Cleer ARC II has been fully upgraded in terms of listening and comfort. Added smart anti-lost, fall detection and sedentary reminder functions, it will become an “all-around player” in open-ear headphones.
Cleer ARC II Music Version specs and features:
- Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX Adaptive codec
- 8 hours playback of per charge
- Charging case can charge earbuds fully 3 times
- IPX5 waterproof rating (rain and sweat resistant)
- Dynamic 3D spatial audio with head tracking
- $147 – Check latest price on Amazon US (Sports Version),AliExpress (Music Version), AliExpress (Sports Version) or other Amazon countries
Design, Comfort and Battery Life
The charging case is a flat rounded rectangle with black and gray tones throughout. The surface is made of woven material, which is woven with thin black and white threads, which has a silky touch and is very distinctive.
Since the headphones use an earhook design, the size of the charging case will be larger – close to the iPhone Mini. However, the charging case is relatively flat, and the edge is also designed with arcs, so it has a better grip. The back side of the charging case is the USB-C charging port.
Cleer ARC II is an earhook structure, and the overall shape is quite round. There is a pickup microphone above the Logo of the headphone cavity and near the bottom of the earhook.
Thanks to the outer layer of silicone material and the inner layer of titanium alloy memory steel wire, the earhooks have a good touch and can withstand certain bending. The unique reboundable design of the earhook can adapt to different ear shapes with stably.
The part connecting the earhook to the cavity is made of metal, which strengthens the overall structure. There are speaker and L/R logo on the inside of the headphone cavity.
As an ear-hook non-in-ear earphone, Cleer ARC II is worn differently from TWS earbuds. When wearing, you can rotate and adjust the angle of the earhook, which can perfectly fit the ear and be firmly fixed on the ear – not easy to fall even when running, cycling, exercising.
After being worn correctly, the headphone cavity will only stick to the outside of the auricle, and will not go deep into the external auditory canal, keeping the ear canal unblocked.
The battery capacity of the headphone is 90mAh, and the charging case is 1200mAh. The single battery life of the headphones is up to 8 hours, and the total battery life can reach 35 hours.
Connectivity, Control and APP
Cleer ARC II adopts Bluetooth 5.3 technology and support LE Audio. Before use, you need to pair and connect the headphones to your phone or computer. The connection of the headphones is quite simple, and the steps are the same as most TWS earbuds. Take out the headphones from the charging case to enter the pairing mode, and then select “Cleer ARC II” in the bluetooth settings of the mobile phone to complete the connection.
Also, Cleer ARC II support multi-point connection, which can connect two bluetooth devices at the same time.
Cleer ARC II support the free Cleer+ App, which can be downloaded and installed on both Android and iOS. In the App, you can check the real-time battery status of the headphones and charging case, and make custom equalizer settings.
Click “setting” in the upper right corner of the App to make rich custom settings for the headphones. Including modifying the headphone name, upgrading the firmware, turning on the somatosensory control and touch control, etc.
Cleer ARC II supports touch control and somatosensory control. The touch controls are similar to TWS earbuds – you can pause/play, switch songs, etc. through the touch area.
With the help of sensors built into the headphones, ARC II adds somatosensory control. After turning on the somatosensory control in the App, you can answer call by nodding, reject call by shaking your head, and switch songs by turning your head left and right.
After testing, it was found that the call control is more practical – very suitable for driving scenarios. However, the movement of turning the head in the music control may occasionally cause misrecognition – so I recommend turning on the call control, and turning off the music control if you are not used to it.
Also, touch controls can also be customized in the Cleer+ App. However, the current touch control customization options only include music control-related operations – I hope that more touch control options will be added in future version updates.
Sound Quality and Leakage
After using Cleer ARC II to listen to different types of tracks such as pop, rock, and drums, I found the tri-frequency balance of the headphones. It has a good restoration of mid-high frequency vocals and low-frequency drums. The sound details of each frequency band can also be presented well. In addition, thanks to the 16.2mm large unit and Cleer DBE dynamic bass enhancement technology, the low-frequency quantity of Cleer ARC II is very sufficient – the low-frequency sense of hearing has not lost, and even surpassed many semi-in-ear earphones.
The Cleer ARC II supports Snapdragon Sound technology and aptX Adaptive codec – enabling aptX loseless transmission when used with a compatible phone. Therefore, I think Cleer ARC II can satisfy most mainstream users in terms of sound quality.
After comparing the open-ear headphones I have tested, I think that the sound leakage of Cleer ARC II is still relatively good. In a quiet scene with 70% volume, a vague sound can be heard from the headphones within half a meter. In most scenarios, the headphones will cause little noise disturbance to others.
Smart Experience and Calls
While testing, I found that most of the Cleer ARC II’s smart functions are based on its built-in high-precision 6-axis sensor. Through the full-time monitoring of the head movement state, the headphone realizes smart anti-lost, sedentary reminder and somatosensory control.
The fall alarm and sedentary reminder functions can be used after being turned on in the “Health Management” module of the Cleer+ App. After turning on “sedentary reminder”, the headphone detects that you have been sitting for more than 60 minutes, and the “dududu” prompt will be played.
After fall detection is turned on, if the headphone detects that the user has fallen, an alarm pop-up window will pop up in the app. If the user does not respond within the specified time, the preset emergency contact number will be dialed to notify the emergency contact to ensure the safety of the user.
In terms of call noise cancellation, Cleer ARC II support dual microphones to resist wind noise. I deliberately conducted a call test on a busy street, and found that even if the external environment is relatively noisy, the human voice through the headphones can stand out from the environment to making the call clearer.
Verdict
Compared with open-ear headphones and other wireless headphones, I think – Cleer ARC II has further improved the listening, control and smart experience of the headphones while maintaining the comfort, and added a lot of smart functions more innovatively. At the same time, according to the needs of users in different scenarios, music version, sports version and game version have also been developed. If you’re looking for open-ear headphones for daily or sports use, the Cleer ARC II is a great choice.
Check the Cleer ARC II price:
- Check latest price on Amazon US (Sports Version)
- Check latest price on AliExpress (Music Version)
- Check latest price on AliExpress (Sports Version)
- Check latest price on other Amazon countries
