The way Panasonic’s attractive new open earbuds sound makes me smile, but they’re so annoying to operate

Panasonic RB-F10: Two-minute review

Being a little down on a product you fundamentally really like feels uncharitable. It’s the audio equivalent of Ebenezer Scrooge giving Tiny Tim a pair of the incredible Shokz OpenFit 2+^[2], then swapping that sweet sonic stocking stuffer for Bob Cratchit’s humble morsel of goose. Bah, humbug, indeed.

Truthfully, though, if you did buy me a pair of Panasonic^[3] RB-F10s for Christmas or my birthday, I’d be pretty smitten. Yes, they have their faults, but if you can overcome slightly fiddly on-ears controls, Panny’s recent buds are stylish, affordable, and feel so comfortable once they’re on, you might as well have a couple of pixies giving your ear canals a luxurious bubble bath.

I adore how these open earbuds feel on my lugholes. There’s no question the main selling point here is the soothing snugness the RB-F10s bring to your listening experiences. I genuinely forgot I was wearing Panasonic’s open earbuds, which weigh 8.79g each, during the vast majority of my testing.

I can’t think of a single occasion where the fit irritated me, be it in on a recent skin-sizzling 93F trip to Fuerteventura or enduring a mild Scottish downpour closer to home. These wrap-around buds neither slip or irritate your skin, nor do they begin to chafe after hours of prolonged use. Granted, I might be guilty of the (ahem) occasional wildly definitive-sounding declaration over the years, but I stand by the following statement: the Panasonic RB-F10s are the most comfortable earbuds of any kind I’ve ever worn. Stick that on the box, Panny.

Elsewhere, problems sadly surface that lower these otherwise supremely sturdy buds’ score. With grown-up looks, a classy charging cradle, and satisfyingly loud, well-weighted audio, there’s a whole lot to like about a pair of open ears that cost comfortably less than $100.

Yet it’s hard to stuff my fingers in my ears and pretend the RB-F10s don’t have issues – chief among them are some of the fiddliest, least dependable on-ears controls I’ve encountered on a pair of buds. At best, they’re semi-reliable. At worst? The simple task of pausing or skipping a track has made me chuck Panasonic’s ear accessories onto my sofa multiple times – a feeble bout of frustration the best open ear buds^[4] wouldn’t bring out in me.

I’ll get to the RB-F10’s fuller audio performance shortly, but if you want the abbreviated version, they’re damn good. With weighty 17mm x 12mm drivers, they bring boom in spades for such svelte buds, while also delivering acoustics you’d never describe as either tinny nor scratchy.

Feature-wise, we’re looking at somewhat of a mixed bag. That’s a bag you’d drop every time you did your shopping thanks to those misfiring on-ear controls that are as dependable as a lion going for the vegan option at an all-you-eat zebra buffet. Though IPX4 waterproofing is welcome (and effective in my experience), battery life doesn’t exactly have my knees aquiver.

If you don’t have Panasonic’s nicely minimalist charging cradle to hand, you’re looking at a meagre seven hours of juice. If you’re a fiendish podcast binger like myself who often leaves home without a dock, these may not be the buds for you.

ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) has also been left off the party list and software support is non-existent. Though not the most feature-rich buds, the RB-F10s do at least support convincingly solid dual mic audio calls, and the presence of reliable Bluetooth multipoint connectivity is also welcome.

If it weren’t for those overly finicky on-ear controls, I’d unquestionably be giving the Panasonic RB-10s a higher score that would have it ruffling the feathers of some of the best earbuds^[5]. Yet due to those unpredictable controls and only so-so battery life, you may be better off looking at the sublime Nothing Ear (a)^[6], or the slightly more premium Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds^[7].

Panasonic RB-F10 review: Specifications

Panasonic RB-F10 review: Price and availability

• Released in June 2025
• $110 / £79.99 / AU$165 (approx.)

The Panasonic RB-F10s have been out for a few months at this point, but you’d be hard pressed to tell. You’d have an easier time spotting a neon-dipped snow leopard during a blackout than finding these buds readily on sale.

