CONCLUSION

    When i first heard of bone conduction technology using vibrations to transfer audio to people via their cheekbones (also effective for people suffering from hearing loss - at least as long as they have a functioning cochlea) I thought this would mean people around you wouldn't be able to hear what you're listening and well, that's not the case. Especially when it comes to the Outlier Pro+ model which packs more power people next to you can listen to the same thing you do and even though it's not what I'd call intrusive some people may not like this due to privacy concerns. Overall audio quality doesn't really stand out either (the AAC/SBC audio codecs and buzzing due to vibrations certainly don't help in that regard), definitely not compared to what I've encountered over the years with TWS models. Also worth pointing out is that for the best possible results (for me at least) you will need to use the bundled earplugs and well, that pretty much means you will not have awareness of your surroundings (situational). Still both models produce good overall audio with the Outlier Pro+ clearly surpassing the Outlier Free+ in clarity, bass and even fit (tighter compared to the Outlier Free+). The omni-directional microphones probably work better than expected since I never had an issue during the almost 50 days, I ended up using/testing both models. Yes, they may not the best I've encountered, and audio quality could be considerably better but at least all calls were clear without disconnections and static. As for battery life once again the 10 hours advertised by Creative are not a realistic number, especially since we're talking about bone conduction headphones which need to be used at well over 50% volume for you to be able to listen well to music or even calls. During my tests I was able to surpass 8 hours of playback time once while using the Outlier Free+ (couldn't hit 8 hours with the Pro+) and honestly 7-8 hours is still a very good amount. On top of that you can easily swap batteries something which doesn’t apply to TWS models so that’s certainly very convenient. The lack of an control app is also something that I didn't expect (the ones Creative does have are not compatible) but there are many TWS models out there without one either. All said and done I do realize that bone conduction headphones have a different target audience (especially when it comes to hearing-impaired individuals) so a direct comparison with TWS models may not be quite in order.

    At the time of my review the Creative Outlier Free+ retails for USD69.99/62.99Euros whereas the Outlier Pro+ retails for USD79.99/79.99Euros and at least for is clearly the better choice of the two. Overall, I can’t say that either Outlier model is for me, audio quality is far from what I’ve gotten used to by some TWS models and the vibration is not something I enjoy. At the same time however I am neither a professional athlete (swimmer especially) nor a hearing-impaired person and since especially the Outlier Pro+ does deliver all it should it does deserve the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (IPX5/IPX8 Housings)
- Bone Conduction Technology (Situational Awareness - Ideal For Athletes & Hearing-Impaired Individuals)
- Omni Directional Microphone
- Bluetooth v5.3
- Fit (Especially For The Outlier Pro+)
- Built In 8GB MP3/FLAC/WAV/APE Player (Outlier Pro+)
- Bundled Microphone Plugs (Outlier Pro+)
- Battery Life (Up To 10 Hours)
- Replaceable Batteries
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Audio Quality
- Vibrations (For Some)
- Audio Isolation
- Size (For Some)