hear the surrounding sound.

The sound quality is surprisingly good, especially compared to Sony's open earbuds. When they're positioned just right, the sound is full and there's even some bass.Thankfully for me, the best position for these is just above my ear lobe and these sit naturally there. I often forget I'm wearing them. There's another spot about halfway up my ear where they sit more securely and sound as good or better. they only stay there with the large fit sleeves though and those hard plastic sleeves get uncomfortable quickly. Would love to see silicone sleeves in the next version.The open ear Sony buds I used to have cost >CA$200 and they failed on me fast, 6 months to a year at most. If these last a year I'll be happy.

Overall, for my purpose I am quite happy with these earbuds. I was wanting something to help with safety and still be able to listen to music/audio books while walking the dog or out for a run. I have really small ears and I was worried that even with the thickest silicone peice that they might just slide off (as they didn't *feel* secure). I wore them every day most of this past summer, and frequently this fall, and haven't even had one slip off yet.The audio is fine: clear enough and loud enough to hear outside over traffic without blocking it. The app features work well enough, I have not run into any issues there. The button features on the earbuds (I have set for play/pause) works well and comes in handy when I run into people to talk to at the dog park.I didn't purchase them for taking hands free phone calls, but I have used them for that while walking the dog. I can hear the other person well and when I've asked them about how I sound they are usually surprised to learn I'm not speaking directly on the phone.Even with using them for daily dog walking sessions, I don't have to charge the case too often which is also handy.

I decided to try open earbuds, did my research, landed on these. The clear ones look pretty cool and fit right out of the box. They stay secure, I can feel them at first, but not as uncomfortable as in ear buds. After a while I get used to it and can almost forget I'm wearing them. The app from Play store is polished. The sound actually surprised me. I was prepared to be underwhelmed compared to in ear type. The bass/low end is definitely weaker but the separation and soundstage are pretty nice. So far, I'm impressed. It's great to be aware of your surroundings, bike riding, shopping, walks, there are many use cases, even in the dentist chair.

I wore these buds almost every day for several hours, for about three weeks. I kept wanting to love them but they just missed the mark for me. However, the main cons may be mitigated for those with a different ear shape. So still worth a try. I mainly used these for audiobooks and voice calls.Pros:1. Physical button functionality was good. No accidental actions. However there's a noticeable delay between pressing the button and the command taking place; keep that in mind so you don't turn your music on-off-on-off trying to get it to work. This was mildly annoying but not a deal-breaker.2. Does not fall off. Can wear for a few hours at a time usually.3. Battery life good. Wore for several hours a day for a couple weeks before having to charge the case.4. Good call quality. No issues hearing others or being heard. Handled wind noise very well.5. Audio quality quite good, aside from the positioning issue (see below).Cons:1. Fit just wasn't right for me. I have small ears, and I found these pinched. By which I mean, they caused my earlobes to get folded over and squished. The look is not nice, and it gets uncomfortable after 1-3 hours.2. A LOT of sound leakage. Perhaps a different ear shape would have better luck, but for me I couldn't get the buds aimed at my ear canal. Noticeable volume difference when I physically tilted the buds inward. Such that to hear well, the volume was high enough that others could hear what I was listening to.Comparisons:I've tried a number of open-ear buds now. Here's the gist of the comparison to each:1. Monster Open Ear AC228. These buds were far too lose. The connecting arch is so flexible that they just couldn't get a good grip. The touch controls were also very finicky. There's a small touch sensitive area and it was hard to find.2. SoundCore AeroClip by Anker. These were also a near-miss for me. They were the most comfortable open-ear buds I've tried. I could wear them all day no problem. No complaints on sound quality. Con: The touch controls were actually not sensitive ENOUGH; I often had to tap several times or very hard in order for it to work, which was inconvenient/uncomfortable. Voice calls were the other major con; I would regularly get interference that made both myself and the other caller sound like robots.3. SHOKZ OpenFit 2. These were an instant no. The over-ear clip, rather than increasing stability, made these laughably easy to knock off my ears. Just pushing my hair back knocked them off, as did leaning over. They were also just overall uncomfortable. Felt bulky and heavy on my ears compared to the clip-style buds. Caveat: I have small ears AND I wear glasses. Someone with larger ears and no obstructions may have a different experience.

