We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-17 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a headphone you can actually wear in the water, choose KESIEME Swimming Headphones; if you need a lightweight open-ear pair for all-day wear, commuting and gaming, choose ROEL-PLAY Open Ear.
These two look similar on paper — both are open-ear, both go over or around your ear instead of inside it, both are wireless. But they are built for very different jobs. The KESIEME set is a swim-first device with onboard storage so you can leave your phone in the locker. The ROEL-PLAY pair is a comfort-and-awareness device for dry land. Picking the wrong one is the fastest way to be disappointed, so let's break down what each one actually does well.
• KESIEME's biggest strength: IPX8 waterproofing tested to 99 feet plus a built-in 32GB MP3 player, so it works with no phone and no Bluetooth signal at all.
• KESIEME's biggest trade-off: It is a purpose-built sports tool with a neckband ring and a 37.4g frame — bulkier and more specialized than a casual everyday earbud.
• ROEL-PLAY's biggest strength: An ultra-light ergonomic ear-hook design with a breathable hollow frame and locking hooks, aimed squarely at all-day comfort and a secure fit during high-intensity movement.
• ROEL-PLAY's biggest trade-off: No water rating and no onboard storage — it is a Bluetooth-only device for dry, phone-in-pocket use.
• KESIEME is for: swimmers, triathletes, rainy-day runners and anyone who wants music without carrying a phone.
• ROEL-PLAY is for: commuters, gym-goers, gamers and people who wear earbuds for hours and hate the plugged-ear feeling.
The KESIEME S10 is a bone conduction headphone, which means the driver sits against your cheekbone and sends vibration straight to your inner ear, bypassing the eardrum entirely. That is not a gimmick here — it is the reason the thing can be sealed against water and still produce sound. The open-ear design also means your ear canal stays clear, so you still hear pool noise, lane mates and traffic while you train.
Where this model separates itself is the swimming side. The IPX8 rating is the highest common water-resistance class, and the sheet states it is tested to withstand depths up to 99 feet. It also ships with swimming earplugs, which matters more than people expect: bone conduction loses a lot of low-end underwater, and plugging your ears is the standard trick to bring the bass back. The neckband is made from memory titanium alloy, so it is 360° bendable, compression-resistant and holds its shape — a real advantage when you are pulling goggles on and off.
The second headline feature is the 32GB built-in memory. That is enough for 10,000-plus songs, and it means you can swim, run or ride with zero phone and zero Bluetooth connection. The LED display shows remaining power and whether you are in Bluetooth mode or MP3 mode, so you are never guessing. Rounding it out: Bluetooth 5.4, 10 hours of music or talk time, 300 hours standby, a full charge in 2 hours via a magnetic waterproof interface, active noise cancellation, button controls, a 15mm bone conduction driver and a 16-ohm impedance. The 37.4g weight is light enough that the sheet notes it does not interfere with wearing glasses.
Buy it if you swim laps, train in the rain, or want a phone-free music player strapped to your head. Skip it if you mainly want something for video calls at your desk or gaming — the neckband and button controls are built for motion, not for lounging.
The ROEL-PLAY Q95 is the opposite philosophy. Everything about it is aimed at disappearing on your ear. The shell is described as ultra-light with a breathable hollow frame, and the whole point is that nothing enters your ear canal — no compression, no soreness, no hot stuffy feeling after a few hours. If traditional in-ears start to ache by mid-afternoon, this is the design that fixes that.
The fit story is the curved locking ear hook. It wraps around the contour of your ear to create a stable hold, and the sheet specifically calls out jogging, gym training and ball sports as scenarios where it stays put. So it is not a fragile fashion earbud — it is built to survive movement, just not water. There is no IP rating listed, so treat it as a dry-land device.
On the audio side, ROEL-PLAY uses AAC high-resolution encoding to restore what it describes as CD-level lossless detail, with layered stereo for music, podcasts and media. Two features stand out for specific buyers. First, the noise-reduction microphone: it actively filters background noise and wind turbulence to keep your voice clear on calls — useful if you take meetings while walking. Second, the low-latency gaming tuning, which syncs sound output to on-screen visuals so audio and video line up instead of lagging behind.
The open sound cavity keeps ambient noise fully accessible, which is the same awareness benefit as the KESIEME — you hear traffic, pedestrians and conversations without pulling anything out of your ears. Controls are touch-based, and the enclosure is ABS plastic with a black finish.
Buy it if you want earbuds you can forget you are wearing — commuting, shopping, long workdays, calls on the move and gaming sessions. Skip it if you need anything that goes near water, or if you want to leave your phone behind; this one is Bluetooth-only with no built-in media storage.
• Best for swimming → KESIEME Swimming Headphones. IPX8 rated and tested to 99 feet, with earplugs included for underwater bass.
• Best for phone-free listening → KESIEME Swimming Headphones. The 32GB onboard memory holds 10,000+ songs, so no device is required.
• Best for all-day comfort → ROEL-PLAY Open Ear. Ultra-light hollow frame and no ear-canal insertion means nothing to ache after hours of wear.
• Best for gaming and calls → ROEL-PLAY Open Ear. Low-latency tuning keeps audio synced to your screen, and the noise-reduction mic cleans up voice on the go.
• Best for battery confidence → KESIEME Swimming Headphones. 10 hours of playback, 300 hours standby, 2-hour charge, plus an LED display showing exactly how much power is left.
• Best for sweat-heavy gym work → ROEL-PLAY Open Ear. Locking ear hooks are designed to hold through jogging, lifting and ball sports.
• Best for rainy outdoor workouts → KESIEME Swimming Headphones. Waterproof, sweatproof, dustproof and moistureproof by design.
• Best for everyday awareness without bulk → ROEL-PLAY Open Ear. Open cavity keeps you tuned into traffic and conversation with almost no weight on your ears.
In my opinion, the KESIEME Swimming Headphones are the more capable device overall, because they solve a problem the ROEL-PLAY simply cannot: music in the water, and music with no phone attached. If you swim or train outdoors in bad weather, that IPX8 rating and 32GB player are not nice-to-haves — they are the whole reason to buy.
That said, I would pick the ROEL-PLAY Open Ear without hesitation if my listening happens on dry land. It wins on comfort and on the two features I would actually use daily: clear call audio and low-latency gaming. So match the tool to the job. Swimmer or phone-free athlete — KESIEME. Commuter, gym-goer or gamer — ROEL-PLAY.
Yes, per the manufacturer's spec. It carries an IPX8 rating and is described as tested to withstand depths up to 99 feet. It also ships with swimming earplugs, which help restore bass underwater.
I would not recommend it. The spec sheet lists no water-resistance rating, so it is best treated as a dry-land headphone for commuting, workouts and gaming.
The KESIEME does not — it has 32GB of built-in memory and an MP3 mode, so you can swim or run with nothing else on you. The ROEL-PLAY is Bluetooth-only, so it needs a paired device.
Both are budget-tier open-ear designs, and prices shift often on Amazon. Check the current price on Amazon for each before you commit — my advice is to decide based on whether you need water protection and onboard storage or all-day comfort and gaming latency, then compare what each costs that day.
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