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Metro
3 days ago
- Metro
I tested the new Shokz open-ear headphones and they might be the best I've tried
Metro journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission – learn more Looking for wireless earbuds that won't fall out, block out the world around you or leave your ears aching after an hour? Shokz, known and loved for its open-ear headphones and bone conduction technology, has just dropped the OpenFit 2 Series, its latest innovation in open-ear, true wireless audio – and they might just be the comfiest earbuds you'll ever wear. Releasing two upgraded models to choose from – the OpenFit 2 and the OpenFit 2+ – the latter of which is complete with Dolby Audio, these featherlight buds deliver powerful sound, deep bass and 48-hour battery life, all without sealing off your ears. Whether you're running, commuting or on back-to-back calls all day, these sleek wireless headphones are set to be the wearable tech upgrade your day-to-day has been waiting for. Whether you're running, commuting or on back-to-back calls all day, these sleek wireless headphones are set to be the wearable tech upgrade your day-to-day has been waiting for. Available in beige and black. shop £169 Boasting dynamic sound plus Dolby Audio, wireless charging and all the other unbeatable features of the Shokz OpenFit 2, these earbuds are for those who demand more from their audio. Available in grey and black. shop £179 Comfortable, ergonomic and designed to sit on the ear rather than in it, the ultra-lightweight new Open-Ear headphones hook over the ear and utilise bone conduction, DirectPitch™ technology to transmit sound to your ears without obstructing them. This allows you to stay aware of your surroundings while still enjoying your favourite tunes in ultra-crisp, impressive sound. This is all down to Shokz's industry-first DualBoost™ Technology, which features two individual speakers in each earbud – an extra-large low-frequency driver for deep, resonant bass and an independent high-frequency driver for crisp mids and highs. And while the OpenFit 2's sound is incredibly impressive, the OpenFit 2+ features Dolby Audio which surrounds you with lifelike sound, meaning whether you're listening to music, watching TV or gaming, you can enjoy a spatial, high quality audio experience. And did we mention that the earbuds boast 11 hours of listening on a single charge and a 48 hour runtime with the charging case? Truly, running out of battery mid-run will be a thing of the past. Complete with physical buttons and touch controls for easy adjusting of volume, call controls and track skipping, not to mention IP55 water resistance for your sweatiest of workouts, these new Shokz Earbuds are set to revolutionise the way you listen. And I truly can attest to that as I got to try out the Shokz OpenFit 2 for myself. As a woman who enjoys running, having a pair of earbuds that enable me to hear the world around me without compromising on sound quality has been on the top of my 'must-find' list for a while now. Well, until I got my hands (and ears) on these Shokz open-ear earbuds. Extremely comfortable, lightweight, ergonomic and reliable, these sleek earbuds slip over the ear with ease, sitting quite happily against the tragus. The buds have a smooth and comfortable soft silicone finish which make them great for wearing all day without issue, with the hook not creating any discomfort or weightiness whatsoever thanks to its lightweight build. You could truly forget you had these sleek earbuds on. Thanks to the silicone finish and reliable fit, I've not had a single issue with the buds coming loose or falling off while running – remaining reliably secure on even my longer plods. Thanks to the open-ear design, you don't have any of that inner ear pressure or pain you often get with standard, in-ear earbuds either, another huge selling point for me, whose small ears end up aching after just an hour of in-ear wear. Despite not having the Dolby-powered sound of the OpenFit 2+, the OpenFit 2's audio is still outstanding. Crisp, clear and dripping in quality, these earbuds offer unrivalled sound quality that's easily complement by the ambient sound of your surroundings, bringing peace of mind with it. And the open-ear design really did bring peace of mind, allowing me to engross myself in my music with acute awareness of my surroundings, and with neither suffering as a result of the other. There's not much to say aside from these earbuds have an excellent battery life. I find myself rarely having to charge them, unlike earbuds of times gone by, and am yet to be caught out by empty battery on the go. More Trending They also don't take long to charge in the case, while the case itself charges fast, too. Big win. In short, the Shokz OpenFit 2 are a game-changer. Comfortable, reliable, secure and safety-oriented, these amazing earbuds don't just treat my ears to fantastic sound quality, but help to ensure I'm always alert to what's going on around me, a priceless quality in a piece of tech. This one is a huge 10/10 from me. Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Share your views in the comments below MORE: Frizzy? Damaged? Dull? Living Proof's new haircare range targets your exact hair woes MORE: Gap x Dôen collection is now available in the UK from £35 – here's everything you need to know MORE: From spicy margs to dirty martinis – Abercrombie's new graphic tees are a summer vibe and start at just £22
Tom's Guide
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
Shokz OpenFit 2 vs. Shokz OpenFit 2+ — which open headphones should you get?
