When it comes to buying a set of new earbuds, we often consider in-ear earphones, like AirPods or Samsung Galaxy Buds, or opt for over-the-ear headphones like Sony’s WH-1000XM5 or the Bose QuietComfort. However, if you’re anything like me, you might have issues with both of these designs. The silicone in-ear tips of AirPods can become uncomfortable (and even painful) after just an hour of use, while carrying around bulky headphones all day isn’t appealing either.
That’s where the Oladance OWS Pro earbuds come in. These earbuds sit comfortably over your ears and deliver sound directly into them, creating an immersive listening experience. I’ve been using the Oladance OWS Pro for about two weeks now, and they are the most comfortable earbuds I’ve tried in a long time. But, I won’t give away all the details here. If you want to find out why the OWS Pro earbuds have become my go-to earphones, keep reading my review of these open-ear earbuds.
Oladance OWS Pro Open-Ear Headphones
Editor’s Choice
Oladance’s OWS Pro is a set of open-ear earbuds that offer excellent sound and comfortable fit. It has great battery life and supports Bluetooth Multipoint as well.
- Brand
- Oladance
- Dimensions
- Earphone: 57x45x22.5 (mm), Charging Case: 88x74x29 (mm)
- Weight
- Single Earphone: 13.8g, Charging Case: 73.6g
- Connectivity
- Bluetooth 5.3
- Compatible With
- iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome OS
- Battery Life
- Earphone: 16 hours, With Charging Case: 58 hours
- IP rating
- IPX4
- Charging type
- USB-C
- Supported codecs
- SBC
Pros
- Comfortable fit
- Excellent sound, even with an open-earbud design
- Bluetooth 5.3 with support for multipoint connection
- Long battery life
- Easy-to-use touch controls
Cons
- The charging case is a bit bulky
- May require some time to get used to putting them on and taking them off
Price and Availability
The Oladance OWS Pro is available for $229. These open-ear earbuds can be purchased from Oladance’s official website or through Amazon. These earbuds come in five different colors: Misty Black, Porcelain White, Luminous Titanium, Vivid Green, and Pearly Haze Pink. Currently, thanks to the Black Friday sale, you can pick up the OWS Pro for a 20% discount, bringing down the price to just $184.
Open-Ear Headphones: What are they?
Now, I’m sure most of you reading this article might not be familiar with open-ear headphones. After all, we are more accustomed to using in-ear or over-the-ear audio devices. Open-ear headphones are a relatively new type of audio product. They have a speaker opening that sits just above your ear canal, delivering sound into it. Typically, they have a rounded stem that wraps around your ear to keep the headphones in place.
The key benefit of these earbuds is they don’t cover up the whole of your ear and allow you to stay aware of your surroundings while enjoying your favorite songs, podcasts, or videos without interruptions. Now, there are various factors at play, such as design, comfort, fit, audio technology, battery life, and more, that can make or break open-ear earbuds. Here we’ll take a look at how the Oladance OWS Pro performs in real life.
Design and Build
Source: Pocketnow /Sanuj Bhatia”” data-modal-id=”single-image-modal” data-modal-container-id=”single-image-modal-container” data-img-caption=”null”>
Source: Pocketnow / Sanuj Bhatia
Taking a look at the OWS Pro’s design, these earbuds keep it simple: they have a big speaker grill on the inner side and a soft silicone stem that wraps around your ears. The outer half is made of plastic, and the finish varies depending on the variant you get. I’ve got the Misty Black version here with me, and it has a somewhat matte appearance.
Going around the earbuds, you’ll notice three speaker grills on the inner side: one large in the center, one with a big U-shaped cutout on top, and one grill on the bottom. Each earbud has two microphones, one on the inner side near the bottom, and one on the outer side. On the stem, there’s a power button and charging pins on the back. One unique feature of the OWS Pro is the touch-and-pressure button on top of each earbud. You can control music playback and switch between voice assistants by squeezing this button while sliding up or down adjusts the volume.
When you take the OWS Pro out of the box for the first time, you will realize that they are a bit on the bulky side. Those with larger ears might find a more snug fit, but they worked fine for me. It would have been nice if the stem was more adjustable, but Oladance has made sure they’re comfortable to wear. The soft silicone material makes them easy to wear for extended periods without causing fatigue, and the weight management has also been done very well to prevent them from falling off easily.
But, what if you wear glasses? I wear prescription glasses all day, and I didn’t experience any discomfort from the earbuds pressing against the stems of my glasses. They’re generally comfortable to wear with glasses, although it can depend on the shape and size of your glasses as well.
