Xiaomi is teasing clip-style open-back earphones, and after testing its previous open-back earphones, there’s one small feature that could make them must-buys

Xiaomi teases its first clip-style open earphones
Launch date unknown, presumed imminent
Previous open-back earphones from Xiaomi have featured audio leakage prevention technology

In 2025, it felt like every tech company needed to release open-back earphones, and recently brands have been tripping over themselves to release clip-style buds, from Anker, Bose and through the alphabet to (now) Xiaomi.

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has teased its first open-back earphones, sharing on social media platform Weibo a graphic of a half-open case with the slogan “Brand new shape”. You can see enough of the included earbuds to suggest these are clip-on (and that’s basically the only headphone form factor the brand hasn’t tried yet).

Not much else is known about the buds yet, but Xiaomi is expected to launch a new smartphone sometime in May called the Xiaomi 17 Max. It is likely that the earphones will get some screen time at the same launch event.

No noise

Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro in a sunny outdoor setting.

(Image credit: Future)

Back in 2025, Xiaomi released the OpenWear Stereo Pro, hook-style open earphones with as many as five audio drivers. I tested them and while I didn’t love the fit or the sound quality, they had a feature that was unique and really useful.

One of the drivers was not for music, but was designed to reduce sound leakage. It basically worked as anti-noise reduction; it wouldn’t stop you from hearing people around you, but it would stop those around you from hearing you.

Sound leakage is one of the big problems with open earphones. Since the drivers are not in your ear and the sound must travel across the cavity between the bud and your ear, the sound will invariably be audible to those around you.

Don’t expect your guilty pleasure playlist to remain a secret if you listen with open earbuds; my partner is constant hum along to my music when I use them. However, this did not happen with the Xiaomi and the driver did wonders in keeping my private playlists… well, private.

It’s hard to say whether Xiaomi will revive this technology for its clip-style earbuds, and it’s certainly not guaranteed — these kinds of buds have less space for drivers in the bud compared to hook-style ones, since the driver sits in your ear.

That being said, the Shokz OpenDots One had two drivers, so it’s clear there’s room for a well-engineered clip knob to fit more. It’s just a matter of whether Xiaomi decides it’s a good fit (so to speak).