There are a lot of different earphone options, and thanks to the democratisation of technology, you can find decent sound across a variety of price points and from brands you mightn’t expect. Earphones that go in the ear and earbuds that go outside of it, and that’s before you jump into the wide world and assorted tech that populates headphone options, as well.
A quick glance in the search for a pair of wireless wearables made for your ears could leave you there a while, especially as new brands aim to take on the old hat established options, some of which come with their own fans from other technology through the years.
Hisense could well be joining that shortly.
Already a brand known for the democratisation of tech — something it practices by looking to trickle down high-end screen tech to more affordable price points — the company is launching something else in Australia. Admittedly, it’s not what this journalist had on his 2026 bingo card.
Simply put, Hisense is joining earbuds, launching a pair of the jewellery -inspired earbuds we’re seeing from more players of late, including Shokz’s recent reinvention of the OpenDots and Sony’s foray into the category, something we’ve not seen prior.
If you’ve not seen them, these are earbuds that clip to the ear, hanging over the fleshy bits on the side of your head, and providing more of a jewellery approach to wearing them.
In the “HiClips”, Hisense is largely iterating on that same theme, building a pair of earbuds built to hold to the ear in a lightweight design.
Each weighs 5.5 grams, and uses a titanium-nickel bridge to hold each part to each other, the driver on one and the receiver and battery on the other.
Hisense hasn’t quite said how big each driver is, but did tell Pickr that no audio brands were involved in the development of the HiClips, despite Hisense working with famed audio specialists such as Devialet and Harman/Kardon over the years. Rather, the HiClips are entirely Hisense’s, it seems, and built to offer another take on the jewellery-inspired approach to earbuds the market is particularly fond of right now.
“We’re incredibly excited to introduce HiClips and bring the Hisense entertainment experience into an entirely new category,” said Kevin Ke, Managing Director of Hisense in Australia and New Zealand.
“HiClips has been purpose-built around that philosophy, combining premium sound with an open-ear design that allows Australians to stay connected to both their content and the world around them,” he said. “It’s another step in our commitment to creating innovative technology that makes life easier, more connected and more enjoyable.”
While Hisense’s push into a new category is a bit of a surprise, it’s not the first time we’ve seen mobile-oriented technology from the brand, with e-ink equipped phones previously shown by Hisense at CES.
Granted, they’ve never found their way to Australia, and still aren’t part of Hisense’s local release, with the company telling Pickr that “Hisense does not speculate or comment on future products or releases”.
Right now, that means Hisense’s local ambitions for mobile products appears limited to the earbuds available in the HiClips, though that could change in the future, especially as new mobile players arrive.
For now, Australians keen to see the HiClips can expect to find them online through Hisense’s own site, priced at $199 locally.
