I've been testing this new open-earbud upgrade from EarFun — and they're an instant win for gym goers

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds are an impressively comfortable option for gym-goers who want ambient awareness on a budget. They’re a solid contender for the best workout earbuds, with some cool additional features over the previous model of the earbuds, like real-time translation and decent sound quality for a wide range of genres.

Although they are generally good for music listening, they struggle in the bass department, which could put off some users. The app is also very basic, and I find the lack of wear detection annoying.

To save money, you could opt for the previous model of the buds, but to find out more about what the new buds can do, you can keep reading this full EarFun Clip 2 review.

EarFun Clip 2 review: Specs

EarFun Clip 2 review: Price & availability

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds are available at Amazon U.S. for $99 and at Amazon U.K. for £89. For sub-$100/£100 earbuds, they offer awesome performance. They’re a little cheaper than my firm favorites, the Soundcore Aeroclips, which cost $129, but if you want some more color choices than just black, then I’d recommend springing for the Aeroclips.

The previous model of these earbuds, the EarFun Clips, cost $69. If you’d rather save $30, and/or you’re not sure whether open-earbuds are your thing, then I would recommend going for the original model. The original Clips also have a much better bass performance, although you don’t get the new sleek look or the AI-powered translation.

The Earfun Clip 2 open-earbuds have very impressive battery life at 40 hours, and blow big-name brands like Bose out of the water. The $299 Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, for instance, only have 27 hours of battery life.

EarFun Clip 2 review: Design

• Lack of wear detection
• Only one color choice
• Slight movement during HIIT

The EarFun Clip 2 are open-earbuds that clip around the cartilage of your ear. This is my favorite style of open-earbuds to use, as I think they look better than hook-style open-earbuds like the JLab Epic Open Sport ($114).

The EarFun Clip 2 earbuds are only available in black, but they look sleek and understated when worn, so I don’t mind the limited color range. They feel well-built and a lot lighter to wear than the previous EarFun Clip model. The bridge of the cuff also feels a lot more malleable on the new buds, making them easier to put on and take off.

With the charging case, the buds measure 2.8 x 1.9 x 1.1 inches, so they’re a very convenient size to carry around in your pocket or just throw in your bag. They have a weatherproofing rating of IP55, which means they are protected from water splashes in all directions and can be used in some light rain without suffering any damage.

Comfort

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds are very comfortable to wear for longer periods of time. I felt slight movement when doing HIIT workouts, and the up and down motion of running made them move around. But I knew they were secure and wouldn’t fall out since the outer flex ring fits quite tightly. There’s not much pressure where they touch the ear, and the back of the bud where the battery sits isn’t too heavy.

Controls

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds use button controls that sit at the top of the back section of the buds. I like having button controls on workout earbuds, as the controls feel more deliberate. You can change the volume, play, pause and skip across tracks with a series of taps that can be customized in the app. However, there’s no wear detection, which I found annoying as my music kept playing when I took them out. Admittedly, this is often skipped on budget-friendly earbuds. The CMF Buds 2 Plus are a sub-$80 option with wear detection, but they have drawbacks in audio quality.

Connectivity

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds use Bluetooth 6.0 and are compatible with LDAC streaming codecs if you have an Android phone and the correct streaming service subscription. The buds also have multipoint connectivity to switch between devices easily. I don’t use this feature much when using open earbuds, as I primarily use them for working out, where I only have my phone with me. But it was still great to be able to connect them to my work laptop and switch quickly between devices.

EarFun Clip 2 review: Sound quality

• Poor bass performance
• Generally good sound
• Struggles with complex tracks

Upon first listening, I was generally impressed with the sound quality of the EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds. They’re great earbuds for listening to a wide range of genres, but have weaknesses in certain areas, such as bass performance and more complex tracks with many layers.

With that said, since these are open-earbuds, you shouldn’t expect perfect sound since they lose some of the sound by design. There are plenty of equalizers to choose from in the app, but the original sound profile is the one I think works best with these buds.

I first listened to Homewrecker by Sombr for the driving bass throughout the track. The bass was staticky from the get-go, which was disappointing, so any lovers of drum and bass while hitting new PBs at the gym will want to steer clear of these buds. The bass performance on the original EarFun Clip model is far better.