I think this one is a good purchase, specially with it’s price point. A good alternative if you are a airpods user but do not expect that you won’t hear the surrounding sound.

The sound quality is surprisingly good, especially compared to Sony's open earbuds. When they're positioned just right, the sound is full and there's even some bass.Thankfully for me, the best position for these is just above my ear lobe and these sit naturally there. I often forget I'm wearing them. There's another spot about halfway up my ear where they sit more securely and sound as good or better. they only stay there with the large fit sleeves though and those hard plastic sleeves get uncomfortable quickly. Would love to see silicone sleeves in the next version.The open ear Sony buds I used to have cost >CA$200 and they failed on me fast, 6 months to a year at most. If these last a year I'll be happy.

Overall, for my purpose I am quite happy with these earbuds. I was wanting something to help with safety and still be able to listen to music/audio books while walking the dog or out for a run. I have really small ears and I was worried that even with the thickest silicone peice that they might just slide off (as they didn't *feel* secure). I wore them every day most of this past summer, and frequently this fall, and haven't even had one slip off yet.The audio is fine: clear enough and loud enough to hear outside over traffic without blocking it. The app features work well enough, I have not run into any issues there. The button features on the earbuds (I have set for play/pause) works well and comes in handy when I run into people to talk to at the dog park.I didn't purchase them for taking hands free phone calls, but I have used them for that while walking the dog. I can hear the other person well and when I've asked them about how I sound they are usually surprised to learn I'm not speaking directly on the phone.Even with using them for daily dog walking sessions, I don't have to charge the case too often which is also handy.

I decided to try open earbuds, did my research, landed on these. The clear ones look pretty cool and fit right out of the box. They stay secure, I can feel them at first, but not as uncomfortable as in ear buds. After a while I get used to it and can almost forget I'm wearing them. The app from Play store is polished. The sound actually surprised me. I was prepared to be underwhelmed compared to in ear type. The bass/low end is definitely weaker but the separation and soundstage are pretty nice. So far, I'm impressed. It's great to be aware of your surroundings, bike riding, shopping, walks, there are many use cases, even in the dentist chair.

I wore these buds almost every day for several hours, for about three weeks. I kept wanting to love them but they just missed the mark for me. However, the main cons may be mitigated for those with a different ear shape. So still worth a try. I mainly used these for audiobooks and voice calls.Pros:1. Physical button functionality was good. No accidental actions. However there's a noticeable delay between pressing the button and the command taking place; keep that in mind so you don't turn your music on-off-on-off trying to get it to work. This was mildly annoying but not a deal-breaker.2. Does not fall off. Can wear for a few hours at a time usually.3. Battery life good. Wore for several hours a day for a couple weeks before having to charge the case.4. Good call quality. No issues hearing others or being heard. Handled wind noise very well.5. Audio quality quite good, aside from the positioning issue (see below).Cons:1. Fit just wasn't right for me. I have small ears, and I found these pinched. By which I mean, they caused my earlobes to get folded over and squished. The look is not nice, and it gets uncomfortable after 1-3 hours.2. A LOT of sound leakage. Perhaps a different ear shape would have better luck, but for me I couldn't get the buds aimed at my ear canal. Noticeable volume difference when I physically tilted the buds inward. Such that to hear well, the volume was high enough that others could hear what I was listening to.Comparisons:I've tried a number of open-ear buds now. Here's the gist of the comparison to each:1. Monster Open Ear AC228. These buds were far too lose. The connecting arch is so flexible that they just couldn't get a good grip. The touch controls were also very finicky. There's a small touch sensitive area and it was hard to find.2. SoundCore AeroClip by Anker. These were also a near-miss for me. They were the most comfortable open-ear buds I've tried. I could wear them all day no problem. No complaints on sound quality. Con: The touch controls were actually not sensitive ENOUGH; I often had to tap several times or very hard in order for it to work, which was inconvenient/uncomfortable. Voice calls were the other major con; I would regularly get interference that made both myself and the other caller sound like robots.3. SHOKZ OpenFit 2. These were an instant no. The over-ear clip, rather than increasing stability, made these laughably easy to knock off my ears. Just pushing my hair back knocked them off, as did leaning over. They were also just overall uncomfortable. Felt bulky and heavy on my ears compared to the clip-style buds. Caveat: I have small ears AND I wear glasses. Someone with larger ears and no obstructions may have a different experience.