Open-ear audio is kind of a big thing now, but in case you’re not in on the trend, let me back up for a second. “Open-ear” is a type of audio product design (typically wireless earbuds or headphones) that doesn’t block out ambient noise. The idea here is that you can still be aware of your surroundings a bit and be comfortable for long periods of listening without a silicone tip crammed inside your ear.
I’ve tried quite a few open wireless earbuds at this point, and there’s a lot to love; they’re great for biking, calls, and exercise, but so far, gaming has not been a category you can typically find open-ear options in. Don’t worry, though; Asus ROG is on it.
With two new open-ear products introduced at CES 2026, Asus ROG is giving gamers the benefit of open-ear audio. The most unique of the two is a pair of open earbuds called ROG Cetra Open Wireless Earbuds, which, like other open earbuds, wrap around your ear instead of being inserted into the ear canal and blocking everything out.
Of course, open-ear design isn’t enough for a pair of gaming earbuds, so Asus ROG is also including a 2.4GHz dongle that gives you an ultra-low latency wireless connection similar to what you’d get on competing gaming earbuds from Razer. That latency is big when you’re gaming, since every millisecond counts from a competitive standpoint. Other gamer-centric flourishes include a detachable neck strap meant to stabilize the earbuds and physical buttons for anyone who doesn’t want to screw around with touch controls in the middle of a match. Asus says you’ll get 16 hours of battery in Bluetooth mode, but there are no estimates for when you’re listening with the 2.4GHz.
If earbuds aren’t your thing, there’s also a wired-only hi-fi headset with an open-back design made in tandem with China-based audio company HiFiMan. This headset, called the ROG Kithara, has 100mm planar magnetic drivers and a microphone that uses MEMS technology. While I haven’t tried a MEMS microphone, I have tried wireless earbuds that use MEMS drivers for sound, and I’m a big fan, so my hopes are high in terms of mic clarity.
Since these headphones are wired only, they come with an array of attachments that should make them compatible with lots of different wired jacks, including 4.4mm balanced, 3.5mm, and 6.3mm. These are open-backed headphones, too, so there’s no active noise cancellation (ANC) here—that requires a seal around your ear—but I have a hunch that these headphones sound pretty darn good.
While Asus doesn’t have confirmed pricing on either of these open-ear products yet, it says that they’ll be available for retail in early February.
Gizmodo is on the ground in Las Vegas all week bringing you everything you need to know about the tech unveiled at CES 2026. You can follow our CES live blog here and find all our coverage here.
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