Currently, the only place I’ve been able to locate these attractive, relatively affordable earbuds is the official UK Panasonic site^[8]. Available in black or a two-tone white scheme, these $110 / £79.99 / around AU$165 buds are very reasonable considering their overall build and sound quality.

Knowing Panasonic, the F10s are unlikely to become significantly easier to pick up going forward, so if you do see them in stock on the UK’s official site or somewhere like eBay (and fancy the cut of their jib), put your money where your sonic-slaying mouth is.

Panasonic RB-F10 review: Features

• IPX4 waterproofing works well
• Seamless Bluetooth multipoint connections
• Average battery if they don’t get a full charge

If there were a Deep Impact style meteor-centric oblivion on the horizon and you were forced to draw the short straw on who gets to board the shuttle to survival…. well, suffice to say that comet is cooking F10 owners. That’s a fruity way of saying the RB-F10s aren’t exactly feature-rich.

A lack of ANC or software support is perhaps expected at such an agreeable price point, but what’s considerably harder to stomach is the F10s’ battery life. I’ve seen mayflies with heaving drinking problems boast longer lifespans.

Unless you carry the handsome dock around you like it was a court-mandated bracelet, these open earbuds will die on you a little after seven hours. If you obsessively charge the buds in their dock, and I mean every single day, you’ll get a much healthier 25 hours of juice. Nevertheless, during my seven weeks of testing, I found Panny’s buds died out of nowhere an alarming amount. If you’re a committed jogger, these probably aren’t the earbuds for you.

Don’t walk away at a brisk pace just yet, though. The RB-F10s aren’t entirely no-frills and an IPX4 waterproof rating should never be taken for granted from a native Scot like myself. If you live in an area with regular showers you’ll definitely appreciate this feature. Thanks to their open ear design that shows off a whole lotta lobe, nailing down an IPX4 waterproof rating was key.

I was once caught in a downright biblical lashing of hailstones while nipping out for a lunchtime burger during my F10s testing, and it was mercifully only my soggy quarter pounder that met a watery fate that day. On the few times I have encountered showers while out and about, I’ve yet to hear all those sky tears cause any audible distortion while listening to music on the RB-F10s.

The F10s’ Bluetooth 5.4 multipoint connectivity is probably the most forward-looking feature these buds boast. Capable of pairing to a duo of iOS/Android devices at the same time, the F10s can register to 10 separate devices, though you can obviously only swap between a single pair at once.

The pairing/disconnecting process is relatively simple, involving holding the sensor button down on each bud for several seconds. Once you hone in on your two favorite devices, these buds will intuitively pick up on whatever content you were listening to on them last. It’s smart, hassle-free stuff.

Dual mic support also makes the F10s solid for voice calls. As glamorous – and depressingly unstaged – as this sounds, I had to take a relatively important fraud call from my bank while wearing Panasonic’s buds. The company’s claim that voice signals hold up to around 33ft proved largely true, and even taking an irritating security call while wandering about my Spanish friend’s (in no way death) cellar, the clarity of the audio never wavered.

So the F10s just about get a passing grade in the features department. Still, any prospective future teacher would be sticking a big, fat “could do better” before a pair of F11s rock up to school next year.

• Features score: 3/5

Panasonic RB-F10 review: Sound quality

• Bass satisfies for such lightweight buds
• Vocal clarity is usually excellent
• No software but EQ tweaks seldom needed

As someone who normally wears the best over-ears headphones^[9] in everyday life I’ve been mightily impressed by the range of sounds these sleek buds pump up. Keen to hear how the buds would fare, I decided to forgo my increasingly decrepit musical tastes and listen to some fresher bangers from Glastonbury 2025. Not in a mud-caked field in Somerset, you understand. Rather from the comfort of my reclining chair with an RF-10 popped into each ear.

Now let’s jump down the YouTube^[10] rabbit hole!

The five-piece indie pop group Wet Leg slithered around Glasto’s Other Stage and immediately wormed into my brain with Catch These Fists. Sensationally steely, winkingly erotic before exploding into a scrappily raunchy crescendo, it’s a bloody fun tune, and one where the RB-F10s powerful 17mm x 12mm drivers effortlessly pick up lead singer Rhian Teasdale’s growling lower registers.

