The Happy Plugs Clip offers a blend of minimalist Scandinavian design and practical functionality for those who need their earbuds readily accessible. Staying true to Happy Plugs’ reputation for sleek aesthetics, the finish is understated yet stylish, easily complementing any outfit or activity.
Happy Plugs Clip – Features
- Open-ear design to let you listen in to your environment
- Dual Microphones
- Sweat Resistant
- Environmental Noise Cancelling
- Up to 20 hours of battery life
- USB C Charging
- High quality audio
Look and feel
The Happy Plugs Clip are the first clip style headphones that I have tried. The concept is to allow you to be aware of your environment, and as such, they clip around your ears rather than focus on sitting and using your ear canal to be the main anchor point.
This means that they tend to be more comfortable and offer a more relaxed fit as opposed to in-ear headphones and earbuds that we are more used to.
In terms of looks, they are u-shaped, which shapes the clip. A wider end holds it against the back of your ear.
They come in a case, like all such products, which is where they get charged as you use them. Due to their slightly bigger size, the case is a bit bigger too.
A slight niggle for me was that when you put them on after taking them out of the case, you have to turn them around. Hashtag, first world problems! Overall, I wore them for long periods of time, as well as on runs, and they worked and sat perfectly fine and happy.
Sound Quality
This is where the new format of headphones was interesting for me. Since they are designed to let you know of your surroundings, the environmental noise cancellation that they promise doesn’t really work very well. Yes, you can fit them closer to your ear canal, but as you run about, they tend to move. This meant that the experience you get is more like listening to speakers in a room you are in, rather than sound being generated in your ears.
Most of the time, this is a good thing. Out for a run or a bike ride, and you are perfectly aware of who’s behind you, any traffic, or in one case for me, lots of singing birds. Really enhanced the experience.
On the other hand, if you are in a gym, where they have their own music blasting, it was bit of a struggle to actually hear much from these. I guess they could be louder, but I think it is just how they are designed to be!
In terms of sound quality, they work perfectly well. Like I said before, it sounds like the sound comes from a speaker rather than earbuds, but I like it.
Battery Life
They offer 20 hours of battery life, and I found no issues with that claim. Being USB C rechargeable makes them reasonably easy to charge and manage on the go.
Verdict
There are not that many clip options out there at the moment, but for what these earphones offer, they do quite well. You get good sound, a good awareness of what is around you, but they fail if you find yourself in a noisy environment.
More Information
For more information on the Happy Plugs Clip, head to the Happy Plugs website.
They come in white and black, and at the time of publishing, retailed at €49.00.