We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-21 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want to swim laps with music playing while your ears stay open to the pool around you, choose RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming; if you need cheap everyday earbuds with a huge battery reserve for the gym, commuting and calls, choose Generic Headphones.
• RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming — biggest strength: a true IPX8 waterproof rating plus 32GB of built-in memory and an MP3 mode, so you can listen underwater without your phone anywhere near the pool.
• RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming — biggest trade-off: Bluetooth doesn't travel through water, so underwater listening depends entirely on you loading your own files onto the headset first. No streaming, no phone calls in the pool.
• Generic Headphones — biggest strength: long runtime and a charging case with a 2200mAh battery and an LED power display, plus four spare eartips for fit.
• Generic Headphones — biggest trade-off: the IPX7 rating covers the earbuds for sweat and rain only — the charging case is not waterproof, and this is a conventional in-ear design, not something you can take swimming.
• Who each pick is for: RELAXYO for swimmers and open-ear users who want music in the water and awareness on land; Generic Headphones for budget-conscious buyers who want simple wireless earbuds for workouts, calls and laptops.
The RELAXYO set is built around one idea: music in the water without plugging your ears. It uses a bone conduction driver with a 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz frequency range, which means sound reaches you through vibration against the bone rather than through the ear canal. That open-ear placement is the whole point — you keep your ears clear, so you still hear lane mates, whistles, traffic or a training partner while you wear them. If you've ever hated the stuffed, sweaty feeling of in-ear buds during a long session, this design is aimed squarely at you.
The headline spec is IPX8. That rating is what separates this from almost every "sports" earbud: it's designed to be worn underwater, with goggles and a swim cap on top. The same sealed build shrugs off sweat and rain for running, cycling and gym work, so one pair covers your whole routine. At a listed 30 grams it's light enough to forget about, and the over-ear hook shape keeps it anchored when you're moving.
The catch — and it's a real one — is how the audio gets to you in the pool. Bluetooth cannot transmit underwater, and RELAXYO says so plainly. That's why the 32GB of built-in memory and MP3 mode exist: you connect the magnetic charging cable to a computer, the headset shows up as a USB drive, and you drag your music across. Underwater, you're playing local files, not streaming. On land, the Bluetooth 5.4 chip handles wireless listening with low latency and low power draw, and the battery is rated at up to 7 hours of music or calls per charge.
So who should buy it? Swimmers who train regularly and already own their music library. Open-ear fans who want awareness during outdoor runs and rides. Anyone who wants one waterproof device for pool, sweat and rain. Who should skip it? If your listening is 90% streaming playlists from a phone and you never get in the water, the MP3 workflow is friction you don't need. And if you take lots of calls while moving, a conventional earbud makes more sense — bone conduction mics aren't the point here. Worth noting: the charging cable is the only way to load songs, so keep track of that little magnetic connector.
The Generic pair is a classic true-wireless earbud setup: two buds, a charging case, and a spec sheet focused on runtime and convenience. The 2200mAh battery lives in the case, and the combined figure is a claimed 48 hours — that's the kind of number that means you can toss these in a bag and not think about charging for a week or more. The case also has separate L/R battery LEDs so you can see remaining power before you leave the house, and the buds top themselves up automatically when you drop them back in.
Connectivity is Bluetooth 5.0 — an older generation than what RELAXYO uses, but for laptop audio, Android phones and waking up a voice assistant, it does the normal job. The earbuds are in-ear, ergonomic, and come with four spare eartips so you can size them to your ears; that's the single most useful accessory in any earbud box, because fit is what keeps buds from falling out mid-set.
Water resistance is IPX7 on the buds themselves, which covers sweat and rain. Read that carefully, though: the charging case is not waterproof, so you can't soak the whole kit, and IPX7 here is a protection-from-sweat-and-weather claim, not a swimming claim. There's no bone conduction, no built-in memory, no MP3 mode — audio comes from whatever device you pair.
Who should buy it? Someone who wants simple wireless earbuds for the gym, walking, commuting and laptop calls, and who values a big battery reserve over premium specs. Students, casual listeners, a spare pair for a bag. Who should skip it? Swimmers — this is not a swim product, and submerging it is outside what the rating describes. Also skip it if you want the latest Bluetooth generation, open-ear awareness, or the option to listen without carrying a phone. The listing includes a 90-day manufacturer warranty, so factor that shorter coverage into your expectations.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for battery reserve → Generic Headphones. The 2200mAh case and 48-hour combined figure dwarf a single 7-hour charge.
• Best for open-ear awareness → RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming. Bone conduction leaves your ears unobstructed; the Generic buds sit in your ear canal.
• Best for simplicity → Generic Headphones. Take them out of the case, pair once, done. RELAXYO asks you to manage a music library for pool use.
• Best for modern wireless → RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming. Bluetooth 5.4 versus Bluetooth 5.0 — newer chip, lower latency, lower power draw.
• Best for fit options → Generic Headphones. Four spare eartips let you dial in the seal; RELAXYO uses a fixed over-ear hook.
• Best for loading music without a phone → RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming. The 32GB drive mode works with no paired device at all.
• Best for sweat and rain on land → either one. IPX8 and IPX7 both cover perspiration and weather — just keep the Generic charging case dry.
• Best for long-term peace of mind → RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming. A one-year guarantee and a 24-hour customer-service response commitment versus a 90-day manufacturer warranty.
In my opinion, if you actually swim, there's no real contest — I'd buy the RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming. Its IPX8 build, 32GB of on-board storage and MP3 mode solve a problem the Generic set simply isn't designed for, and Bluetooth 5.4 keeps it current on land. The Generic Headphones are a sensible, fuss-free earbud for gym and desk duty, and I'd recommend them to someone who never gets in the water. But as a single purchase that covers pool, run and commute, I'd take the RELAXYO. Check the current price on Amazon and decide based on which use case is truly yours.
Yes — the IPX8 rating is designed for swimming, and RELAXYO notes you can wear goggles and a swim cap with them. The one rule: Bluetooth doesn't work underwater, so you must use MP3 mode with music loaded onto the 32GB memory.
No. The IPX7 rating on the earbuds is stated for sweat and rain protection, and the charging case is explicitly not waterproof. They're fine for workouts and wet weather, but they aren't a swimming product.
For pure runtime away from a charger, the Generic set wins — a 2200mAh case and a claimed 48 hours combined. RELAXYO gives up to 7 hours per charge, but it has no case and can play from its own memory.
With Generic Headphones, yes — audio comes over Bluetooth from a paired device. With RELAXYO you don't, as long as you've copied songs to the built-in memory and switched to MP3 mode.
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