Panasonic’s latest open-ear earbuds are surprisingly affordable

Open-ear earbuds are having a bit of a moment right now. The earbud market is saturated, but because open-ears have arguably had less attention from the big names in audio, there's room for manufacturers to carve out a niche.

Panasonic is the latest household name to launch its own pair of open-ears, and they're priced keenly.

Like many other over-ears, the Panasonic RB-F10 buds look rather like a really small pair of normal headphones due to the arch that connects the clip and the actual earpiece.

But while they may look like similar earbuds from the likes of Sony and Bose, they're going for a different end of the market. Where Bose's Ultra Open Earbuds had a launch price of £299 / $299 / AU$449, the Panasonic earbuds have an RRP of £79.99 / about $110 / AU$165.

Panasonic RB-F10 open-ear earbuds: key features

Open-ear designs can be larger than in-ears, and that means there's room for larger drivers. In this case they're 17mm x 12mm, which Panasonic says results in a "rich and powerful sound".

There are two built-in microphones with environmental noise cancelling for clear calls, and the earbuds work with Siri and Google Assistant.

Bluetooth is 5.4 with multipoint, and battery life is a claimed 7 hours, plus 18 more via the charging case. From flat, a 15-minute charge gets you an hour of playtime.

Open-ear earbuds are often picked for running and other activities, thanks to the better situational awareness they offer. So it's good to see that they're IPX4 certified for sweat and splash resistance, and there are touch controls so you don't need to reach for your phone.

The Panasonic RB-F10 open-ear earbuds are available now and you can have them in any colour you like as long as it's black or beige.