Technologies

Best Open Wireless Earbuds For 2023

Looking for a set of true-wireless earbuds but hate jamming silicone tips in your ears? Here are your best options.

Noise-isolating earbuds with silicone ear tips offer the best sound, but not everyone likes the feeling of having ear tips jammed in their ears. A lot of people prefer tip-free earbuds, which nestle in your ears or rest on top of them. With no tip covering the earbuds’ speaker driver, these earbuds are called «open» buds. The most popular open earbuds are Apple’s standard AirPods, now on their third generation (Apple also still sells the second-gen AirPods).

Open earbuds also have a safety benefit. Because they don’t seal off your ear canal, they let ambient sound in so you can hear what’s going on around you. That can be an important feature for some people, including runners and bikers who want to hear cars approaching. However, the downside to their openness is that if you’re in a noisy environment, the ambient sound will make it harder to hear what you’re listening to. Also, open earbuds have a harder time producing strong bass, which affects sound quality.

Here’s a look at the top open-style buds. I’ll update this list as I test more worthy candidates.

Screenshot by David Carnoy/CNET

Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS

Best cheap open earbuds

$35 at Amazon

You’re receiving price alerts for SoundPEATS True Wireless Earbuds Bluetooth 5.0 Earphones with Built in Mic in-Ear Stereo Headphones for Sport, Deep Bass, Binaural Calls, One-Step Pairing, 35 Hours of Playtime, Upgraded TrueFree Plus

What makes these Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS buds special is that they sound surprisingly good for open earbuds — they’re pretty close to what you get from Apple’s AirPods 3 for sound. On top of that, they support Sony’s LDAC audio codec for devices that offer it. Not too many cheap open earbuds have good sound but these Soundpeats have good bass response and clarity. They’re also good for making calls and have a low-latency gaming mode.

David Carnoy/CNET

AirPods (3rd Gen)

Best sound

$179 at Best Buy

You’re receiving price alerts for Apple AirPods 3 (MagSafe Case)

Battery Life

Rated up to 6 hours

Noise Canceling

Multipoint

Headphone Type

Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)

Take one look at the new design of the third-gen AirPods ($179), and the first thing you’ll probably think is: «Those look like the AirPods Pro without ear tips.» You wouldn’t be wrong. While they’re more fraternal than identical twins, the third-gen AirPods are shaped like the AirPods Pro, with the same shorter stems and same pinch controls as those of the Pro. Aside from the design change, which should fit most ears better than the second-gen AirPods (though not very small ears), the biggest change is to the sound quality: It’s much improved. Also, battery life is better, and the AirPods 3 are officially water-resistant and support Apple’s spatial audio virtual surround feature (for Apple users only).

Read our Apple AirPods 3 review.

David Carnoy/CNET

Sony LinkBuds

Most innovative design

$148 at Amazon

You’re receiving price alerts for Sony LinkBuds (Gray)

Battery Life

5.5 hours

Noise Canceling

Multipoint

Headphone Type

Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)

The LinkBuds are, in a sense, Sony’s answer to Apple’s standard AirPods. While they don’t sound as good as Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM4 noise-isolating earbuds, they offer a discreet, innovative design and a more secure fit than the AirPods, as well as good sound and very good voice-calling performance.

Like the third-gen AirPods, their open design allows you to hear the outside world — that’s what the ring is all about. That makes them a good choice for folks who want to hear what’s going around them for safety reasons or just don’t like having ear tips jammed in their ears. They also have a few distinguishing extra features, including Speak to Chat and Wide Area Tap. Instead of tapping on a bud, you can tap on your face, just in front of your ear, to control playback.

They’re IPX4 splash-proof and thanks to their fins — Sony calls them Arc Supporters — they lock in your ears securely and work well for running and other sporting activities.

Read our Sony LinkBuds review.

David Carnoy/CNET

Fiil CC2

Value open earbuds with an open case

$20 at Amazon

Battery Life

Rated up to 6 hours

Noise Canceling

Yes

Headphone Type

Wireless earbud

Water-Resistant

No IP rating, advertised as sweat-proof

I never tried the original Fiil CC earbuds, but the next-generation CC2 improves on the performance of the originals, with better battery life (they’re rated at five hours on a single charge) and no audio latency issues when watching videos. They list for $30 but sometimes sell for even less, which makes them a very good value.

These did stay in my ears better than the standard AirPods. They pair quickly — they’re equipped with Bluetooth 5.2 — there’s a Fiil companion app for tweaking settings and they sound quite decent for open-style buds, with just enough bass to keep you from feeling they’re bass shy. They’re also decent for making calls and have touch controls.

One of their distinguishing features is their open case, which makes it easy to access the buds and put them back in their case. Thanks to some integrated magnets, they stay in the case securely — you can turn it upside down and the buds won’t come out. Unlike the AirPods, these have square not rounded stems, which seems a little weird at first, and they do fit in your ears slightly differently to AirPods as a result.

