"Huge battery life, but the chunky design and case won't be to everyone's taste": OneOdio OpenRock S review

OneOdio OpenRock S: What is it?

The OpenRock S is another set of ‘stay aware’ Bluetooth earbuds that enable you to talk or listen to music when you’re walking, running, cycling or doing anything else for matter. They use what manufacturer OneOdio calls its “open air conduction technology”, which means that, rather than plugging in to your ears, they sit on the outside of them.

They also offer - you’ve guessed it - “AI-powered” noise-cancelling, though not in the sense that they can filter out external sound when you’re listening. In this case the noise-cancelling relates to the four mics, so people can hear you better when you’re on a call.

The OpenRock S earbuds come in a chunky case which, when fully charged, can give you a whopping 60 hours of playtime, and you can expect 19 hours of use between each charge. A full charge of the case takes 1.5 hours, but you can get up to an hour’s worth of playback out of a five-minute charge, which is handy.

OneOdio OpenRock S: Performance and verdict

The first thing that strikes you about the OpenRock S is… that case. There’s no getting around the fact that it’s pretty big, and not the kind of thing you’d want to be slipping into the pocket of your jeans. This could well be a dealbreaker for some people - particularly as these are earbuds that are best suited to wearing when you’re on the go - but won’t be an issue if you’ve happy stowing the case in a bag or coat pocket.

The earbuds themselves are pretty beefy, too, particularly the earhooks, which can be bent slightly to ensure a secure and comfortable fit. It can be a bit of a struggle to wedge these hooks in between your head and the back of your ear, though, particularly if you’re a glasses wearer. It’s not impossible, but if you do wear specs, be aware that the size of the OpenRock S means that your ears may stick out a bit when you’re wearing them.

Audio performance is acceptable without being stellar. You definitely can hear more going on around you than when wearing plug-in earbuds, but not at the expense of a sense of presence when you’re listening to music, which doesn’t blend into the background. We can’t say that we got the “epic bass experience” that OneOdio promises - said to be facilitated by a “dynamic audio algorithm and patented TubeBass technology” - but the sound is acceptable, if a little uninspiring and slightly muddy.

These aren’t particularly loud earbuds, though - we frequently found ourselves maxing out the volume, particular when listening in louder environments. The touch controls aren’t the most reliable or responsive, either, and there’s no companion app to configure them (volume control will have to be done on your phone or other connected device) or change other settings, such as the EQ. This also means that you can’t update the firmware, but OneOdio tells us that “OpenRock S has strict factory quality inspection to ensure that the firmware reaches a stable state before leaving the factory and does not require additional updates and maintenance”.

You can switch between ‘Rock’ and ‘Relax’ modes on the buds themselves, though; it sounds like the latter removes some of the bass.

That huge battery life is definitely a big plus, though - we’re guessing this goes some way to explaining the size of the case - and the buds themselves are light and reasonably comfy. Once wrapped around your ears they feel pretty sure, too, which is something worth considering if you’re one of those people who can’t seem to get in-ear buds to do what they promise and actually stay 'in your ears'. We didn't experience any connectivity issues during our tests, either.

The overall impression, though, is of a set of earbuds that don’t do anything horribly wrong, but don’t offer quite enough to mark them out from the crowd, either. 

MusicRadar verdict: Huge battery life, but the chunky design and case won't be to everyone's taste, and the sound quality is acceptable rather than inspiring.

OneOdio OpenRock S: The web says

"The OneOdio OpenRock S offers good, but not stellar open-ear sound from a design that sits big in the ears and is also let down by frustrating touch controls." Trusted Reviews

"Really good sound quality and unbeatable battery life, and you can hear the traffic too." Road.cc

OneOdio OpenRock S: Hands-on demos

TechTablets

GameSky

OneOdio OpenRock S: Specifications

• Driver size: 16.2 mm
• Frequency response range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
• Microphone: Single side 2×MEMS
• Bluetooth version: 5.3
• Bluetooth connection distance: 10 m
• Battery life: 19 hours (earphone) 60 hours (including charging case)
• Audio decoding: AAC, SBC
• Rated input: 5 V 450 mA
• Full charge duration: 1.5 hours 1 hour playback after charging for 5 minutes
• Weight: 12 g (single earphone) 132 g (complete set)
• Waterproof grade: IPX5