Why did my favourite drawing tablet brand launch open-ear earbuds? Here’s my honest reaction

I had a message from Ugee, one of my favorite drawing tablet brands, offering to send me a new thing. Sure, I'd love to try out the latest pen display, tablet, or stylus – but earphones? That was a curveball and a sign that brands like Ugee are experimenting with how we create.

Ugee is one of the more successful Chinese drawing tablet brands, that's been around since 1998, and also produces some of the best drawing tablets under the XPPen name; but Ugee itself has a nice range of well-priced tablets and pen computers, including excellent Ugee UT3 and Ugee 16.

But why earphones, and in particular open earbuds?

Now, I get it. Brands diversify. Wacom dabbled in VR pens. XP-Pen has tried everything from drawing gloves to keyboards. But earbuds? So, I did the only reasonable thing I could: I tried the new FreSound Inspiration Open Earbuds. And here’s my honest reaction: it's not as strange as it sounds.

As a writer and digital art hobbyist, I spend an unhealthy amount of time glued to a screen, whether it's a laptop or a drawing tablet, with audio playing in the background. Music, podcasts, YouTube tutorials, I'm constantly listening to something. But wearing in-ear headphones for eight hours a day? It gets painful, fast. One solution recently is to were the new Nothing Headphone (1), these are super comfy but they can also silo me into my own world. That’s where these Ugee earbuds, surprisingly, make a lot of sense.

Because the FreSound Inspiration Open Earbuds are open-ear, they rest comfortably without blocking external sound or the ear canal. That means no pressure, no weird suction, and, crucially, I can still hear when someone wants my attention.

The sound quality is… fine. You're not going to hear the sub-bass of a Hans Zimmer soundtrack, but they’re clear enough for spoken word and casual listening. There’s no ANC, of course, so when I did test them on the London Tube, it wasn't the best, but on normal trains, home use, and out and about, FreSound is fine. These aren't for audiophiles; these earbuds are for coasting through a day of drawing while staying connected to the real world.

The FreSound open-ear buds also fit neatly into Ugee's brand, offering good but not groundbreaking tech at a budget price. For example, they’re ultra‑light, weighing just 8.7 grams per earbud, offer AI noise‑cancellation for calls, and directional acoustics, run for eight hours per charge, and feature touch controls for music, volume, and calls.

But that still leaves the big question: why is Ugee making these? My theory? Brand lifestyle.

Companies like Ugee are realising that artists, especially the hybrid-working digital creatives we speak to regularly here on Creative Bloq, don’t just want tools, they want a setup. An ecosystem. If Wacom is Apple, Ugee is shaping up to be Xiaomi: affordable, decent quality, and trying to give you every tool you might need on your desk, from stylus to speaker.

Open earbuds are the new trend too, not simply because the cost of tech has come down, but these make sense to anyone who wants to listen to music but stay connected. This 'hear-through' style provides a balance between your audio and the environment, and they're rising in popularity..

So no, this move doesn’t feel random anymore. If anything, it’s a signal of how our tools are evolving. The line between creative tech and lifestyle choices, how we work and play, is blurring. Open-ear earbuds no longer feel like a gimmick.

Would I recommend them? If you’re someone who draws for hours, likes ambient sound, and hates ear fatigue, yes, actually, I would. Just don’t expect them to replace your studio headphones.

The new FreSound Inspiration Open Earbuds cost $69.99, order from the Ugee website. (There's 50% off if you use the coupon PRO50.)