Soundcore AeroClip review: sleek looks and stunning sound, these new open-ears just blew me away

So comfortable I forgot I was even wearing them, the Soundcore AeroClip open-ear clip on earbuds are definitely a contender for the best running earbuds on the market.

The earbuds deliver excellent sound quality with plenty of options to enhance your favorite songs, podcasts or audiobooks using Soundcore’s EQ presets. They perform incredibly well and make for a listening experience I would say is better in many ways than my trusty Apple Airpods. However, they can sound tinny at higher volume, especially when listening to heavier songs.

The design of the Soundcore AeroClip earbuds is comfortable yet secure, and their open-ear design gives you complete awareness of your surroundings. Add on the impressive battery life and Soundcore are on to a winner because while there are minor issues at high volumes, it doesn’t stop them being a strong choice for anyone looking for new workout earbuds.

I’ll dive into why I love these open-ears more in my full Soundcore AeroClip review.

Soundcore AeroClip review: Specs

Soundcore AeroClip review: Price & availability

The Soundcore AeroClip earbuds cost $129 / £129 at Amazon, which is midrange for open-ear earbuds. The price point is low given the performance — the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, which have a similar look and sound performance, will set you back a huge $299.

The Aeroclip wireless ear-buds are available in three different colourways, Champagne Mist (pictured here), Midnight, and Rosy Brown.

Soundcore AeroClip review: Design & controls

• IPX4, protected from water splashes
• Easy to use controls
• Adjustable fit

The Soundcore AeroClip earbuds have an orbital design (they sit on the outer cartilage of your ear, like the Bose Ultra Open), but still manage to look incredibly sleek and minimalist. Although the open ring has a rubbery texture, the finish doesn’t feel cheap.

The AeroClips’ charging case is made from sturdy plastic, but is also lightweight and fitted into the pockets of my running jacket with ease during testing.

The earbuds clip around the cartilage and use a flexible open ring which differs from the hard-shell of the previous Soundcore C30i. This design feature allows a better adjustment and fit — and just looks a whole lot better on the whole.

Although the open ring is flexible, the AeroClips come with two sets of attachable ear grips in case the fit is too loose initially. There’s a choice of medium and large.

I opted not to use the ear grips but did try them out to test how much of a difference they made — the earbuds felt more secure but were a little too tight for me.

Soundcore doesn’t specify any waterproofing for the charging case, but the earbuds themselves are IPX4 rated so protected from water splashes. I tested them out on a walk in the rain and had no issues.

This rating also makes them sweatproof, but Soundcore advises wiping them before placing them back in the charging case if you’ve been sweating, to protect the charging mechanism.

The open ring houses the tap sensor for controls, so there are no buttons to fumble around with. To play or pause I double tapped, which was easy to do even when running.

I often find with other headphones and earbuds that the controls are too small to tap or press when running, but since the entire open ring is tap-sensitive, it’s hard to miss.

A triple tap will skip to the next track, although the option to go back a track — the most useful, in my opinion — is missing by default. Luckily I was able to alter the tap controls using the Soundcore app (more on that later).

Soundcore AeroClip review: Comfort

• They do not budge with activity
• Super comfortable fit
• Can wear for 4 hours without discomfort

For me, a make-or-break factor for earbuds is always how comfortable they are to wear. If I want to rip them out of my ears after five minutes then I know I’m not going to get on with them long-term.

So I was pleased when I clipped the Soundcore Aeroclip earbuds on and actually forgot I was wearing them. After a few minutes, I realized I’d paused the song I was listening to and got on with another task, completely oblivious to the buds in my ear.

When putting on the AeroClip earbuds, I was able to move them up and down along my ear to find the position that gives the best level of comfort, as well as the best quality of sound.

I did find the earbuds snagged on my piercings a few times causing a little discomfort. This was nothing major, but it’s something to be mindful of if you have piercings.

Other than that, I wore the AeroClip earbuds for four hours with no discomfort, and I didn’t have to fiddle with them to make sure they were sat right or even adjust them at all — they quite literally did not budge.

To test just how unbudgeable the AeroClips actually were, I went for a run. I didn’t have to reposition them once and because these are open-ear buds I was able to remain aware of my surroundings, helping me to feel more secure.

The AeroClips also let me give my neck a break. See, I tend to run with over-ear headphones, which get tiring. That’s because with earbuds like my Apple Airpods 3, I’m constantly fiddling to stop them falling on the floor (and there’s nothing worse than having to pick up an earbud off a disgusting floor and put it back in your ear). The AeroClips solved all my problems.

Soundcore AeroClip review: Connectivity

• Do not support LDAC
• Multi-point connection
• 15m Bluetooth range

The Soundcore AeroClip earbuds are wireless and use Bluetooth 5.4, providing improved connection stability from the previous Soundcore C30i which use Bluetooth 5.3.

However, the AeroClips still only support SBC and AAC codecs despite the Bluetooth upgrade. With Bluetooth 5.4, it would have been great to have LDAC support included for the option of Hi-Res music on Android. The Bluetooth range is 15m, which is more than you get with AirPods 3rd Gen at 10m and the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds at 9m — so I was able to walk that little bit farther from my phone while doing housework.

The earbuds feature multipoint connection, so I was able to use them connected to my phone and laptop simultaneously. This meant I could toggle easily between work calls and music streaming on Qobuz.

