I have a confession to make. I don’t like true wireless earbuds. No, it’s not just because they are insanely popular. No, it’s not because I hate the brands, styles, or how they follow a “less is more” design principle. I simply don’t like earbuds because they don’t stay in my ears.

When I’m working out, doing yardwork, walking or running, even sometimes just sitting and relaxing, they fall right out. It happens so often that I have to keep pressing them into my ears. Yes, I use the right size ear tips for my ears, but they still don’t fit. I’ve tried a wide variety of earbuds, from cheap to expensive. It doesn’t matter. I’ve always preferred the type that latch onto the back of your ears, because they seem to stay in place much better. It’s either that, or I go with traditional headphones.

The other problem is that I sweat profusely, especially since I live in humid Florida. While I’m out mowing my lawn, it pours down my head and body like rain. That amount of sweat and moisture is not conducive to modern electronics, even those that supposedly offer water-resistance. I’ve had more than a couple earbud options die on me, mid-jam session, and I suspect it was the sweat. Gross? Probably. Realistic. Yes, very.

I’ve had this discussion with a few people, so I know I’m not alone in feeling or thinking this way. I just don’t know how prevalent the experience is. But the real reason I’m bringing it up is that the Viaim OpenNote Open-Ear Bluetooth Earbuds have essentially solved this problem for me.

Viaim OpenNote open-ear earbuds

On each bud is a small hook that wraps around the back of your ear, just like I mentioned. The buds themselves rest on the outside of the ear canal, instead of protruding inside. They’re lightweight. They’re comfortable to wear. Most importantly, they stay on your ears, and no matter what you’re doing, running or mowing the lawn, they rest firmly in place. For once, I can stop fiddling with my ears while I’m trying to focus, and it’s a nice change of pace. Plus, they’re IP55 water-resistant against sweat, rain, and low-pressure jets of water — not that the sweat is shooting off my body, but still.

Of course, the Viaim OpenNote earbuds have a lot more to offer than their unique design. Not unlike Viaim’s RecDot earbuds, they feature a multitude of smart functions built in that make them an exceptional option for nearly every aspect of modern life. For instance, they record conversations in real-time and transcribe them via an app, at no added cost. You can record anywhere, anytime, like during meetings or lectures. Moreover, you can answer incoming calls, activate recording while online or offline, and access multi-scene translations via transcriptions.

Okay, this intro is already getting pretty long, so let’s dive in and explore these beauties. Grab a drink or a snack and put on something headbang-worthy.

What are the Viaim OpenNote open-ear Bluetooth earbuds?

The Viaim OpenNote earbuds have an open-ear design and hook around the back of your ears. While they’re on, they sit just outside your canal, naturally. I’ll admit, it feels a little strange at first, especially if you’re used to the common earbud design where they rest inside your ear canal. However, I’ve also found that after many hours of wearing them, and in many situations, it’s so much more comfortable, long sessions especially.

Viaim says they feature a “golden weight distribution” because they follow the Fibonacci spiral. Apparently, they have a balanced weight distribution that divides the pressure at multiple points, making them gentler and more comfortable. They also use skin-friendly liquid silicone rubber, which is soft, cozy, and feels pretty good. This is one of the few pairs of earbuds that have been truly “comfortable to wear all day long,” without discomfort of any kind and without making me want to take them off after a while.

Source: Briley Kenney / Techigar

You may not prefer the design. They may not be appropriate for you if you prefer the traditional earbud setup. They work for me, though.

In terms of audio features, they use Bluetooth 5.3, offer a dual device connection, support SBC, AAC, and LHDC codecs, and are IP55 water-resistant rated. They do have touch controls on the buds; we’ll get to that.

They come with a wireless charging case, as well. It has a fantastic design, and doesn’t seem to have major failure points — I’ve used cases before that would easily wear down or break after repeated use. It has a sturdy hinge, and the charging contacts inside seem pretty tough.

The earbuds have a 115mAh battery and the case has a 750mAh battery. That gives you about 18 to 20 hours of playback with the earbuds alone, depending on what features you’re using. With the wireless charging case, you can extend that to over 50 hours.

How do they sound?

They sound excellent, if not a bit muted compared to traditional buds, because they rest outside your ears. But that’s fine with me. You don’t want your music or audio so loud that it makes you go deaf. In the Viaim companion app, you can adjust equalizer settings, enable or disable high-quality audio, and fiddle around with some more advanced configuration options. They’re relatively simple and not meant to be pro-grade studio-like offerings. You won’t be able to fine-tune every audio note if that’s your thing. It’s serviceable if you just want to get in and out quickly.

Viaim says they feature “master-level” professional tuning already, thanks to the 18 by 11mm high-molecular speaker unit and unique design. They also curl around your ears in a way that it creates a smart leak-proof system that combines with a dynamic sound wave canceling algorithm. You hear less background noise than you would without that stuff.

What else can the Viaim OpenNote earbuds do?

Similar to the Viaim RecDot earbuds, OpenNote can record conversations and also transcribe them in real-time. If you don’t want them transcribed, you don’t have to, so you can just record as well.

