Bone conduction headphones have been around now for more than a decade and yet they're still a relatively little-known – or little-loved – part of the portable audio world. Is that because they're no good or have folk just not realised what they can do? Or perhaps it's because they serve a niche market.
Despite there being more options than ever, you'll still rarely find bone conduction models in the best wireless headphones lists. To be blunt, this is likely due to the sound quality. While they can be good, bone conduction ultimately leaves you listening without your ear canals closed off, meaning background noise issues – where in-ears with noise cancelling would otherwise help to mitigate that auditory masking.