Yes, you might attract a few eyeballs when wearing these in public, with some people possibly mistaking them for hearing aids. But that’s a common thing with all open-ear earbuds. However, with more of these earbuds entering the market, we’ll probably get used to seeing them around. Speaking of wearing out in public, you can use these earbuds during your workout sessions as well, thanks to the IPX4 water resistance rating, which means they’re safe against sweat and light rain, although they don’t provide dust protection.
The charging case is bulky, but that’s expected because it needs to fit the big earbuds. Moreover, the charging case provides an impressive 60 hours of total battery life, but more on this later. Now, let’s shift our focus to the earbuds’ audio performance and explore the companion app and its features.
Audio
Sound Quality
It’s pretty hard to describe how the OWS Pro sounds, but it feels like having high-end speakers right by your ears, creating a big, open sound. When I first tried them, I wasn’t expecting much in terms of bass — it can be tricky for open-ear designs. However, the OWS Pro exceeded my expectations. The OWS Pro produces a rich, powerful, and deep sound that almost makes you forget you’re using open earbuds.
They can’t quite match in-ear earbuds, of course, but the OWS Pro’s soundstage is impressively wide, giving you a sensation of excellent stereo speakers that you can take with you anywhere. For example, when I played Dua Lipa’s new Houdini through these earbuds, it sounded wonderful on these earphones with detailed midrange and low-end bass. Similarly, when I played Ludwig Goransson’s Can You Hear the Music from Oppenheimer, which has a mix of low and high frequencies, the OWS Pro handled it really well.
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One thing to note is that since these earbuds are open-ear, you might need to make slight adjustments to get the best sound quality. I found that even minor changes in angle and positioning can make a big difference. And, if you’re not satisfied with the default EQ, you can customize it using the Oladance companion app. Of course, these earbuds are best in quiet, less noisy environments. Using them in busy places like buses and subways might not deliver the same level of performance as in-ear buds. However, when you want to enjoy some late-night binge-watching or just have music in your ears, they are a solid choice.
Audio Leakage
One thing that I got from a lot of people when using these earbuds was about sound leaking out while in use. Well, it really comes down to how loudly you play your music. If you crank up the volume all the way, the person sitting next to you will get an idea of what you’re listening to. However, I mostly kept the volume around 50%, and the sound was hardly noticeable to others around me.
Noise Cancelation
These earbuds don’t come with active noise cancelation (ANC). For that, you’d need headphones that fully cover your ears like AirPods Pro and Sony WH-1000XM5. These earbuds have an open-ear design, which means their primary purpose is to keep your ear canals open to the environment. However, the OWS Pro does offer a “Focus Mode” that can reduce certain noise levels effectively. It’s quite impressive — it can block out annoying sounds like the hum of a fan or an air purifier. But it’s essential to note that this feature doesn’t work as well as some ANC earbuds when you’re outdoors; it’s most effective indoors.
Companion App and Features
The OWS Pro works with the Oladance app, which allows you to manage various aspects of the earbuds. The app is beautiful designed and gives you control over functions like touch control, equalizer settings, Focus mode, sound balance, hearing protection, and firmware updates for the earbuds. Customizing the equalizer is user-friendly, allowing you to fine-tune the sound to your preferences. However, it’s important to note that changes to the earbuds’ settings don’t take effect immediately; you’ll need to press “Save” for them to apply.
One thing that I liked is that you don’t need to go through the hassle of creating an account or linking it with Google. The app works right out of the box, although signing in is recommended. On the whole, the Oladance app is pretty straightforward and not something you’ll need to use every day for adjustments. The Oladance app is available on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
Battery Life and Charging
One thing that I can recommend this earphones for is exceptional battery life. The Oladance OWS Pro is straight-up a battery champ. Oladance claims that each earbud can power through 16 hours of use, and combined with the charging case, you’re looking at a massive 58 hours of battery life. In fact, I didn’t even need to charge the case even once during my testing period — something I can’t say about the other earphones I have tested so far. Moreover, if you do somehow manage to run them down, a quick 15-minute charge will give you an extra six hours of use.
Final Verdict
So, should you consider getting the Oladance OWS Pro? Well, it’s not a straightforward yes or no. The open-ear earbuds is a fairly new category in the world of audio devices, and they do lack some features, such as Active Noise Cancelation (ANC), that other types of earbuds offer. However, if you experience discomfort or headaches with other earbuds, the Oladance OWS Pro could be a great solution for you. They have a rich and deep sound and the battery life is simply excellent.
Look these are not for say 90% of the people out there. For them, AirPods and similar products are still the best. But for those who want to enjoy background music while working without constantly having something in their ears, the OWS Pro offers a compelling solution.
Oladance OWS Pro Open-Ear Headphones
Editor’s Choice
Oladance’s OWS Pro is a set of open-ear earbuds that offer excellent sound and comfortable fit. It has great battery life and supports Bluetooth Multipoint as well.