These earbuds can help you be more productive

Viim OpenNote is designed for the person whose calendar looks like a wall of consecutive meetings – consultant, researcher, founder, PM – and who has quietly given up on taking good notes in real time. These are open-back earbuds with a real productivity game: tap to record, and the viaim app spits out a transcript, summary, and action list while you’re on your way to your next meeting. At $170, these sit in the open-ear space, and whether they get that space depends on how much you need AI coding in your ears.

How to use Viim OpenNote?

The Viim OpenNote earbuds are open, but they do more than just play music. For two weeks, these stayed in my ears during 1:1s, online meetings, and my morning commute. In addition to replacing my regular earbuds, Viim OpenNote also helped me organize my life with great note-taking features. Here’s everything you need to know about Viim OpenNote.

Design

OpenNote uses a hook-style open-ear design: each bud sits just outside the ear canal, held in place by a 0.8mm titanium memory wire that wraps behind your ear. Each bud weighs 10.5g, which is noticeable but not distracting. I wore them for six hours with the glasses on and didn’t feel constricted or tired – the weight is distributed around the hook rather than pressing on any one area.

The charging case is the part that gets a second look. It is wrapped in leather material and is small, so it easily slips into any pocket. The hinge feels solid, the magnets snap concealers into place with confidence, and the LED display on the outside lets you check charging without opening the lid. The controls are pinch-based rather than tap-based — a choice of purpose that largely eliminates the error triggers you get when banging an open ear against glass frames or a pillow. After a day, I stopped guessing this action.

In terms of durability, the earbuds have an IP55 sweat and dust resistance rating. This durability, combined with the open design, makes them perfect for outdoor runs.

Features

This is the stage where OpenNote justifies its existence. Viaim’s companion app is a command center, and almost everything interesting about this product resides here.

The headline feature is FlashRecord: pinch and hold the bud, and the earbuds start recording whatever you hear or say, even if your phone isn’t nearby. The recording is synced back to the app when you reconnect, and from there, OpenNote transcribes, summarizes, generates action items, and optionally generates a mind map. I tested it on a 45-minute strategy call and a 20-minute in-person coffee meeting, and the transcripts in both cases were accurate enough to be useful — and the summaries make it easy to recall what was discussed without listening to the full recording.

Translation is another big draw. viaim offers support for 78 languages ​​with 145 character variations. Whatever words you say, the earbuds can quickly type and appear in another language. You can also set the earbuds to translate into your ear the incoming sound from the person you are talking to.

The free tier includes 600 minutes of writing per month, which is enough for occasional daily use. The Pro plan runs $9.99/month (or $79.99/year) for 1,800 minutes, and the Ultra plan at $19.99/month (or $159.99/year) unlocks unlimited minutes for those who want all-day recording.

OpenNote uses Bluetooth 5.3 and supports SBC, AAC, and LHDC codecs. LHDC is the interesting one here — it’s the top codec you’ll want if you’re on a compatible Android device.

Multipoint is supported (two devices at the same time), and it worked reliably in my tests – I had OpenNote paired to both a MacBook and an iPhone, and calls transferred to either device rang without me messing with the settings.

The buds enter pairing mode when the case is opened with no previous devices connected, and reconnecting to previously paired devices is quick and automatic. I didn’t notice any disconnections during my tests, including while walking in a congested urban area.

viaim claims up to 19 hours on the buds alone and 53 hours total on the case. For practical use, endurance tracks are sought after. I went through four full working days of mixed listening, recording, and calling before the buds needed a top-up, and the charge never dipped below half. Fast charging is supported: a 10-minute charge brings about three hours of playtime, which is really useful when you realize you have five minutes before a meeting that you forgot to dock last night.

Viim OpenNote doesn’t block noise, and they don’t try. OpenNote is a fully open design without canceling the active playback sound. There’s also no transparency mode, because there’s nothing to shine against — transparency is the default.

How does Viim OpenNote sound?

Like all open design earbuds, the Viim OpenNote doesn’t offer a ton of bass. On the other hand, the Viim OpenNote offers clear mids and treble, and the open design provides a more immersive listening experience than in-ear style earbuds.

Reviewer’s notes

Editor’s note: this review uses a navigation-enabled glossary to describe audio quality based on consensus terms. You can read about it here.

Can you use OpenNote with phones?

The array of microphones driving the transcription pipe does double duty for calls, and the noise-cancelling algorithm is so powerful that people on the other end have commented that I can hear them clearly – significantly clearer than I usually do with open earbuds.

with OpenNote microphone demo (Appropriate conditions):

Should you buy Viim OpenNote?

If you often take meetings, travel often, or just want to keep track of your notes and ideas, Viim OpenNote is a useful virtual assistant. The open design lends itself well to people who want to stay aware of their surroundings or don’t like to push the ear tips down their ear. On the other hand, these earbuds are designed for audiophiles, or those who love bass.

If you’re interested in the transcription and AI features of OpenNote, but would prefer a more traditional earbud design, be sure to check out our Viim RecDot review.