Open-ear audio has been a big thing in the past few years, but if there’s one category within that niche that’s really seen some interest, it’s clips. Clip-on wireless earbuds, in case you’re not familiar, are like regular wireless earbuds but in clip form. Instead of shoving a piece of silicone into your ear canal, clip-ons wrap around your ear (like a clip), and a driver rests outside.
There are quite a few advantages to that form factor, but probably the most major are comfort—again, they don’t stuff your ears up with silicone ear tips—and the ability to hear your surroundings while you listen to audio. That last bit means they can be useful when you’re biking, running, or taking calls. The downside is they don’t have active noise cancellation (ANC), but if you’re buying them for your ability to hear your environment, that likely won’t matter. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Because of those advantages and the surprisingly high-quality audio you can get with clip-on wireless earbuds, they’ve attracted quite a few big names. Shokz has a couple of pairs; Bose has a pair; Sony recently made a pair; and now there’s a potentially even larger shark in the clip-on waters: Samsung. Leaks suggest that Samsung has made its own pair of clip-on wireless earbuds called the Galaxy Able. There’s not a ton of information about what the headphones will entail, but early references to the earbuds found in Samsung’s One UI firmware portray a distinct clip vibe and the inclusion of bone conduction, which might make them well-suited for exercise. Again, there’s not much to go off, but there’s a chance they could arrive soon, potentially during Samsung’s next Unpacked event this month.
