TOZO Open EarRing Earphones Review

Reading Time: 9 minutes

Tech Specs

Introduction

Having reviewed Cleer’s Open-Ear True Wireless Earbuds in 2023 here at Rapid Reviews, and not being overall too impressed with them, I’ve since continued to look for an open-ear earphone design that will work well for me and my pesky glasses. I therefore jumped at the chance to try out the TOZO Open EarRing earphones, as these sport a slightly different, slightly more unusual design, and sit on a different part of your ear when in use. How did I fare with them, you ask? Well, read on and find out…!

The TOZO Open EarRing earphones have a recommended retail price of £39.99, and are available both from the brand’s own store and online retailers such as Amazon. They are available in three colours – black, khaki and pink – and it was the black pair that I was sent to review. Included in the small packaging box you’ll find the earphones themselves, their charging case, a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, and the User Manual and Quick Start Guide. In addition, there’s also a helpful customer support business card tucked in the bottom, streamlining the process of reaching out to the TOZO team in case of any issues.

Appearance and Comfort

To look at, the TOZO Open EarRing earphones are quite small and unassuming. They each feature the brand’s logo on the rear, under which the touch controls are housed. When worn, they loop around the sides of your ears and do look, perhaps somewhat comically, like earrings. Visually, the black pair I tested stood out starkly against my ears, but the Pink pair may be less conspicuous. It takes a few tries to get the earphones on properly, but when you do, they stay in place well, making them ideal for wear during exercise or other physical activity. Their plain design also makes them suitable for formal or professional environments. You can rotate them to sit on whichever part of your lower ear feels the comfiest. For me, this was near to the base of my ear, as the arms of my glasses stretch quite far over the backs.

When putting the earphones on, it’s easy to don them the wrong way round by accident. Removing them from their charging case, they’re the opposite way in your hand to how you need to wear them. The rounded sections should sit inside your ear, while the chunkier sections sit behind. This angles the speakers into your ear, and seats the flat parts of the other halves against the backs of your ears, forming a clip. While this isn’t a mistake you’re likely to make often, as it quickly becomes obvious when they’re backwards, it is a minor annoyance. For me, the earphones’ design is a bit clunky, but their utility and secure fit should outweigh any fashion concerns.

The TOZO Open EarRing earphones are, for the most part, quite comfortable for prolonged wear. They’re lightweight and not tight, but as time passes, you will likely notice the slight pinching on your ears more and more. They’re flexible, but also designed to retain their shape, and this is evident by how they feel over time. As someone who wears glasses, the pressure of them against the earphones did cause some friction, and forced them out of place quite often. As such, I mostly wore them lower on my ears, but this meant my earlobes ended up curled upwards slightly – which was particularly noticeable to people looking at me head-on.

I also noticed that the edges of the speakers and the charging connectors are quite sharp to the touch against your ears. This can cause discomfort and unwelcome pressure, particularly during extended use. These rougher edges are more noticeable as the materials for most of the earphones is otherwise so smooth. If the speaker ends were slightly smaller, they would fit better into the ear and avoid this issue. It would also reduce the loss of volume and power from the earphones – but more on that later.

Build Quality and Battery Life

The charging case for the TOZO Open EarRing earphones is surprisingly robust and sturdy. It has, thankfully, already survived an awkward drop on the platform of my local train station. It didn’t pop open, suffer any dents or damage, and the hinge didn’t snap. As a result, the earphones seem very well-protected inside. Being so small, it can easily fit in a pocket or bag without difficulty. It is rigid enough to withstand being jostled around or against any other items it shares space with.

The earphones themselves feel tough and durable as well, though still sporting flexibility in the C-shaped connective strip. To fit them on your ears, you can easily stretch the two halves apart quite far and move them around to find the best position. That being said, when worn the memory steel and silicone band closely returns to its original shape, meaning the width and angle of the earphones cannot really be permanently adjusted to increase their comfort on your ears. It seems hard to twist or squash the earphones, so you needn’t worry too much about breaking them easily, but you should be mindful of any direct impacts to the speakers and charging slots.

The TOZO Open EarRing earphones are chargeable only via their charging case, which in itself is charged using the provided USB-A to USB-C cable. The charging process for each doesn’t take long at all. You can easily top up their batteries in a couple of hours while working or busy around the house. The charging case has a small smart LED display which provides the real-time updates on battery status. This is for both itself and the earphones within, which is incredibly handy for checking their charge at a glance. You can activate the display by opening or closing the case, removing or re-inserting the earphones, or by pressing the small round button on the back.

Having tested the earphones across a couple of weeks in various scenarios, I found their battery life to be reasonable. You can wear them for a few hours of straight work or exercise and not encounter any issues. TOZO claim that they should last ~10 hours on a single charge, or ~40 hours with the charging case with these parameters: AAC, default settings, 50% volume. From my use for music and media on my phone, this seems high, however. The earphones lost more than 10% battery per hour of listening – so do be aware that this may fluctuate according to personal use. Taking a Type C cable along with you “just in case” may be wise!

