Earbuds… they’ve become a staple of life on earth. We see them everywhere we go. Look left, look right, you’re sure to see someone walking around with them tucked snuggly into their heads. Music, phone calls, and everything else. It all goes through the earbuds.
Why wouldn’t it? Doesn’t everyone want to drown out the surrounding world without having to wear large, cumbersome things on their head? Of course we do.
Here’s the problem… With the thousands of different brands out there, how do you decide which is right for you? Some give you the best sound. Some simply compete for the lowest price. Some promise a unique experience with fancy new tech. Which is more important, quality, price, or those fancy features? It can be hard to decide.
Viaim is going the route of fancy new features. They’re bringing something new into the earbud game with their OpenNote True Wireless Open Ear Earbuds. Along with music and phone calls, the earbuds offer an AI feature for recording, transcription, and even translation. Now you can take notes on the fly and get a written copy of meetings or phone calls, even if they’re in another language. But are those tools as useful as one might hope? Let’s dive in and find out.
First, before we explore all of the fancy doodads that come packed into our ear gadgets, let’s cover the basics.
If I’m going to wear something in my ear all day, then the most important thing to me is whether or not the Viaim OpenNote Earbuds are comfortable.
You know what? They are. As mentioned, the design is open ear so there’s nothing crammed into the canal. Despite that, they’re secure. No amount of thrashing around was able to dislodge them. For me, personally, the ones that fit into my ear never stay. It drives me insane because I can feel them slowly sliding out. Not with the Viaim Earbuds, though. I easily forgot I was wearing them after a few minutes. They fit snuggly around glasses and don’t get tangled in long hair.
The second question we need to answer is… what about sound? Next to comfort, that’s what I find to be the most important feature of any earbud.
With 14.2 mm drivers producing a frequency response range of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, the Viaim Earbuds sound amazing. They have an 18 x 11MM high-molecular speaker unit, and get this… it has been set up with master-level tuning.
I ran some KPop Demon Hunters through them, and while the audio wasn’t theater quality, it was still “golden”. (See what I did there?)
There was no distortion with the music at full blast, which is honestly the only way to listen to HUNTR/X. There’s a perfect mix of lows and highs. The bass is deep without being muddy, while the treble isn’t piercing or tinny. Master-level indeed. The accompanying app allows for even more fine-tuning to capture the perfect sound you’re looking for.
With a Smart Sound Leak-Proof System that boasts a dynamic wave-canceling algorithm 2.0, no one will be eavesdropping on your conversations. In my tests, someone needs to have their head right next to yours to hear what’s going on. I think you’ll notice if the person next to you is leaning in that far.
I, of course, tested them with a phone call. For me, the sound on the call was a little low, as was the tonal quality. It could have been brighter. It wasn’t terrible. I just like a little more volume and high end. On the receiving end, the caller reported that the dialog was a little muffled. Neither end of the call was so bad as to be difficult to understand.
They boast a 7-meter working range, dual omnidirectional microphones, and intelligent sound pickup. I was able to get an accurate translation at quite a distance away. So, if you’re looking for something to use for meetings or conferences, it should do the job.
What about the case? Well, the case is a tad bit on the large side, but not too big to be a problem. It still fits nicely into a pocket or pocketbook. Depending on what you like, the size could be a benefit or a deterrent.
It’s probably a given at this point, but the case does have charging capabilities. While the Viaim earbuds claim they can last an average of 19 hours on their own, the case is supposed to provide a total of 53 hours before you need to plug anything back in. It seems those claims are pretty accurate. These things just kept going.
What about style? Whether you’re a kid or a grandparent, you want whatever is in your ear to be groovy, fresh, and mega skibidi. I definitely don’t want something that’s noticeable or even distracting when poking out. As you can see, they look sleek and stylish. The OpenNote earbuds seem to blend in quite well.
Enough with the regular features… Let’s get into the app and the transcription tools.
Obviously, the transcription tools will only work with the app. Download, installation, and setup were quite easy. Simply pair the EverNote Earbuds with your phone and then connect them in the app.
The first thing you’ll find is an area where all of your recordings are stored. With the EverNote earbuds and the app, you’re able to record notes, narration, and even phone calls. Accompanying each of these recordings, you’ll get the transcription, an AI summary of the transcription, and a mind map. What’s even better is you don’t have to be online for it to work. You start with 600 minutes of translation each month. If that isn’t enough, then you can upgrade for more.
When beginning a new recording, you are given the option of having it translated. Viaim states that the app is capable of understanding 78 languages and 145 accents. I don’t know enough people to have tested all 78 languages, but the Spanish-to-English translation was amazingly fluent. I had hoped that the device would work audibly. Meaning, I would hear an English translation in my ear while talking to a Spanish-speaking person. Sadly, it translates into a transcription in the app. Still amazing though. I guess I’ve seen too many sci-fi movies.
The next feature is called “Spaces”. This is where you’re able to organize all of your different recordings into folders and categories. Things like “work calls” and “Arguments with HOA” come to mind. You can also add local files, like images, to this folder.
According to Viaim, the transcriptions are HIPAA compliant. The app recognizes a lot of those multisyllabic medical terms and translates them accurately. However, there are medical circumstances that require a specific cleaning protocol. It appears those chemicals could damage the earbuds. If you plan on using these in a medical setting, make sure you double-check that they will survive any specific cleaning chemicals.
Our Conclusion
Overall, I’ve found these to be amazing. In my opinion, the $169.99 price Viaim has listed on their website is perfectly acceptable for the OpenNote True Wireless Open Ear Earbuds. I would tell you I’m going to use them all the time, but my wife has already confiscated them for herself.
Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us, and we can let you know where to send the product, and we will try it out.
