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If you want a proven everyday sports headphone with a secure titanium-alloy neckband and long battery life for running and cycling, choose BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones; if you need true IPX8 waterproofing and a built-in 32GB MP3 player so you can swim with music and leave your phone behind, choose GZLMMY Bone Conduction Headphones.
• BETAHEAR biggest strength: a 29g ultra-light body with a flexible memory titanium-alloy neckband that bends 360° without deforming, plus 10 hours of playtime and up to 240 hours standby.
• BETAHEAR biggest trade-off: it is only described as sweat-resistant, not fully waterproof, so it is not the pick for swimming.
• GZLMMY biggest strength: an IPX8 waterproof rating plus a built-in 32GB MP3 player, so it works away from your phone — including in the water.
• GZLMMY biggest trade-off: it needs regular care after every session (rinse with fresh water, dry it, clean the magnetic charging contacts), and it is not meant to sit in salt water for long periods.
• Who BETAHEAR is for: runners, cyclists, hikers and commuters who want a light, comfortable open-ear headset with a long single-charge runtime.
• Who GZLMMY is for: swimmers and heavy sweaters who want waterproofing and offline storage, and who don't mind a little maintenance.
BETAHEAR's pitch here is comfort and endurance rather than water protection. The body weighs 29g and uses a high-strength memory titanium alloy neck strap with a food-grade silicone pad, so it bends 360° and springs back without deforming. In my experience reading specs like these, that combination is exactly what you want from an open-ear band: it should stay put during movement without clamping down, and it should survive being tossed into a bag. The open-ear design also keeps your ear canals clear, which matters if you run on roads or ride a bike — you hear traffic and your music at the same time.
Who should buy it? Anyone doing land-based sports — running, cycling, hiking, driving, working out indoors — who wants a lightweight open-ear headset and doesn't need to submerge it. Who should skip it? Swimmers, and anyone who wants stored music on the headset itself. BETAHEAR is sweat-resistant for daily exercise, but it is not rated for swimming, and there is no built-in memory for offline playback. If pool laps are your main use case, keep reading.
GZLMMY Bone Conduction Headphones: Who It's For
GZLMMY's X7S is built around one clear idea: music in the water, without your phone. The IPX8 waterproof rating is the centerpiece, and it is paired with a second playback mode — Bluetooth 5.3 for normal wireless use, and an MP3 mode powered by 32GB of built-in memory. That memory is the part swimmers actually care about, because Bluetooth does not travel through water. You load music by connecting to a Mac or PC and dragging and dropping files; the headset supports MP3 and WMA formats, so audiobooks and podcasts work too.
The physical package is sensible for pool use. It weighs 30g, uses an open-ear bone conduction design, and charges magnetically — fully charged in about an hour, with 10 hours of music and 10 hours of talk time, plus 300 hours of standby. Bluetooth range is listed at more than 10 meters, which is generous for a device you wear on your head. Controls are physical buttons rather than a remote, which is a small but real advantage when your hands are wet and your face is in a swim cap. It is made from ABS and PC, and it comes with a one-year manufacturer warranty.
Who should buy it? Swimmers first, then anyone who wants a phone-free workout player with genuine water protection. Who should skip it? People who want zero maintenance. GZLMMY is explicit about care: rinse with fresh water and dry after use, wipe down the surface after every workout, and keep the magnetic charging contacts clean so sweat and salt don't corrode them. Don't soak it in seawater or salt water for long stretches. If that routine sounds like a chore, BETAHEAR's simpler sweat-resistant build will suit you better.
• Best for swimming → GZLMMY Bone Conduction Headphones. IPX8 waterproofing is the deciding spec; BETAHEAR is only sweat-resistant.
• Best for running, cycling and hiking → BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones. A 29g titanium-alloy band with a secure fit is built for land sports.
• Best for phone-free listening → GZLMMY Bone Conduction Headphones. 32GB of built-in memory in MP3 mode means no phone required.
• Best for battery life → BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones. 10 hours of playtime with up to 240 hours standby is the stronger endurance figure.
• Best for long standby → GZLMMY Bone Conduction Headphones. It lists up to 300 hours of standby for occasional users.
• Easiest to live with → BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones. No rinsing, no contact cleaning, no salt-water warnings.
• Best for wet-hand controls → GZLMMY Bone Conduction Headphones. Physical buttons beat a remote control when your fingers are wet.
• Best for durability under stress → BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones. The memory titanium alloy strap is rated to bend 360° without deforming.
In my opinion, most people reading this should buy the BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones. It is lighter, it has the more flexible and forgiving build, it lasts a full 10 hours per charge with huge standby headroom, and it asks nothing of you after a workout. It covers running, cycling, hiking and the gym without fuss. I would only switch to the GZLMMY Bone Conduction Headphones if swimming is genuinely part of your routine — that IPX8 rating and 32GB of built-in storage are things BETAHEAR simply does not offer, and if you need them, nothing else on this page will do. Check the current price on Amazon for both before you commit.
are headphones waterproof
Not all of them — it depends on the model and its rating. In this comparison, the GZLMMY Bone Conduction Headphones are rated IPX8, which is the waterproof rating intended for swimming. The BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones are described as sweat-resistant rather than waterproof, so they are fine for workouts but not for swimming.
are headphones water resistant
Water resistance and waterproofing are different levels, and the label tells you which you're getting. BETAHEAR covers the sweat-resistance side: it handles daily exercise moisture but isn't rated for immersion. GZLMMY goes further with an IPX8 rating for swimming, with the caveat that you should rinse it in fresh water, dry it and clean the magnetic charging contacts after use, and avoid long soaks in salt water.
Bluetooth signals don't travel reliably through water, which is why the GZLMMY Bone Conduction Headphones include a second playback mode: a built-in MP3 player with 32GB of storage that supports MP3 and WMA files. You load music from a computer and play it without any wireless connection. The BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones are Bluetooth-only, so they are not the choice for pool use.
Yes — that is the point of the open-ear design both of these use. Neither one seals your ear canal, so outside sound comes through while audio plays. BETAHEAR specifically frames this around safety for running, cycling and hiking, and GZLMMY uses the same bone conduction approach for clear audio in the water without earbuds.
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