Expert Review by Ivorie Jenkins for Skullcandy Push 720 Open Earbuds [1:03]

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• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Great Sounding Open-Ear With a Unique Case

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  • Top 250 Contributor

  Comfortable to wear with great sound and convenient tactile buttons, these open-ear TWS headphones keep you connected to what’s around while still pumping out clear audio. The unique carrying case can be clipped onto stuff but isn’t really good for pockets. Highlights: * Comfortable to wear * Sound great * Good headphone and case battery life * Quick charge * Configurable tactile buttons on each earbud * Unique fabric-covered carrying case with clip * Wireless charging * Useful app Room for improvement: * Removal of buds from case is a 2-handed operation * Case is too large for most pockets * No case battery status at all (just charging status) * Minimal status lights (on the back by the USB-C port) Setup: The earbuds are shipped with protective tape covering each bud’s charging contacts so that the buds remain off during shipping. After removing that sticker from each bud, put them both back in the case, then charge everything up. These buds come with a short USB-C to A cable but any USB-C cable will work to connect to any suitable USB power source you already have. You can also use any compatible wireless charging pad - just spin the case around so you can see the small LED on the back to know when it’s done charging. Once charged, it’s time to pair and customize them. I went to the Bluetooth settings on my iPhone and selected them for pairing which was fast and easy. Once paired, install and then open the Skullcandy app. A QR code for the app is provided in the box or you can just search for the app by name. The app walks you through product registration and configuration for the actions that the button on each bud can do. While the buds are connected, the app clearly shows you the battery level of each bud, their firmware version, the equalizer setting and helpful links to other customization and assistance options. Note that the app does not show the battery level of the case’s battery. Many competing TWS earbuds show you battery (case and buds) information by just opening the case’s lid. This product’s case has a unique design without a traditional lid. To see this information in the app you have to remove the buds from the case first. Like many other open-ear clip-style earbuds, these are designed to clip onto your ear with one part in your ear and the other part behind your ear. They are really comfortable when worn and you might even forget they’re on. There is definitely a right and left bud but you can wear them solo if you want. Each bud has a rubber-coated tactile button on the top of the back portion which is easy to squeeze to trigger the action. These buttons can do 4 different things per bud (up to 8 different actions total) and the app can configure each action. Usage: Let’s start with the case. Unlike the normal style of a case with a hinged lid, these come in a sort of fabric bag that you squeeze at the top to gain access to the buds. This is really interesting and fresh, but it does require you to use two hands - one to hold the squeeze lid open while the other grabs or places the buds inside. Also, many other brands try to get their cases as small as possible so they easily fit into a pocket. This case, especially with the wide spring-loaded opening, doesn’t really fit in a typical pocket and instead prefers to be clipped to something like a belt loop or bag strap. The bottom of the case is flat so at least it stands up on its own and confidently sits on a wireless charging pad. Once you squeeze open the case, the buds inside are easy to grab. They are held in their matching spots magnetically and there’s a left and right spot to match the buds. While it’s possible to grab both buds at the same time, it requires a level of dexterity that many do not have. While the buds almost look identical, there is definitely a Left and a Right one. The easiest way to tell them apart is by looking at the Skullcandy logo to see which one has the logo facing up. Also, the button should be on the top for easier pressing. These hook on the back of your ear around the mid-point and the speaker part sits in your ear. The main benefit of open-ear headphones like this is that It doesn’t completely block your ear so unless the sound is up all the way, you can probably hear what’s going on around you even with music playing. It goes without saying that these have no active noise cancellation (ANC) and also don’t need any type of Transparency mode - both of which are only useful for earbuds that completely block your ears. Given that these don’t completely block your ears (one of the main design points), they sound really good and even hove a good bit of bass. I tried some of my favorite New Wave 80s tracks with the “Music” EQ setting and they sound much better than I expected. The “Bass Boost’ EQ mode gets them to have a bit more low-end sound even though you’ll probably not get as much thumping as with non-open buds. Again, the tradeoff of Open style buds is that they balance the ability to hear your surroundings with the music and don’t block your ears. The clip easily held them on my ears during a strenuous workout of jumping, biking and moving around while sweating. The parts that touch your ears are shiny plastic which is much easier to wipe clean than rubberized plastic. It only took a few tries to get good at putting them on at the same time by putting the tips in each ear and stretching the band so that they clip on the back. These buds support multi-point pairing so you can have them connected to your phone and your tablet, for example so you can watch videos on your tablet and take a call from your phone without having to fumble with switching them over from one to the other. You can also configure a button to trigger your phone’s camera shutter which is cool. You don’t even have to be wearing the bud to use this feature, so you can just use one bud as a remove camera trigger even when not wearing them or listening to anything. I don’t use Spotify but another action you can configure for the buttons is to trigger Spotify Tap which resumes your last playlist or starts a new one with your favorites once triggered. The case’s battery is kinda a mystery on these buds. There is no way to check the battery level of the case without also putting it on a charge. There’s no button to check the case’s battery status and the app doesn’t show anything about the case’s battery status. Also, the case’s status light is a small white light on the back next to the charging port. Perhaps the Gen 2 of these will move the status light to the front (lighting up the Skullcandy logo) and make that logo a button to check status? No ear tips are provided as none are needed for this type of headphone. They should fit just about everyone as-is. The provided USB cable has a C on one end for the case and a flat A on the other end. Most of my USB power adapters have C ports only so I’m just using a cable I had lying around or a wireless charging pad. When you’re done listening or just need a quick charge, returning them to the case is again a two-handed job but not difficult. When you put them in the case, the lights on each bud flash briefly but the case’s light does not. Most other cases give some indication on the outside when you put the buds in. Again, the only way to check battery status of the buds is by removing them and checking the app and the only way to check the battery in the case is by starting to charge it. That’s really my biggest suggestion for improvement. Aside from a few small complaints like the slightly more cumbersome than necessary case and the minimal battery status indications, these sound great and are really comfortable to wear. The buttons are easily customizable to do a lot of actions and the battery life is great (just have to trust them). Overall, a solid choice for open-ear buds.

