Vivo has launched the Buds Clip, its first pair of clip-on open-ear earbuds, alongside the new X500 smartphone series, joining a growing field of manufacturers including Realme, Huawei, and EarFun that have released similar open-ear designs over the past year. The standard version carries a promotional price of $89, down from its regular price of $104, while Vivo is also offering a wireless charging version for $104, with its regular price set at $119. The Buds Clip use an open-ear design that keeps the ear canal completely unobstructed, addressing a growing segment of users who find traditional in-ear silicone tip designs uncomfortable for extended wear or during physical activity.
Each earbud attaches to the edge of the ear through a flexible memory titanium alloy bridge and weighs 5.2 grams, placing it in a similar weight class to competing open-ear designs from Realme, whose Buds Clip weighs 5.3 grams per earbud. The earbuds use a symmetrical design, meaning there is no dedicated left or right side, and users can attach either earbud to either ear, with the system automatically adjusting the stereo channels based on how they are worn. Vivo offers the Buds Clip in black, white, and purple, with the white and purple versions featuring a textured pearlescent finish that distinguishes them visually from the more common titanium gold and titanium silver finishes seen on competing open-ear earbuds in the market.
For audio, the earbuds use 12mm drivers, and Vivo has added an anti-leakage mode that uses directional audio to direct sound toward the ear canal and reduce sound leakage, a common concern with open-ear designs that lack the physical seal of traditional in-ear buds. The Buds Clip also includes an adaptive volume feature that adjusts sound levels based on surrounding noise, along with a standard 10-band equalizer for audio customization. For calls, the earbuds use two microphones and a bone-conduction sensor to separate the user’s voice from background noise, a combination aimed at improving call clarity in noisy environments where open-ear designs can sometimes struggle compared to sealed in-ear alternatives.
Each earbud can provide up to 10 hours of playback on a single charge, with the charging case increasing total battery life to 42 hours, while fast charging provides up to three hours of playback after just 10 minutes of charging. The earbuds carry an IP55 rating for dust and water resistance and can connect to three devices simultaneously through Bluetooth, with controls managed through a touch-sensitive area supporting taps for playback and sliding gestures for volume adjustment. Some of the more advanced software features, including built-in real-time translation and AI-generated transit notifications, require a compatible Vivo or iQOO smartphone, tying the earbuds’ full feature set to Vivo’s broader device ecosystem rather than functioning as a fully platform-agnostic accessory.
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