This is primarily meant to be used in professional and academic settings. For example, during an important company meeting, to help you take notes, record important milestones and review everything later. Alternatively, you could record a lecture or presentation to review it later as well.

If you’re meeting with someone who speaks another language, OpenNote can record the conversation, transcribe, and through the Viaim app, translate. This also works in real-time so you could do something like watch videos in a foreign language with subtitles — you’d just be reviewing the translations in the app. Yes, you could use this to translate during one-on-one conversations, though it might be a bit clunky. It’s still better than not understanding the other person at all.

This real-time feedback loop also allows for something called Live Text Streaming. Let’s say you’re doing field research or attending a seminar that your team cannot. You can share live transcription access to remote teammates so they can follow along.

Of course, with four microphones, the OpenNote can also answer calls, with excellent voice clarity for your unscrupulous voice. You always sound clear. Moreover, you can use voice controls to interact with the earbuds, like adjusting volume, starting recordings, skipping tracks, or answering phone calls.

Are the OpenNote recording and transcription features reliable?

Yes, surprisingly so. This is not a gimmick or a half-assed feature baked in for brownie points. It’s a full-fledged transcription tool for whatever and whenever you might need it. 

You can either start recording from within the Viaim app, as long as the earbuds are connected via Bluetooth, or you can start from the earbuds themselves. Touch controls are the way. You pinch and hold on the appropriate area of the buds to activate. The pinch controls work great and prevent accidental interactions, something you see a lot with touch-based panels.

Without relying on “trust me, bro” vibes, the transcription is as accurate as you could ask for. The two sets of omnidirectional microphones are great at picking up nearby voices — Viaim says they have up to a 7-meter (22-feet) working range. It’s not perfect, mind you, there will be some errors and mistakes, which you can always go back and edit later. The system itself will correct errors it can detect, especially with low and monotone voices like mine. But to jot down and quickly record the context of a conversation or a discussion, they work wonderfully.

When you activate recording through the app you have three choices: Call recording, audio and video recording and live recording. Call recording can be done through a system or a VoIP call. Audio and video recording can transcribe auxiliary audio streams — like the subtitles for foreign movies example, I provided earlier. And live recording is for meetings, face-to-face dialogue, and presentations.

On several occasions, I used the transcription and recording to freely share some articles and content ideas. The muse struck, and I started writing with my voice instead of typing it all out. I was able to take the text transcriptions and move them over to documents or my site, which was very convenient. I could easily see students doing this for class notes or personal anecdotes, and professionals using it to jot down reminders or to-do tasks.

Like the Viaim RecDot, the app can generate summaries for long recordings, think executive summaries to save you some time, or create to-do lists for relevant recordings. These are generated using the AI assistant.

I still love the Viaim app

I won’t elaborate too much, as I’ve already covered the app before, but I feel the same even after using it with the OpenNote earbuds. The design is appealing, navigation is as intuitive as ever, and it’s all easy to connect and set up. Also, you don’t need to be tech-literate to make it work for you.

Major options are listed at the bottom, including a tab for the earbud controls and settings, recordings, a discovery tab, and app settings. It’s snappy and responsive. You can get in and out quickly, but if you’re just using these as standard earbuds, you don’t even need it. 

What’s the verdict, and the price?

Where the Viaim RecDot earbuds are excellent for professional settings — and can work for a lot of folks because they’re the same price as comparable earbuds — the Viaim OpenNote earbuds are suitable for anywhere. Yes, you can use them in professional and academic settings, but also they’re just so good to use normally. Imagine listening while working out, doing yardwork, hanging out, jamming out at the library, watching mobile media, or virtually any other time you’d use earbuds or headphones. I use them all the time with my Steam Deck to play games.

I absolutely love, love, love the open-ear design and how they rest naturally on the outside of your ear canal. More importantly, the hook that wraps around your ear keeps them in place even when you’re super active, bouncing around, jumping, or working hard. Plus, they’re some of the only earbuds I’ve worn all day and truly felt comfortable with. They don’t put much pressure on your ears, they sound great, and they’re durable.

I cannot stress enough that the smart transcription features, while both reliable and powerful, are more of a bonus here. These are excellent audio earbuds, through and through. They just happen to have Viaim’s innovative AI and transcription-translation tools. Don’t discount those functions, obviously. They’re super awesome. But if you don’t need them or won’t use them, these earbuds are still worth owning. You’d be surprised how often you’ll call upon that recording and transcription support once you get used to it, though.

Everything is available from the get-go, including the transcriptions and translations. There are no extra fees, no subscriptions to worry about, and the app is designed well with intuitive navigation and controls. Bluetooth pairing is easy to set up, too, but that comes from the connectivity standard.

The MSRP is $219, which is super reasonable already, but I’ve seen Viaim discount these to $175. If you can get them on sale, definitely go for it. These are fantastic for students going back to school, professionals in the workplace or remote, entrepreneurs, creatives, and beyond. You can use them to record and transcribe interviews, meetings, presentations, seminars, impromptu meets with colleagues and friends, and much more. Just make sure the other parties know you’re recording.

• Recommended Buy: Yes.
• For Who: Everyone.
• Alternative: Viaim RecDot Earbuds
• MSRP: $219