HELSINKI, Nov. 5 -- The familiar AirPods stem hangs behind the ear instead of below it in a new concept by industrial designer Anurag Sarda. Called AirPods Open, the design imagines a hook-supported earbud that sits above the ear canal, leaving the opening exposed rather than filling it with a silicone tip.

It is an independent design exercise, not an Apple announcement. The November 4 feature presenting it supplies renderings and a description of the proposed shape, not a launch date, a retail price or results from a working audio prototype. That boundary is particularly important for a concept wearing such recognisable branding.

The interesting question is what happens when the stem changes jobs. Sarda keeps the visual shorthand of an...