We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-19 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want the more feature-packed open-ear experience with immersive spatial audio, a smart touchscreen case, and far longer battery life, choose Cleer ARC 5; if you need a lightweight, call-focused headset built around a boom mic and all-day comfort for work, driving, or trucking, choose ZGUKJ Open-Ear Headphones.
• Cleer ARC 5 — biggest strength: Dolby Atmos and THX Spatial Audio with head tracking, plus up to 60 hours of total playtime and IPX7 waterproofing for serious workouts and travel.
• Cleer ARC 5 — biggest trade-off: It's the heavier, more complex pick (145 g for the set, a smart case with a screen), and it has no active noise cancellation at all.
• ZGUKJ Open-Ear Headphones — biggest strength: A 38 g featherweight frame with a 270° rotatable boom mic, a mute button, and ENC noise-canceling for clear calls in loud places.
• ZGUKJ Open-Ear Headphones — biggest trade-off: Far shorter battery life (10 hours), older Bluetooth 5.1, and no spatial audio or high-res codec depth.
• Who each is for: Pick the Cleer ARC 5 if you want sound quality and endurance for sport and media; pick the ZGUKJ if you want a no-fuss, light headset for calls, driving, and meetings.
The Cleer ARC 5 is the more ambitious product of the two. It's a true-wireless open-ear set with ear hooks, but the headline feature is sound: Dolby Atmos and THX Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking, backed by Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound, aptX Adaptive, and lossless support. That's a genuine step up over a basic Bluetooth call headset — the kind of thing you notice when you're watching a film on a tablet or listening to a spatial mix and the audio seems to move around you. A dynamic driver and DBE 4.0 bass enhancement fill in the low end, which open-ear designs often struggle with.
The battery story is the other big draw. Cleer rates it at up to 60 hours of total playtime with the case, and a quick 5-minute top-up gives you about 2 hours of playback. That's the difference between charging every night and charging once a week. The IPX7 rating means sweat and rain aren't a concern — IPX7 is a real immersion-grade water resistance rating, which is more than most workout earbuds bother with. For running, cycling, or gym sessions in bad weather, that matters.
Buy the Cleer ARC 5 if you want the best sound and the longest endurance in an open-ear design, you're on iPhone or iPad, and you want a set that doubles as your workout and travel companion. Skip it if you mainly make calls in noisy environments — there's no active noise cancellation here, and the touch controls take some getting used to. It's also the heavier option, and 145 g across the set is noticeable if you're used to ultra-light headsets.
ZGUKJ Open-Ear Headphones: Who It's For
The ZGUKJ Open-Ear Headphones are built around a completely different priority: calls and comfort. This is a neckband-style open-ear headset that weighs just 38 g — a fraction of the Cleer's weight — with soft silicone materials and a flexible frame designed to be worn for a full shift without pressure. When you're done, it folds and hangs around your neck. If you wear a headset eight hours a day, that's the spec that actually decides whether you keep using it.
Air conduction is how it delivers sound: miniature speakers fire directionally toward the ear canal without inserting anything, so your ear canal stays open and clean and you keep full awareness of your surroundings. The brand claims a patented acoustic structure that reduces sound leakage by up to 70%, which is the usual weak point of open designs. For a truck driver, delivery driver, or anyone working around traffic and machinery, that situational awareness isn't a nice-to-have — it's the whole point.
The microphone setup is where the ZGUKJ pulls ahead for work. It uses dual-microphone ENC (Environmental Noise Cancellation) with a 270° rotatable boom you can aim for the best voice pickup, plus a mute button you can hit instantly. The brand cites real-world testing at 85 dB noise levels — think busy streets or gyms — with call clarity improved by 50%. That's a far more call-centric design than the Cleer's built-in mics, which are decent but not aimed at the same job. Bluetooth 5.1 with aptX, aptX-HD, and aptX-LL covers lag-sensitive uses like gaming and TV, and the 33-foot range is plenty. Battery is a 250 mAh cell: about 10 hours of play or talk time after roughly 2 hours of Type-C charging, with 400 hours of standby.
Buy the ZGUKJ if you live on calls — trucking, dispatch, remote meetings, online classes — and you want something nearly weightless with a real boom mic and a mute button. Skip it if you want long battery life between charges, spatial audio, or water resistance for sweaty workouts. Ten hours is a workday, not a week.
• Best for battery life → Cleer ARC 5: up to 60 hours total with the case versus 10 hours on the ZGUKJ.
• Best for call clarity in noise → ZGUKJ Open-Ear Headphones: dual-mic ENC with a 270° boom and a one-touch mute button.
• Best for sound quality and immersion → Cleer ARC 5: Dolby Atmos, THX Spatial Audio with head tracking, Snapdragon Sound, aptX Adaptive, and lossless support.
• Best for all-day lightweight wear → ZGUKJ Open-Ear Headphones: 38 g and a foldable neckband you can hang around your neck.
• Best for workouts and weather → Cleer ARC 5: IPX7 waterproofing and secure ear hooks built for running and cycling.
• Best for iPhone and iPad users → Cleer ARC 5: Apple MFi certification for seamless pairing, plus the Cleer+ app.
• Best for trucking, driving, and meetings → ZGUKJ Open-Ear Headphones: purpose-built for exactly those use cases, with multipoint-free simplicity and a boom mic.
• Best for a no-frills, set-and-forget headset → ZGUKJ Open-Ear Headphones: button controls, nothing to learn, nothing to configure.
In my opinion, the Cleer ARC 5 is the one I'd buy. It simply does more: spatial audio that's genuinely immersive, up to 60 hours of playtime, IPX7 protection, a smart sanitizing case, and app-level customization. For a single pair that covers music, movies, and hard training, it's the stronger all-rounder, and it's the pick I'd recommend for most people who want an open-ear set as their main headphones. That said, if your day is defined by calls — driving, dispatch, remote meetings — the ZGUKJ's boom mic, mute button, and 38 g frame are purpose-built for that job, and I'd point you there without hesitation. Match the tool to the task.
For sound quality, battery life, and water resistance, yes — Dolby Atmos, THX Spatial Audio, and up to 60 hours put it ahead. For call-focused work with a boom mic and mute button, the ZGUKJ is the better fit.
Do the ZGUKJ Open-Ear Headphones have noise cancellation?
The Cleer ARC 5 is rated at up to 60 hours of total playtime with its case, and a 5-minute charge adds about 2 hours. The ZGUKJ runs about 10 hours of play or talk time on a 250 mAh battery after roughly 2 hours of charging.
The Cleer ARC 5 carries an IPX7 waterproof rating, so sweat and rain are fine, and its ear hooks are designed to stay secure. The ZGUKJ is the lighter headset and fine for walking and light activity, but it isn't rated for water resistance, so I wouldn't trust it in heavy rain or sweat-heavy workouts.
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