Cleer’s original Arc earbuds were solid sport earbuds that featured decent sound for open-style buds that sit on top of your ears and fire sound into them. This new-for-2023 model steps up the sound quality and offers additional refinements and feature upgrades, including a new “enhanced” charging case with UV sterilization and multipoint Bluetooth connectivity (Bluetooth 5.3), all of which makes for a significantly improved product.

Cleer says the Arc 2 Sport buds feature “greater flexibility for improved comfort,” and I did find them more comfortable to wear than the original Arcs. That said, not everyone loves this style of open earbuds, which lets sound in so you can hear ambient sound around you for safety purposes.

With a new six-axis motion sensor, you can actually control the buds with head gestures — you answer calls by nodding and skip tracks forward by turning your head to the right and skip a track back by turning your head left. Thankfully, those motion controls can be turned off if you don’t want to use them. 

These are among the first buds to support Qualcomm’s aptX Lossless format, if you’re one of the few to have an Android device that supports that audio codec (plenty of Android phones support aptX Adaptive). Since these aren’t high-end noise-isolating earbuds, you probably won’t be able to tell the difference in sound quality — I couldn’t — but all that aside, these do sound very good for open-style earbuds. They lack a bit of oomph to their bass but they’re punchy enough, offer good clarity and didn’t distort at higher volumes. They also played sufficiently loud. 

They have an IPX5 water- and sweat-resistance rating, which means they can withstand a sustained spray of water, and battery life is very good at up to eight hours on a single charge, plus there’s a little more than three additional charges in the slim but still somewhat bulky charging case. It’s big compared to an AirPods charging case, but svelte compared to other cases that house this style of earbuds.

These offer respectable performance for voice calls, but callers did say they heard a certain amount of white noise when I spoke to them from the noisy streets of New York — that whooshing sound is the by-product of the earbuds’ noise-reduction efforts. 

Pros

• Improved design with smaller charging case
• Very good sound for open earbuds
• Good battery life and support for aptX Lossless
• Option to control buds with head gestures 

Cons

• Pricey
• Lack a bit of oomph to their bass
• Voice-calling performance is decent but not great

The Soundcore Sport X10 have an interesting design with rotating swiveling ear hooks that flip up when you’re using them and flip down when you want to set them in their charging case, which has a smaller footprint than a lot of buds with ear hooks. 

As long as you get a tight seal, they sound good, with powerful, punchy bass and good detail. They also have active noise canceling, which is effective though not as good as Sony or Bose’s noise canceling. They’re also fully waterproof with an IPX7 rating, which means they can be fully submerged in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes. Battery life is rated at up to 8 hours with an additional three charges in the charging case.

Pros

• Swiveling ear hooks for a more secure fit
• Smaller charging case than other earbuds with this design
• Good sound and battery life
• Fully waterproof 

Cons

• Noise-canceling performance is only average
• Some people may not be able to get a tight seal

JBL has upgraded its ear-hook style sport earbuds for 2023. Available in black or white, the Endurance Peak 3 buds offer better battery life (up to 10 hours with four extra charges in their case) improved voice-calling performance and an IP68 rating that makes them fully water- and dust-proof. They also have an Ambient Aware transparency mode and Talk Thru mode that can automatically lower your music’s volume level and open up the buds to the outside world. That means you can have conversation with someone without removing the buds from your ears.

They stayed on my ears very securely during runs and I thought they sounded quite good, though they do have a bit of bass push (i.e. they have powerful bass). Just be aware that if you don’t get a tight seal, sound quality will be significantly worse. Also, like other earbuds with ear-hook designs, the case is on the beefy side. That said, the buds do seem durable and if you get a good fit, they’re an excellent and less pricey alternative to the Beats Powerbeats Pro. I also thought the touch controls worked well; I was easily able to toggle through the sound modes.

Pros

• Improved battery life (up to 10 hours)
• Improved voice-calling performance 
• Good sound quality if you get a tight seal
• Fully waterproof 

Cons

• Case is fairly large
• Some people may not be able to get a tight seal

With so many new wireless earbuds and headphones being released on what seems likely a weekly basis, it’s not easy for companies to differentiate their products in the marketplace. Skullcandy hopes its new voice-driven platform, Skull-iQ Smart Feature Technology, will do just that. Similar to the Apple AirPods’ “Hey Siri” feature, Skullcandy’s version allows you to say “Hey, Skullcandy” to issue hands-free voice commands without touching a button. Skull-iQ debuts on the sports-oriented Push Active, and the $100 Grind Fuel, which will be firmware updatable via the Skullcandy App.

With their ear-hook design, they’re essentially a more affordable version of the Beats Powerbeats Pro and they fit my ears slightly better than the Powerbeats Pro. I’m not usually a fan of ear-hook style buds, but this is one of the better ones. 

The Push Active True earbuds are equipped with Bluetooth 5.2, are IP55 splashproof, have built-in Tile Finding Technology and are rated for up to 10 hours of battery life on a single charge at moderate volume levels. 

• Affordable
• Good sound quality if you get a tight seal 
• Control with Skullcandy’s voice technology
• Built-in Tile Finding Technology

Cons

• Case is a little large
• Some people may not be able to get a tight seal

While the Tribit MoveBuds H1 only sound decent, not great, there’s a lot to like about them. They feel sturdy and are fully waterproof with an IPX8 rating. They also have very long battery life — up to 15 hours — and support Qualcomm’s aptX audio codec. Many Android smartphones offer AptX Bluetooth streaming.  

• Durable design
• Very long battery life 
• Support for aptX audio codec for Android devices
• Fully waterproof

Cons

• Case is a little large
• Sound quality isn’t quite as good as competing models