Amazon

1More ComfoBuds 2

Good for kids and those with small ears

$40 at Amazon

You’re receiving price alerts for 1More ComfoBuds (Black)

Battery Life

Rated up to 4 hours

Noise Canceling

Yes (ANC)

Multipoint

Headphone Type

Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX5 — protection against low-pressure water streams)

1More has a slightly different take on the standard AirPods for those who have trouble keeping them in their ears. The ComfoBuds 2 have mini ear tips on them that help secure them in your ear. This second-gen version offers improved sound from the originals with better bass (it’s still not great sound, but it’s good for the money). As their name implies, they’re lightweight, comfortable to wear and work well for making calls.

It’s worth noting that their charging case is remarkably narrow and compact. It looks like a tiny hot-dog bun. They’re IPX5 splashproof and also available in black.

Angela Lang/CNET

AirPods (2nd Gen)

Apple’s most affordable AirPods

$130 at Best Buy

You’re receiving price alerts for Apple AirPods 2019 (Charging Case)

Battery Life

Rated up to 5 hours

Noise Canceling

Multipoint

Headphone Type

Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)

The new AirPods (third gen) are a nice upgrade over the second-gen AirPods. That said, the AirPods 2, which came out in 2019, are now selling for around $100 and sometimes a little less. While they don’t sound as good as the AirPods 3 and have a longer stem, they fit some people’s ears better. Those with smaller ears may prefer these older AirPods due to their slightly smaller design.

Read our Apple AirPods 2019 review.

Juan Garzon/CNET

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live

Unique design

$80 at Amazon

$110 at Samsung

You’re receiving price alerts for Samsung Galaxy Buds Live (Black)

Battery Life

Rated up to 8 hours

Noise Canceling

Yes (ANC)

Multipoint

Headphone Type

Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX2 — sweat-resistant and protection against light splashes)

Say what you will about the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live’s bean-shaped design, but it’s certainly innovative. Like the standard AirPods, they have an open design, so you don’t jam an ear tip into your ear. They’re comfortable to wear and fit my ears more securely than the AirPods. These wireless buds are discreet and basically sit flush with your ear, which reduces wind-noise while biking. I regularly use them for running and biking, and they’re great for sporting activities if they fit your ears well. But one warning: Some people won’t get a secure fit, so buy them from a retailer that has a good return policy.

They deliver good sound and work well as a headset for making calls, with good background noise reduction so callers can hear you clearly even when you’re in noisier environments. While they feature active noise canceling, it’s mild compared to the noise canceling in earbuds that have a noise-isolating design. In other words, buy them for their design and sound, not their noise-canceling features.

Read our Samsung Galaxy Buds Live review.

David Carnoy/CNET

Cleer Arc

Best open sport earbuds with ear hooks

$110 at Amazon

Get Price Alerts

You’re receiving price alerts for Cleer Audio ARC Open-Ear True Wireless Headphones with Touch Controls, Long-Lasting Battery Life, Touch Control, and Powerful Audio for Music, Podcasts, and More (Light Grey)

Cleer’s Epic Arc buds are similar to Bose’s Open Sport Earbuds (see below) but are actually a little more comfortable to wear thanks to their swiveling hinge. Like the Bose buds, they rest on the top of your ear just above the ear canal and fire sound into your ears. They’re open so they let ambient sound in (that’s a plus if you’re a runner or biker and want to hear traffic), but their 16.2 mm drivers provide ample bass and volume. They don’t sound quite as good as the Bose Open Sport Earbuds but they’re pretty close.

I liked the case, which is a little big but pretty thin. While it has an integrated USB charging cable (that’s nice), like the Bose Open Sport Earbuds case it doesn’t have a rechargeable battery so it’s basically a dock for charging the earbuds, which are also available in black. Battery life is rated at up to 7 hours and they’re IPX5 splash-proof.

Some of these types of ear-hook-style earbuds have physical control buttons but these have touch controls. I found they worked pretty well but not great. The buds do have a companion app that allows you to upgrade the firmware and tweak the sound profile.

Technologies

Pope Francis’ Funeral: How to Stream Live or Watch the Replay

Here’s how to stream the pope’s funeral very early Saturday, and what you can expect to see during the service.

After a week of global mourning for Pope Francis, who died on Monday at age 88, the pope’s funeral will be celebrated on Saturday . Francis’ funeral will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. local time at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City (which is very, very early if you’re tuning in from the US or Canada), and he will be laid to rest at the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

The Vatican will be livestreaming the papal funeral and procession, though not the burial, on its YouTube channel as it happens. The funeral will also be televised live on CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox, as well as on streaming services like Disney Plus, Hulu, Peacock and Paramount Plus. Due to the time difference, it seems likely that many interested North American viewers will catch it when it’s replayed later on Saturday. Numerous networks will rebroadcast the service later that day.

