Though Shokz’s target market is sports fanatics, the OpenFit may be less than ideal for some. The low water resistance rating means that too much sweat could damage the device, and the fidgety controls aren’t easy to use while running or cycling. However, similarities between the dissimilar twins with different fathers can certainly be discovered. Neither of them succeeds in overcoming the localization of solo voices or instruments in the center of the sound panorama, which is the biggest disadvantage of headphones in principle. This has a simple, but unfortunately hardly solvable physical reason. Evolution is to blame You can get accurate battery readings for both the earbuds and the charging case in the Shokz app. Here, you’ll also find a customisable five-band graphic equaliser, including Standard, Vocal, Bass Boost and Treble Boost presets, as well as customisation options for the touch controls. The result is that you are able to hear sound clearly. This, combined with the 18 X 11mm dynamic drivers means these earbuds deliver quality, crisp sound, even when they’re near your ear and not inside it. Despite being the most expensive pair of Shokz headphones, they don’t promise the biggest battery. Shokz says you should get up to 7 hours battery life, which is short of the 10 hours off a single charge from the OpenRun Pro. You can get a total of 28 hours when you factor in a fully charged charging case, plus a 5-minute charge gets you an hour of listening time.

The Shokz app is simple and easy to use. You’ll find info about the battery left in the buds, as well as an option to tweak the EQ settings here, which is handy if you want to play around with the sound a little or try out one of the presets – I liked the Bass Boost setting. The Shokz proprietary OpenBass algorithm, however, is astounding. It’s a full-bodied bass experience that feels like the music has suddenly acquired a whole other dimension. This will not be noteworthy if you don’t normally listen to music with a lot of bass, which I don’t. But turning Bass Boost on did prompt me to start bugging my coworkers for psychedelic trip-hop recommendations, which in turn prompted them to ask if I had started vaping. You can tinker with these settings in the Shokz app, which is currently only available on iOS but will be available for Android soon. We test every set of headphones we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product. Now I’d say Shokz delivers on that promise of bigger sound, though I do think it comes at the expense of the more balanced profile you get from its top-end bone conduction headphones. When using them outside, like other Shokz headphones, you often need to get them up loud to get the best out of them. It’s still about finding a balance between your sound and noise around you, and it depends on how much sound you’re competing with. If you’re out on a quiet walk it works pretty well. Head out for a run in a busy part of town, and it’s more challenging to deliver good results.

What should you get instead of the Shokz OpenFit?

He has been writing about hunting, fishing, trail running, camping, skiing, and more for 15+ years. There are a couple of standard true wireless earbuds features you won’t find here. There’s no multi-point pairing mode and no ear detection either, so remove one and your music will keep playing. Although you can just listen with one bud, which is handy. Shokz stands for headphones. While competitors like JBL, Bose or Sony also just made a name for themselves with Bluetooth boxes in the mobile audio sector, the company from Shenzhen in southern China relies on its enormous technical creativity in finding unconventional earphone designs that focus on active sports enthusiasts. For example, the Shokz OpenFit from this review is a so-called open-ear concept that sits on the ear, but unlike on-ears or over-ears, leaves most of it exposed.

The Shokz OpenFit come with a handy charging case that has a matte finish and USB-C charging. The case is almost double the size of most other cases for true wireless earbuds, weighing 75g with the buds inside.The OpenFit’s sound quality is surprisingly good. Because it’s air conduction, it doesn’t suffer too much from the issues that plague bone conduction headphones. The earphones have excellent bass response thanks to Shokz’s proprietary OpenBass technology, though it’s not entirely on par with other premium earphones like the AirPods Pro.

The over-ear design is comfortable, the rubber is soft even when wearing sunglasses at the same time (which I was initially concerned about). They sit securely outside the ear canal, with the soft plastic band wrapping over and behind the ear lobe. This makes them very secure as well. I wore them running, and they don’t budge. They are IP54 water-resistant, so sweat or light rain should be no problem.That being said, the charging case offers a combined battery life of approximately 28 hours, and the OpenFit’s fast-charging capabilities mean that just 5 minutes of charging will give you one extra hour of listening time. This is quite good and on par with most of the competition. Controls Shokz Labが行った交差点でのシミュレーション実験結果によると、人工頭部での音圧レベルが65～72dB（A）の場合、AIノイズキャンセリングにより最大50dBのS/N比向上、すなわち99.7%の環境騒音低減が可能です。 The OpenFit are the first Shokz headphones to use its proprietary “DirectPitch” technology, which channels the audio from 18 x 11mm dynamic drivers directly into your ear canals. The idea is that this enhances audio quality while minimising sound leakage. The latter proved hit and miss during testing but the technology delivers when it comes to audio performance. The OpenFit allows you to attend calls all day long, enjoy your favorite tunes or podcasts for hours on end, and almost forget you're even wearing earphones. It's like having the best of both worlds.

Shokz is best known for producing some of the best bone-conduction headphones, like the Shokz OpenRun Pro and Shokz Trekz Air. These work by sending vibrations through your cheekbones to your ears, keeping your ear canals free. They’re a good option if you like running or cycling outside and want to listen to music while remaining aware of what’s happening around you. They deliver good quality audio, but not great – the best earbuds sound much better. With the open-ear design, you don't have to worry about ear fatigue associated with traditional earbuds. The earbuds fit snugly over your ear and won't slip off, so you won't have to worry about them being too big or too small for your ear canal. A: App just can manage the Bluetooth connection of two devices, can't manage the audio switching. Namely:

Can you use the Shokz OpenFit for phone calls?

Those changes and promised audio improvements make the OpenFit the priciest pair of headphones in the Shokz collection. So do they justify the bigger spend and do deliver that solid Shokz performance? Here’s my take. Availability That said, this is a set of earbuds aimed pretty expressly at exercise, so it's not necessarily the case that the direct comparison is to the likes of the AirPods Pro, despite that being the comparitive price point. OpenFit comes with an IP54 rating, which is much lower than most other Shokz products. It means that even a bit too much sweat can damage the earphones, so it’s best not to use them for any exercise that’s too strenuous. Jogging should be safe for the most part, but when you notice that you’re starting to sweat too much, it’s best to take the earphones off. Sound Quality When using during outdoor activity, please ensure earbuds are being properly worn and control the volume to ensure that you can hear your surroundings, including traffic signals, passersby, etc. Using OpenFit while riding or driving may distract your attention and have higher risk of sports injury and traffic accident; Using OpenFit while riding or driving may violate local laws or community regulations, use of this product should comply with local laws and community regulations.