Open headphones play into ears without closing them off
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The Unum earphones resemble hoops and are designed to leave the ear open to hear noises around you
Spotted: Studio Frog Design has created open earphones that fit around the ears, instead of inside them. The Unum earphones resemble hoops and are designed to leave the ear open to hear noises around you.
The headphone rings are designed to fit around your ear while enabling sound to flow into them. Unum’s micro-speaker drivers and microphones also send sound into your ear without inhibiting you from hearing ambient sound.
The designers have declared that earphones are no longer just about listening to music. Increasingly, people are using them to communicate with their devices and online assistants, such as Siri.
Wearing earbuds or traditional earphones send the message to the world that you should not be disturbed. Unum aims to do the opposite, allowing you to plug into voice-commanded digital assistants, whilst remaining present to the people around you.
The Unum is still a prototype, and there is as yet no known date for when it will be commercially available.