Audio Quality and Bonus Features

I have been pleasantly surprised by the audio quality of these earphones. The default settings provide audio that is decently clear and vibrant, and the customisations available in the TOZO mobile app make the experience even greater. You can easily modify your listening experience to suit the type of music you’re listening to, and make the most important elements pop. You can boost bass to compliment songs which prioritise it, as you can voices for listening to audiobooks. The audio quality is on par with my usual TaoTronics earphones, which made testing them out a breeze. I was able to enjoy all of my favourite songs and artists without issue.

However – I did take issue with one key aspect of the audio delivery, and that is the volume. Due to the design and positioning of the earphones, I noticed that a higher volume was needed to hear my music clearly. Due to their short hooks, the earphones’ speakers don’t sit as close to my ear canals as I’d like. This meant that I had to raise the volume to compensate. In busy streets, on my train commutes and in shops, I couldn’t hear my music well. While good for situational awareness and safety (TOZO actually promote this as a benefit), it did unfortunately dampen my experience. It is uncomfortable and bothersome to have music only intermittently audible. I therefore think I’d only recommend using the TOZO Open EarRing earphones in controlled, quiet environments. That is unless, of course, you don’t mind frequent interruptions!

Referencing the additional features of the TOZO Open EarRing earphones, I appreciated the environmental noise cancellation (ENC) functionality during phone calls. For the most part, I could hear the people I was speaking to clearly, though the aforementioned volume issues remained. I did find that the audio during calls was a little strained, however. Voices sounded almost like they were playing through car speakers – distant and a bit choppy at times. Others said the same of my voice, with me using the earphones’ microphone. This wasn’t a major issue, but means I would use the default microphone and speakers on my phone for important calls.

While I didn’t have the opportunity yet to hold the earphones’ IPX5 water resistance up to scrutiny, I imagine this will be very helpful to my fellow Brits in our classic rainy weather. It also makes the earphones extremely viable in gym and sports settings as mentioned previously. For those unfamiliar with IPX5 ratings, please know that this does not mean suitable for submersion, such as while swimming!

TOZO Mobile App and Default Settings

When first setting up and using the TOZO Open EarRing earphones, I was confused by their default touch controls. The factory settings – shown in the fourth section of the screenshot below – are not what I’m accustomed to. On my other headsets, a single tap plays or pauses, while a double tap goes to the previous or next song, for example. As such, it was only after reading the Quick Start Guide that I figured out how to use them properly. They’re simple enough once you know how, but following existing conventions may have been more user-friendly.

This said, the TOZO mobile app offers full customisation for the touch controls. This means that you can alter them to be however you like, however many times you like. You can change the settings for each earphone individually, and disable any touch variations that you don’t want to use. This helps to prevent unwanted control activations and accidental presses. You can restore the default settings at any time from the same screen if you wish.

The TOZO mobile app also offers the ability to customise EQ zones, explore various sound presets, and utilise AI functionality. I found the audio customisation options exceptionally easy to use and, honestly, quite impressive. You can create your own custom audio presets and save them, or use any of the existing ones. I tried out different presets while listening to different songs, and it worked well to boost the bass, treble and/or voices depending on what I chose.

I do have some small complaints about the app, however. One, it feels integral to getting the best experience out of the earphones. Using the default settings, the lack of bass is quite distinct in most songs, but the other presets in the app prove that the earphones are capable of it. I feel that the default preset setting should be more balanced, as not everyone will want to download the app. I also dislike how much it pushes you to create an account, and that some features are locked behind one. Clicking the “EQ Zone” button, for example, takes you to a login screen every time unless you’re signed in. An account should not be mandatory to enable you to use all of the features the earphones offer.

Conclusion

Overall, I’ve had a positive experience with the TOZO Open EarRing earphones. Their audio quality and level of customisation via the TOZO mobile app is impressive given their reasonably low price point. Plus, their environmental noise cancelling (ENC) features during phone calls and water resistance are strong selling points. For me personally, though, the lack of noise cancellation and volume struggles makes them suitable only for indoor settings. I don’t feel that they’re best-suited to ousting my beloved TaoTronics as my preferred pair to use outdoors.

If you’re looking for an affordable pair of earbuds, don’t mind the volume loss that comes as a consequence of their design, and don’t wear glasses, I happily recommend them to you. Look past their funky design and enjoy the decent audio quality and level of comfort they have to offer.

3 out of 5

3

You can purchase the TOZO Open EarRing Earphones from the TOZO store. Alternatively, you can purchase them from online retailers such as Amazon UK.

If you enjoyed this tech review, you can read more here.