I was also taken aback that the RB-F10s made the upbeat Yougotmefeeling by Parcels come alive in a full-bodied way that briefly made me do a double take on whether I was listening to their summery banger on budget earbuds or one of the best surround sound systems^[11]. There was one moment the video cut to the super sweaty crowd, and the subsequent swirling chorals almost made me believe I was standing among the throng covered in knocked-over plastic lager glasses.

Sticking with YouTube, I was delighted to bump into an energetic performance of Don’t Back into the Sun by The Libertines. The fact Carl Barat turned up with chaotic longtime collaborator Pete Doherty, who not only looked reasonably healthy, but didn’t flub his lines, was a nice surprise. That definitely wasn’t on my Glasto bingo card. Back to the Panasonic RB-F10s, Gary Powell’s pounding drumwork and John Hassall’s satisfyingly punchy bass came through without overwhelming Pete and Carl’s duets.

Even though I do a lot of my headphones testing on my iPhone, I must admit to consuming a lot of content on my iPad Pro, be it the best Netflix movies^[12] or the best Amazon Prime shows^[13]. On that note, I’ve been rewatching The Boys season 3^[14] for roughly the 43rd time. Herogasm! Anyway, there’s a song that plays during a later episode where Homelander “might” be getting his morning milk from an unconventional source. Yick.

Still, if it wasn’t for that udderly unacceptable act, I’d never have found 1968’s Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells. Talk about a psychedelic headtrip banger for the ages. This trance-like ‘60s tune is mellow yet somehow quietly sinister. For all three minutes and 25 seconds the RB-F10s deliver the big beats with aplomb while also delivering on the shakier strands that make you wonder if your entire head is about to fall into your buds.

So it shouldn’t come as a Tyler Durden-style shocker that I’m into the audio quality the Panasonic RB-F10s deliver at such a comparatively reasonable price. Bass also feels nuanced, with drivers capable of handling both big orchestral numbers without letting lyrics get lost in the shuffle. Sound-wise, these are some of the most well-rounded, best-judged buds I’ve tested.

• Sound quality score: 4.5/5

Panasonic RB-F10 review: Design

• So light you can barely feel them
• Classy little charging cradle
• On-ear controls can be a nightmare

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY! Not enough? Alright. Zip those lips and take even more of my cents. I’m smitten with the design of the Panasonic RB-F10s, especially with the ultra alluring two-tone white shade (also available in black). Unfussy yet dignified, they have an aura of quiet confidence about them I really dig. And then there’s the comfort.

If it was legal to wed a pair of open earbuds based purely on how ludicrously comfortable they feel to wear, I’m slamming a ring on the RB-10s pronto…. before finding a cave where I can live out the rest of my days in shunned solitude. Hot dang, do these buds feel lovely.

I’ve worn some supremely comfy cans of late (like the likeable yet uneven Happy Plugs Play Pro^[15] over-ears), but Panasonic’s lightweight offerings are on another level. Once you get them out of their cute charging cradle, popping them on is a breeze. With a few tweaks I found the RB-10 almost immediately adjusted to a position that wrapped around my lobes in an entirely satisfying, seamless way.

I suspect this is down to two major factors. Firstly, the flexible (but not cheap-feeling) plastics they’ve been constructed from, which lets them contort around the shape of your ears with minimal fuss. Secondly, their oh-so-lightweight footprint. At well under 9 grams per bud, and thanks to their open design that leads to what Panasonic describes as an “unintrusive fit”, it’s almost alarmingly easy to forget you’re wearing the RB-F10s.

Fun fact: I went on a four-hour round trip to see the deeply underwhelming Jurassic World Rebirth^[16] semi-recently, and not once on that lengthy inner city tour could I feel Panasonic’s open buds rub my ears up the wrong way while listening to Jurassic-themed podcasts. Hey, you gotta keep it on brand, right? Honestly, I’m wearing them while currently writing this review and I legit can’t feel them. Witchcraft!

Sadly, the on-ear touch sensors are about as reliable as a chocolate watch… and a timekeeper that’s been placed into a giant oven at that. They simply don’t function as they should often enough.