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  Posted 1 month ago by gadgeTT

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Have a lot going for them, except sound quality

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  These are open earbuds that have a lot going for them, and like them in a lot of ways, but sound quality is not one of them. Build Quality: The case feels very high quality, as does the earbuds as well. You can tell the craftsmanship and manufacturing of them is well thought out. Comfort: When it comes to comfort, I am in love. They do take a little to get used to how to put them on your ears, but this is my first pair of open earbuds. Once you have them on, you forget they are even on. You can wear them all day and not even realize it. I can’t stress this enough. Sound Quality: I would say that the sound quality is decent and gets the job done but is not great. The bass is lacking and the mids and highs are not as sharp and clear as I would like and sound a little tinny. I realize that these are earbuds and won’t sound like full size headphones, so I must take that into consideration, but I’ve had other earbuds that have sounded a lot better. As is designed, the outside sounds can be easily heard with them on, whether it is background noise, car horns and sounds, or talking to you or in the background. Battery: The earbuds internal battery lasts around 5.5 hours, same as advertised. The case can charge the batteries maybe a couple of times. Now one thing I have noticed is that if the earbuds at full charge are left in the case a full charge, after a few days, the earbuds are still full but the battery in the case is empty. Where does that charge go, who knows? Basically, if you are only using the earbuds periodically, make sure you charge everything first. This is sort of a strange phenomenon I don’t understand. Case: The case is really a sort of pouch that has a flat plastic panel inside where the earbuds are placed. I’m not sure I understand the pouch other than it has a clip on it that you can clip to almost anything. Maybe someone might have a use for it, but I don’t get it. The ear buds fit in great, and it is hard to screw it up, if you have the left and right correct (they are not the same) and they are oriented the right way. The pouch is quite a bit bigger than a normal earbud case and won’t so easily fit in your pocket. I guess it is more to be clipped on somewhere or put into your bag. Don’t expect it to fit in your pocket. Connection: These are Bluetooth earbuds, so I put them in pairing mode and had the phone find it and it’s done. Worked immediately the first time. Once the app was installed, it found the paired earbuds right away again the first time. All of this went so smoothly. Buttons: These earbuds have hard buttons instead of touch controls. To me, this is so much better and so rare. The buttons are located on the top of the part that fits behind your ear and is so easy to access. You can change their function in the app which you will probably want to do since the default settings are a bit of a strange choice. I wish there were more buttons as two functions are not really enough for me (although you can do the double and triple click which helps), but I must be realistic. The buttons are firm to push but at the same time, easy to push. App: The app is simple but works well. To start with, there is an EQ with presets. I found that changing the bands only a small effect and not as much as I would have liked. I feel the same about the presets. You can change the function of the hard buttons, the left and right separately. The options are play/pause, Volume up/down, track forward/reverse Spotify, take photos, and activate assistant. You can select low latency audio on or off. It says to only turn it on when watching videos or gaming. Overall: Overall, the comfort, hard buttons, and app easily get 5 stars. The pouch is very good too. The sound quality is not that great and keeps this from getting a perfect score. I would say if you were looking for open earbuds that you can wear all day, maybe you could consider these, but if sound quality is important, look elsewhere, unfortunately.