Next up, I listened to She’s American by The 1975 to test out the mids performance of the earbuds. This track is a funky, electronic pop song, and the electric guitar stood out to me as a driving force here. It was punchy and clean without anything falling flat.

Finally, to test out the treble and vocals, I listened to Meet Me in the Woods by Lord Huron. This is a bright acoustic track full of pretty harmonies. It’s very complex and has a lot of different layers, which seemed to confuse the earbuds as the harmonies got lost and the soundstage felt very narrow. That said, I still enjoyed the music, and I don’t need much more than this from a pair of earbuds that are specifically for working out.

EarFun Clip 2 review: App

The EarFun app is very basic, and I don’t think the EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds benefit that much from it. With other open-earbuds, like the Soundcore Aeroclips, the app enhances the user experience and makes you feel more immersed with more control, but the EarFun app is just clunky.

The app allows you to create your own sound profile, which is a feature I always enjoy using on earbuds to get the best sound possible. This is especially effective on cheaper earbuds like the CMF Buds 2 Plus ($79), but the EarFun process is a lot more finicky. This one requires you to use sliders to find a beeping sound, but it wasn’t very responsive. I much prefer the sound tests that are more reaction-based, like the ones by Soundcore or Sony.

In the app, you can also make changes to the controls of the earbuds, enable low power mode, or alter playback based on your hearing health. For enhancing your music to your taste, there are also many EQ presets to choose from in the app.

The earbuds have AI-powered translation — I’m looking at you, Apple AirPods Pro 3 ($249) — which is a cool feature. To use this feature, I had to create an EarFun account — after doing this, translation is free for a limited time. I played a video on YouTube of conversational Spanish and let the earbuds listen and translate. They gave me a translation on the screen in real time, but also played back the dialogue in my ears. There’s a delay while the translation is happening, but I could also watch it being processed on my phone screen if I wanted to read ahead.

This is a very useful feature if you’re travelling and don’t speak the native language. While I think it’s a little slow to rely on solely, it’s a brilliant feature on a pair of budget buds.

EarFun Clip 2 review: Call quality

• 4 microphones
• Some ambient noise
• Decent voice replication

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds have pretty decent call quality. They have four microphones (two on each earbud) and offer environmental noise cancellation technology. When I called my Mom while on a walk, she could hear some of the road traffic around me, but nothing too disruptive.

This is a vast improvement from the EarFun Clip original model, which suffered from some static noise. I also did some brief sound recording to listen back to, and there were no issues with wind buffeting while outside. However, inside at my desk, while I was speaking and typing on my keyboard, I could hear the tapping of my fingers on the keys. That said, my voice sounded good.

EarFun Clip 2 review: Battery life

• 40 hours with the charging case
• 11 hours in the earbuds
• 10 minutes of charging gives 2.5 hours of listening

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds have a total battery life of 40 hours. This is a lot more than you get with the clip-style Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, which have a total battery life of 27 hours. But, if you’re listening with LDAC, then the listening time of the EarFun Clip 2 buds is reduced to a total of 22 hours — still impressive.

Previously, the original model of the EarFun Clip had 40 hours of battery life, so there’s no vast improvement. However, the sound quality is far superior, so the total battery life staying so high is no mean feat.

Alone, the buds have 11 hours of battery life, so they’re a great choice if you want to head out for the day but don’t want the charging case taking up space in your pocket or bag. The case can be charged via USB-C or wireless charging, and 10 minutes of charging time gives two and a half hours of playback, thanks to fast charging.

EarFun Clip 2 review: Verdict

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds are impressive, budget-friendly open-earbuds that offer comfort and awareness while listening to music. They have an impressive 40 hours of battery life and are generally good for listening to most music genres. They offer good, reliable call quality, and the AI-powered real-time translation feature is a cool addition to see on budget buds — and works well with the open-ear design.

Unfortunately, there are some small issues with playback, like poor bass performance and struggles with complex songs, but I wouldn’t expect much more from open-earbuds, given the nature of their design. I find the lack of wear detection pretty annoying too, as I like my music to stop when I take the earbuds out. Overall, these are decent budget-friendly earbuds that are perfect for the gym.