Soundcore AeroClip review: Sound quality & EQ

• Custom EQ and presets
• Tinny at high volumes
• Amazing Podcast mode

The Soundcore AeroClip earbuds do not mess about when it comes to sound quality — they’re a joy to listen to music through. I am so picky when it comes to how my music sounds, so I wanted to test out the EQ presets in the Soundcore app, starting with Soundcore Signature.

Soundcore says this mode provides a dynamic listening experience, however, I found it simply provided a well-rounded sound for every song I tested out. The EQ settings for each song didn’t change with each song so the setting is not actually ‘dynamic’. Saying that, I tried it with indie, rock, and classical music and was still impressed by the sound each time.

The Soundcore app offers six preset EQs and I was super impressed at how the earbuds performed with each one enabled. There’s Volume Booster, Bass Booster, Classical, Podcast and Treble Booster.

I listened to ‘Everlong’ by Foo Fighters and loved how rich the sound was in the Soundcore Signature mode, but wanted to try out the Volume Booster (because what better song to try this with?) but it sounded quite tinny.

The tinny sound meant that I was forced to listen quieter than I would like to. This can be an issue for anyone who is hard of hearing, since often high frequencies are lost first.

That said, I didn’t hate it — I saw the Foos last summer and the Volume Booster actually made the song sound live, in that electric way you only get from massive stadium-filling amps.

I also tested out the Classical mode with ‘Mia & Sebastian’s Theme’ from La La Land. If the memory of this scene alone won’t already make you bawl my eyes out, the enhancement of the Classical profile definitely will.

This EQ mode elevated the sound and rounded it off beautifully, keeping the delicate piano at the start of the song light and fluffy, but delivering power at the end of the composition. The staccato notes as the song finishes in an epic flourish are strong and clear in the Classical EQ preset and add another layer of emotion to this song versus listening in Signature mode.

My favourite EQ preset is Podcast. To test this out I listened to my favorite podcast ‘Dear Hank & John’. After listening to this podcast for the best part of a decade, I’m pretty familiar with the presenters’ voices, but I’ve never heard them sound so clear.

The Podcast preset amplified their voices and made it feel more like a real world conversation. I don’t think I can go back to listening to a podcast without this EQ and enjoy it ever again — Podcast mode is an essential!

There is also the option for Custom EQ if the presets aren’t enough and you want to perfect the sound of your favorite tunes. To test this out I put ‘Overcompensate’ by Twenty One Pilots on repeat and heavily increased the bass to make the song sound even richer, while decreasing the mids slightly.

Considering these are open-ear earbuds (not usually known for bass performance), I was impressed by the low-end strength of the drivers. And when I was running near roads, although I could hear what was going on around me, the listening experience wasn’t affected at all.

Soundcore AeroClip review: Microphone

• Environmental noise cancelation
• No wind buffeting
• Great call quality

The Soundcore AeroClip earbuds have 4 mics (two on each earbud) with dynamic voice capture. This is essentially environmental noise cancelation (ENC), eliminating any background noise such as cars or wind from the call.

To test this out, I called my dad on a walk at the beach, where there was quite a lot of wind noise. He reported no issues with wind buffeting and couldn’t hear any of the cars driving past me, so these mics perform super well.

I then called my mum and switched between the onboard mic of my iPhone 14 and the AeroClip earbuds. She told me my voice was clearer when using the earbuds, and that the call quality was flawless.

Soundcore AeroClip review: App

• Find My feature
• Can alter touch controls
• You need to app to check battery levels

The Soundcore app helped me get the most out of the AeroClip earbuds. The app gives you the option to alter the tap controls, which I took full advantage of by setting up a skip back command. Sometimes listening once isn’t enough, and the ability to skip back without getting my phone out is a must for me, so I was happy I could set it up in the app.

The app also has a find device feature which allows you to play a sound through a lost earbud. Of course, this only really works if you know generally where you lost the bud in the first place, but the noise is actually incredibly loud — I could hear it from down the hall when I tried it out.

You need to have the app installed to know how much charge each of the earbuds and the case holds. On both iOS and Android, the control center and Bluetooth settings only show the combined charge of the earbuds, and not the case.

Soundcore AeroClip review: Battery life

• Up to 32 hours of listening time
• 8 hours listening without the charging case
• Battery life only shows decreases of 10%

Soundcore says you can get 8 hours of listening time from the AeroClips without the case, and 32 hours with the case. I used the earbuds for 4 hours and still had 70% remaining without using the charging case. When compared to the Apple Airpods 4th Gen, which only have 5 hours of listening time and 30 hours with the charging case, the Soundcore AeroClip earbuds are stand-out.

The remaining battery life of the individual earbuds and the charging case are only viewable in the Soundcore app, which only shows a decrease in battery every 10% — supremely inconvenient if you want to know exactly how much battery life you have left.

Soundcore AeroClip review: Verdict

The Soundcore AeroClip earbuds are a force to be reckoned with, especially for $129 — you’re getting a lot for your money here. They are uber comfortable and didn’t budge when I was running. That, combined with awesome sound quality and the awareness benefits of the open-ear design, have made them the perfect addition to my workouts.

And with the fantastic Custom EQ and high levels of control provided by the companion app, I don’t see how you could need another set of earbuds.

At high volumes, especially with the Volume Boost EQ preset, the sound can become tinny, but if you protect your hearing (which I should do more of) with safe sound levels then this shouldn’t be an issue.

So if you love listening to podcasts or audiobooks when you exercise, the Soundcore AeroClip earbuds shouldn’t be passed up.