If you want an on-device screen, touch controls, and a swimming-ready MP3 mode you can manage without reaching for your phone, choose AYI True Bone Conduction; if you need the lighter, silicone-soft pair with adjustable straps that stays planted through laps and long nights on your side, choose MARLALL Liquid Silicone Swimming. Both are open-ear bone conduction headsets built to survive water, and both carry 32GB of built-in storage for offline listening. The split comes down to how you'll actually wear them — and for side sleepers, grams and strap tension matter far more than any headline feature.
• AYI's biggest strength: It's the more self-sufficient device. A built-in screen shows battery, playback mode, and volume, touch controls handle the rest, and 32GB of memory means you can leave the phone in the locker while you swim.
• AYI's biggest trade-off: It's the heavier of the two — listed at 0.07 pounds, roughly 32 grams — and the touch panel is exactly the surface a pillow presses against, which is worth thinking about if you roll onto your side.
• MARLALL's biggest strength: Weight and fit. The item weight is listed at 22.68 g, the enclosure is silicone, and adjustable straps let you dial in how tightly the band hugs your head.
• MARLALL's biggest trade-off: Fewer controls and less information. No screen, no touch input, no noise-control setting — and playtime isn't published, so you'd want to check the current listing details before committing to a long session.
• Pick AYI if you want to glance down mid-set and see your battery, or you like the idea of swipe controls instead of hunting for a button.
• Pick MARLALL if you're shopping primarily for side sleepers, or you want the softest, lightest thing sitting on your cheekbones for hours.
The AYI S10 is built around one idea: you shouldn't need your phone to run a swim session. Bluetooth 5.4 handles normal wireless duty, and MP3 mode takes over for offline playback from 32GB of internal memory — enough for thousands of tracks. The IPX8 rating means it's designed to be fully submersible, so pool work, open-water swims, and even a shower are within scope. On top of that, there's a small screen on the headset showing battery life, playback mode, and volume, and the controls are touch-based rather than clicky. Battery is rated at up to 8 hours with fast charging to top it back up.
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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Where this really earns its place is for the swimmer who hates fiddling. Toggling between Bluetooth and MP3, checking whether you have enough charge for another 40 minutes, nudging the volume up between sets — all of that happens on your head instead of on a wet touchscreen at the poolside. The open-ear, bone conduction driver (20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, 140 ohm) sends sound through the cheekbones and leaves your ear canals clear, which is the whole point when you're near water or traffic.
Who should skip it? Anyone who wants the absolute lightest thing available, or who sleeps on their side and knows they'll roll onto the touch panel. The 140-ohm impedance is also on the high side; higher-impedance drivers generally ask for more power to reach the same loudness, so don't assume it'll match a low-impedance pair for sheer volume. And while noise control is listed as active, this is an open-ear design by definition — treat any noise feature as a bonus, not as isolation.
The MARLALL S800 takes the opposite approach: strip the hardware back and put the effort into how it feels. The item weight is listed at 22.68 g, the enclosure is silicone, and there are adjustable straps so you can tighten the fit until it stops shifting. Bone conduction drivers cover the same 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz range, Bluetooth 5.4 gives you the current wireless standard with a stated 10-metre range, and charging is magnetic rather than a plug-in port — a small detail that matters when your hands are wet.
Storage is 32GB in MP3 mode, which MARLALL quantifies at up to roughly 8,000 songs, and the brand is refreshingly blunt about the obvious catch: Bluetooth doesn't travel through water, so you switch to MP3 mode for swimming. Outside the pool it's a normal open-ear headset for running, cycling, hiking, and calls on iOS or Android. No jack, no screen, no noise-control setting — just the essentials plus a secure fit.
If you've been searching for the best open ear headphones for side sleepers, this is the more natural starting point of the two. Under 23 grams of silicone sitting on your cheekbone is a very different proposition from a rigid band with a display module on it, and the straps let you loosen things off so the headset doesn't dig in when your head is on a pillow. That's also why I'd point a side sleeper here over the AYI: less mass, softer contact surface, and no touch panel to trigger accidentally.
Skip it if you want a screen, if you like touch gestures, or if you need a published battery figure before you buy — that number isn't in the specs, so check the current listing. And if you specifically wanted noise control, MARLALL lists none.
• Best for side sleepers → MARLALL Liquid Silicone Swimming. 22.68 g, silicone shell, adjustable straps, no touch panel to bump against a pillow.
• Best for touch control → AYI True Bone Conduction. Touch is the stated control method, and the screen gives you feedback for every tap.
• Best for battery confidence → AYI True Bone Conduction. Up to 8 hours of playtime, plus a display that shows the charge level instead of leaving you guessing.
• Best for dust and trail use → MARLALL Liquid Silicone Swimming. IP68 covers dust as well as water; AYI's IPX8 covers water only, which is fine for pools and showers but not grit.
• Best for charging with wet hands → MARLALL Liquid Silicone Swimming. Magnetic charging avoids poking at a sealed port.
• Best for low-fuss offline music → a tie. Both hold 32GB; MARLALL quantifies it at up to 8,000 tracks, AYI describes it as thousands.
• Best for calls away from the phone → MARLALL Liquid Silicone Swimming. It's the one that states a 10-metre Bluetooth range; AYI doesn't publish one.
• Best for people who want everything visible on-device → AYI True Bone Conduction. Mode, volume, and battery, all on your head.
In my opinion, the MARLALL Liquid Silicone Swimming is the better buy for most people — especially side sleepers. The reasoning is simple and it comes straight from the specs: under 23 grams, a silicone enclosure, adjustable straps, IP68, magnetic charging, and the same 32GB of offline storage. That combination of light weight and a soft, tensionable fit is what makes an open-ear headset wearable for hours instead of minutes.
I'd only steer you to the AYI if the screen and touch controls genuinely change how you use it — if you're the type who wants to see battery and mode mid-swim without a phone. That's a real advantage, not a gimmick. It just comes attached to more weight and a panel that a pillow can press. If your search started with best bluetooth over ear headphones for side sleepers, note that the AYI is listed with an over-ear placement and an open-ear earpiece shape, which is a different feel on a pillow than a strapped silicone band.
Either way, check the current price on Amazon before you commit — the page button will show you today's figure, and I'd rather you compare on fit and features than on a number I can't quote you here.
Only in MP3 mode. Bluetooth signals don't transmit through water, and MARLALL says so outright in its own instructions. Both headsets carry 32GB of internal memory precisely so you can swim with music and no phone.
IPX8 means protection against water immersion only. IP68 adds dust-tightness on top of water protection. For pool swimming either is fine; for dusty trails or beach sand, the IP68 rating on the MARLALL covers more ground.
The MARLALL, in my opinion. It's lighter at 22.68 g, the shell is silicone, and the adjustable straps let you ease the pressure off. The AYI uses touch controls, which a pillow can activate by accident.
Not meaningfully. Both are open-ear designs that deliberately leave your ear canals clear. AYI lists an active noise control feature, but with an open-ear bone conduction fit, treat it as a small bonus rather than real isolation.
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