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  Posted 1 month ago by Dalton

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  I dislike this case! But the buds are nice!

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  I’m a huge fan of open design now! So when I first put these on, I was very turned off from them. I didn't like them! They didn’t fit in my ear completely and I thought they were like all the other ear buds out there that don’t fit my ear. But after reading more about the product, I learned that they’re “OPEN” earbuds and after doing more research on that, it all clicked. They’re not supposed to be super deep in my ear canal, they’re supposed to be slightly off so I can still hear what’s going on around me. Hints the name of the product. A serious, dumb dumb, moment on my part. Once I got over that hurdle, I began to love these things. Going jogging, riding my bike, going on hikes, it's so nice! They fit super snug without feeling too tight on my ear, and I can even lay down on them for somewhat of a sleepbuds if you will. I never felt like they were gonna fall off. Though when I woke up in the morning they weren't on my ears. I eventually decided to bring these to work, and that’s where it truly shined for me. Since I work in IT sometimes I have to go out and solve an issue that, to be honest, I don’t know how to solve so I have to phone an expert. Being able to hear the customer as well as hear my co-worker is so nice! And it’s not artificial sounding like some passthrough options other buds have. It’s pure sound from both sides. Think of it like a speaker phone that only you can hear. It’s super convenient. And the fact it fits so well I don’t have to worry about refitting them as I'm doing my job is much appreciated. I had no issues with the mic, people could hear me without issue and from what they say it sounds pretty good. Sound quality was pretty good as well in my opinion, I am not complaining. However to get into the cons of this product, the sound is SOOOOOO much better when I push the earbuds into my ear canal. The base is thumper, the mids and highs are more distinct, etc. But I digress, I know that’s not what these are for. And using them as intended, I’m happy with the sound quality. BUT…. the case… I don’t like it at all. The design of the case, the opening mechanism. Basically I hate the case. And maybe it’s because I’m a guy and it feels somewhat similar to a tiny little purse to me for some reason. Not really my cup of tea. Not to mention, it seems more prone to failure in time with its (seemingly) spring loaded design. Constantly opening and closing these can’t be good for longevity. I also don’t like the fact, you have to reach in to put the buds away in this case. Like it’s deep in there so if you have big ogre hands like I do, sometimes you don’t put the buds in correctly. I just really don’t like this case design. Lastly, the battery life. No issues here either. I’d say they’re pretty typical, but what I enjoyed was that it charges pretty quick, both the case and buds! Wireless charging is nice too. So, it sounds good, nice open design, good battery, stays in my ear, and the only thing I don’t like is the case. Not bad, definitely a recommend if you’re looking for something like this!

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  Posted 1 month ago by GamingBusinessGuy