Review: Soundcore Aeroclip Open-Ear Earbuds

Open earbuds are everywhere. They come in multiple shapes and forms, each designed to keep your ear canals clear so you can groove to your favorite sounds without losing touch with the sounds around you. I’m a true convert and have found that the best open earbuds, like Bose’s Ultra model (7/10, WIRED Recommends), come in handy in all sorts of scenarios. But the fact that they let all the sound in means they can’t be your everything buds. That’s why folks on a budget will want to get a deal.

Anker’s Soundcore line has been zeroing in on a good solution for a while now, and the Aeroclip hit the mark. At $130, they’re not the cheapest open buds around, but they’re around half what you’ll pay for Bose’s luxurious pair while still providing a light and comfy design and good sound quality. Soundcore’s app makes customization a cinch and the controls are simple and reliable. It’s a great mix that makes for a good bargain on your new pair of secondary buds.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Updated July 2025: Anker has raised the retail price from $130 at launch to $170 following our original review. The company has no comment on the price increase.

Comfy and Compact

Every pair of fully wireless buds starts with a charging case, and the Aeroclip’s is a good one. Unlike a lot of open earbuds cases, it fits easily in your hand or pocket, while its metallic-matte coating holds up well to scratches. If I wasn’t already convinced of its mettle, a recent trip to my favorite beer garden was a strong argument: The buds slipped out of my jacket pocket and danced across the concrete floor with only a few scuffs to tell the tale.

Opening the tautly hinged lid reveals a pair of bowed buds that loop out like rainbows from their charging stands. The design feels like a mix between cheaper Soundcore open-ear models like the C30i/C40i and Bose’s roll-out Ultra buds, with an acoustic housing and sound ports on one end and a battery bank at the other that clutches to the back of your ears. An IPX4 water resistance rating means the buds hold up to splashes and sweat, though they’re not as water-tight as some of the best workout buds.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The fit is light (5.9 grams per side) and flexible, due in part to a new “memory titanium” insert that Soundcore says can endure 20,000 flexes. The buds don’t clutch quite as strongly as the Bose Ultra’s grippy fit, but I’ve had no trouble with them holding on and staying put over several weeks of testing. If the default design doesn’t fit, Soundcore includes a couple of add-on grips to fit smaller ears. I’m not ready to call the Aeroclip a perfect open-ear solution, but they’re getting closer and worked great for me in a variety of scenarios.

As for the alluded imperfections, the buds have a slight budget feel in accordance with the price. You’ll sometimes have to work to fit them back in the case, though I was glad to find the right bud won’t fit in the left stand or vice versa, so you can’t mix them up. Like most clip-on buds, the stereo image isn’t always properly balanced, due to where they hang, so you may have to fidget with them, but they’re also easier to clip on and adjust than most pairs.

On the Money

One major challenge for this new(ish) segment is where and how to add controls. Bose uses a single button on each bud, while Sony’s Linkbuds Open (7/10, WIRED Recommends) and most other pairs I’ve tried use touch controls. That can be tricky, since there’s not always a clear spot to tap on buds separated into halves. Soundcore’s novel and surprisingly effective solution is to put touchpads on the connector bows. Tapping the center as directed worked almost flawlessly over my test period, with only a few missed connections.

You can customize the controls in Soundcore’s well-stocked app, but the default of double and triple taps on the right bud for playback and calling, and the same motion for volume controls on the left worked great for me. You can add other controls, like back-skip or Siri summoning, but you’ll be giving up one of the core options—there’s only so much you can do with taps before it all gets muddled.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The app lets you access a few other handy features, including a multiband EQ and presets, a Find Device function, and multipoint pairing to connect them to two source devices at once. You can also track the battery, which offers a solid eight hours per charge, 32 with the case. I rarely wear open earbuds all day, so I barely needed to think about the battery over several weeks. You’ll have plenty of playtime for workouts, outdoor adventures like hiking or dog walking, and any other tasks where open-earbuds come in handy—like, say, watching football on your phone with your wife’s family while they watch Christmas movies.

The Aeroclip lack options like Spatial Audio, though I wouldn’t really expect that at this price, and of course there’s no noise cancellation, which is something of a contradiction for open earbuds anyway. That’s one reason I say most people will need another pair of regular noise-canceling earbuds to be a go-to option for all conditions. Not to mention the sound quality, which is always going to be partly compromised in open-ear buds.

Music in Your Mind

The biggest compromise with the open earbud design is quite simple: bass. Without the tight seal (or occlusion) of a bud that fills your ear canal, open buds have trouble reproducing deep and impactful low frequencies. That’s not to say they can’t provide an enjoyable experience, and the Aerclips are among the most enjoyable I’ve tried at their price point.

The true magic of open-ear devices, which includes options like smart glasses, is how music, calls, or podcasts just seem to pop into your brain like magic. When done right, it feels almost like the sound is expanding into your binaural pathway all on its own. The Aeroclips do a great job creating this effect, providing good balance between the frequencies, clear definition, and a relatively expansive stereo image that glides from the center of your head and into the far sides of your ears.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

You’ll find poppy percussion, clear vocals, and zippy textures for instruments like electric guitars, synths, and percussion. Instruments are placed nicely in space, making for a great soundtrack as you go about micro-adventures like your daily dog walk or baby stroll. And of course, you’re always aware of other sounds around you, if not always focused on them, which keeps you grounded in the moment.

That makes the Aeroclip handy for situations like making dinner or working around the house when you need to listen for a yell from your significant other, the doorbell, or the kids. The Aeroclip even work well for bike and ebike rides, thanks to their aerodynamic loops that reduce wind resistance compared to options like the Linkbuds Open. That may just be my favorite use case for them.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The downside, of course, is that you can’t escape loud noises like with regular buds. On my walk through the park near my house, podcasts can get drowned out by gas-powered landscaping on one side or bustling traffic on the other. You can crank the volume to counteract it, but there’s only so much you can do with your ear canals open. Bose’s Ultra Open buds ramp up the sound quality with swifter detail revelation and a more refined overall sound signature, but they still suffer from the same use-case limitations (at a much higher price).

You should always leave room in your budget for a good pair of regular wireless buds. You could go with a super cheap pair like Soundcore's own C30i, but the Aeroclip provide the best compromise I’ve found between good sound, great usability, and accessible pricing. If you’re looking to dip a toe into the open-ear waters without diving in with your wallet, these are the open buds to buy.