If you choose to stay up, or get up early, here’s when the live broadcast of the pope’s funeral will air in your time zone in the continental US on April 26:

ET: 4 a.m.
CT: 3 a.m.
MT: 2 a.m.
PT: 1 a.m.

The papacy of Pope Francis was notable for the progressive reforms he brought to the Roman Catholic Church. He appointed more than half of the current College of Cardinals and attempted to foster more positive attitudes toward members of the LGBT community and migrants worldwide.

What to expect from the funeral

The funeral will follow many rituals, though not all traditional protocols will be followed. Most popes are buried in St. Peter’s Basilica or its grottoes, but the AP reports Francis chose the St. Mary Major Basilica to reflect his veneration of an icon of the Virgin Mary that is located there, the Salus Populi Romani (Salvation of the People of Rome).

His funeral will be less elaborate than those of other popes per his own wishes. Francis simplified papal funeral rites last year, permitting his burial outside the Vatican, and emphasizing his role as a bishop rather than as pope (the pope is also the Bishop of Rome).

Previous popes were buried in three coffins: one of cypress, one of lead and one of oak. Francis requested to be buried in a single wooden, zinc-lined coffin and not to be placed in an elevated bier as other popes were.

The coffin will be taken from St Peter’s Basilica and placed on a dais in St Peter’s Square, where Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re will lead the service. After the service, the coffin will return to St Peter’s Basilica before it is carried across the River Tiber and to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major for burial. The ceremony is estimated to end around 2 p.m. local time, or four hours after it begins.

Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will be the first of nine Masses held daily at St. Peter’s until May 4. This is an ancient tradition of the Catholic Church that observes nine days of consecutive mourning. According to Vatican News, a different group of mourners will participate each day, though the Eucharistic celebrations are open to everyone.

Who will attend Pope Francis’ funeral?

Hundreds of people, including world leaders and royals, are expected to attend Pope Francis’ funeral.

US president Donald Trump confirmed on his Truth Social Platform that he and first lady Melania Trump will be at the funeral. This will be Trump’s first foreign trip in his second term. He is expected to have a seat in the third row, though the Vatican has yet to release an official seating chart. It is tradition for the first row of seats to go to Catholic royalty, and the second row to non-Catholic royals.

Prince William, who is attending on behalf of King Charles, will sit in the second row, which is reserved for non-Catholic royals. Former president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, devout Catholics, will also attend the funeral.

Conclave: What happens next to choose the new pope

After Pope Francis’ funeral, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church will vote on his successor in an assembly of cardinals known as a conclave.

There are many matters for the cardinals to settle before the conclave begins, but once it does, it can take days or even weeks to conclude. Two-thirds of the cardinals’ votes are required to elect the next pope. The conclave occurs behind closed doors and the vote tally is never made public.

Read more: Where to Watch Conclave, the Vatican Thriller About Electing a New Pope

Look for the white smoke

The ballots are burned after each round, and chemicals are added to the flames to produce black smoke if there’s no majority. When a new pope has been selected, the chemicals will be added to the flames so they produce white smoke. Crowds gather in St. Peter’s Square to watch for the results.

If you’re fascinated by the process, you can watch a dramatized version of the events in 2024 film Conclave.

In the movie, Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, who spearheads the election of the next pope while investigating rumors about potential candidates. The film is based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris and is completely fictional — though it does represent some of the events of how actual papal conclaves take place. In March, the film won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay.

You can stream Conclave on Amazon Prime Video, or rent it for $6 on Apple TV, Fandango at Home, YouTube or Google Play Movies.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 26, #685

Hints and answers for Connections for April 26, #685.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections puzzle features a lot of short words, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. That purple category requires a lot of thinking — probably most people will solve it only by solving the other three and having four words left over. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Rainbow.

Green group hint: San Fernando ____.

Blue group hint: Think Robert.

Purple group hint: Mixed-up hue words.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Tint.

Green group: Valley.

Blue group: Bobs.

Purple group: Color anagrams.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is tint. The four answers are color, hue, shade and tone.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is valley. The four answers are dale, dell, glen and hollow.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Bobs. The four answers are Dole, Hope, Marley and Ross.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is color anagrams. The four answers are Dre (red), Gary (gray), genre (green) and lube (blue).

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 26, #215

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 215, for Saturday, April 26.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition is tough today. The purple category theme threw me because of one phrase I didn’t know. And let’s hope you’re familiar with college coach surnames. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Try to achieve.

Green group hint: Move through it.

Blue group hint: Sideline bosses.

Purple group hint: Like a carton.