Located on the main body of each bud, a single tap should play/pause whatever you’re listening to, and touching the left bud’s sensor rapidly three times will turn the volume up (a double tap turns it down). Meanwhile, a trio of touches on the right earbud will skip forward a track (again, a double tap to go back a song).

The trouble is, these sensors are both weirdly sensitive and not sensitive enough. During my weeks of testing I’d find they’d follow the commands I wanted maybe 40% of the time. Hardly an ideal batting average, right?

If you’re sitting at a desk judging the exact position and pressure you need to hit the RB-F10s is easier. In motion, though? That’s a far more flustering story. I lost count of the times I accidentally skipped to a new podcast episode on walks due to my right bud’s sensor having a mind of its own.

Pausing tunes via the left earbud also proved to be a teeth-gnashing chore. It’s such a pity, because if the Panasonic RB-F10s controls were more reliable, I’d be awarding these attractive buds another half star.

To round off this finger-flummoxing package on a cheerier note, I’ve got to pour some love all over the RB-F10s’ charging “cradle”. Sorry, “dock”! Not only is it incredibly easy to jam into even the tightest of pockets, but the way both buds magnetically snap into their holders – Nintendo Switch 2^[17] style – is stupidly satisfying.

• Design score: 3/5

Panasonic RB-F10 review: Value

• Build feels premium
• Sound exceeds expectations for the price

The RB-F10s are a bit of a steal. Full disclosure: DO NOT STEAL. Packing that Panny quality without skimping on audio quality, they hit a lovely sweet spot between price and performance. In an age where it’s all too easy to pick up any random pair of buds for $20 at an airport, the F10s’ design and sonic quality shine through.

The very fact I’ve barely given my beloved Apple AirPods Max^[18] much of a look-in of late speaks volumes – and I’m in no way sorry about the tangential pun. Rocking premium build quality and striking sound at a rough $100 price bracket, the F10s are easy to recommend for homebody audiophiles who aren’t fussed about ANC, so are less likely to contend with noisy commutes.

• Value score: 4/5

Panasonic RB-F10: Scorecard

Panasonic RB-F10: Should I buy?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

How I tested the Panasonic RB-F10

• Tested for seven weeks
• Used at home, outdoors and on flights

I tested the Panasonic RB-F10 over a seven-week period. Forgive me if that seems like an overly long testing window. I turned 40 during the review process and suffered a tiny existential breakdown. Thank heavens I had the F10s’ quality sound output to pick me up during my darker moments.

During that time I used these open earbuds to listen to my favorite tunes and podcasts across different environments, spanning my ground floor apartment, on walks through city centers and on public buses. I primarily connected the headphones to my iPhone 14 Pro^[19] – and to a lesser extent – my Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (2024)^[20].

First reviewed: September 2025

Read more about how we test.^[21]

References

1. ^{^} Find out more about how we test. (www.techradar.com)
2. ^{^} Shokz OpenFit 2+ (www.techradar.com)
3. ^{^} Panasonic (www.techradar.com)
4. ^{^} best open ear buds (www.techradar.com)
5. ^{^} best earbuds (www.techradar.com)
6. ^{^} Nothing Ear (a) (www.techradar.com)
7. ^{^} Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (www.techradar.com)
8. ^{^} official UK Panasonic site (store.panasonic.co.uk)
9. ^{^} best over-ears headphones (www.techradar.com)
10. ^{^} YouTube (www.techradar.com)
11. ^{^} best surround sound systems (www.techradar.com)
12. ^{^} best Netflix movies (www.techradar.com)
13. ^{^} best Amazon Prime shows (www.techradar.com)
14. ^{^} The Boys season 3 (www.techradar.com)
15. ^{^} Happy Plugs Play Pro (www.techradar.com)
16. ^{^} Jurassic World Rebirth (www.techradar.com)
17. ^{^} Nintendo Switch 2 (www.techradar.com)
18. ^{^} Apple AirPods Max (www.techradar.com)
19. ^{^} iPhone 14 Pro (www.techradar.com)
20. ^{^} Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (2024) (www.techradar.com)
21. ^{^} how we test. (www.techradar.com)