The Shokz OpenFit 2 are terrific open headphones that offer a secure and comfortable fit, good sound quality and longer battery life. They are also a little cheaper than the OpenFit 2+, which offer upgrades in sound quality and charging. For $20 more than the Shokz OpenFit 2, the OpenFit 2+ headphones offer Dolby Audio to significantly upgrade the sound quality, plus wireless charging. Otherwise they're the same as the OpenFit 2 and offer the same great fit and battery life. I was impressed by the Shokz OpenFit 2 when I reviewed them earlier this year, with their sound quality, controls, battery life and fit all being improvements on the original Shokz OpenFit. They are among the best running headphones I've tried, but still left room for improvement on sound quality. That space has been filled by the Shokz OpenFit 2+, which cost $20 more and offer Dolby Audio for better sound quality. The other key upgrade you get on the Shokz OpenFit 2+ is wireless charging, with the headphones otherwise offering the same features as the OpenFit 2. I'm going to focus on the differences between the buds in this article, but I cover their shared features in more detail in my Shokz OpenFit 2 review. Having tested both sets of headphones and I'd say the OpenFit 2+ are worth the upgrade for the improved sound alone, but the OpenFit 2 still do sound good and are better value. The Shokz OpenFit 2 launched in January 2025 in the U.S. and June 2025 in Europe. They cost $179.95 / £169, $10 cheaper than the Shokz OpenFit 2+, which launched globally in June 2025 and cost $199.95 / £179. There are two colors available for each set of headphones. The OpenFit 2 headphones are available in beige and black, while the OpenFit 2+ are available in grey and black. Shokz OpenFit 2 Shokz OpenFit 2+ Price $179.95 / £169 $199.95 / £179 Colors Black, beige Black, grey Weight 0.33 ounce (per bud); 1.8 ounces (charging case) 0.33 ounce (per bud); 1.8 ounces (charging case) Water Resistance IP55 IP55 Battery life 11 hours (buds), 48 hours (case) 11 hours (buds), 48 hours (case) Connectivity Bluetooth 5.4 Bluetooth 5.4 Dolby Audio No Yes Wireless charging No Yes The standard OpenFit 2 are among the best sounding open headphones I've tried, with the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds being the gold standard on this front in my experience. They use two speakers on each headphone, with one focused on bass and the other on mids and highs, creating clear sound with a fuller profile than you get on most open headphones. I wasn't sure how much of an upgrade the OpenFit 2+ would offer, but when I enabled Dolby Audio in the partner app it created a surprisingly noticeable difference. The sound is more powerful and well rounded, with deeper bass and crisper vocals, and I also found that the OpenFit 2+ were a little louder, which is important when using the buds for outdoor workouts where the OpenFit 2 can be drowned out by the noise of traffic. When using the headphones at my desk or in other quiet environments you can hear and enjoy the bigger soundstage of the OpenFit 2+. You can also adjust the EQ of both sets of headphones in the Shokz partner app. Though they still can't match the sound quality of the best in-ear headphones, which benefit from passive and active noise cancellation, the OpenFit 2 and OpenFit 2+ are better than most open buds, and the Dolby Audio on the OpenFit 2+ does make a clear difference. Both sets of headphones offer the same impressive battery life of 11 hours on the buds, which rises to 48 hours in total with the charging case. It takes 100 minutes of charging to completely refill the battery in the case from empty, and a quickcharge feature nets you two hours of playback on the headphones from 10 minutes in the case. The only difference between the headphones with regards to battery life is that the Shokz OpenFit 2+ offer wireless charging, which worked perfectly well in my testing. Both sets of headphones can be charged by USB-C cable. To me wireless charging should be available on the OpenFit 2 as well, given that they cost $179, but it's good that it's available on the OpenFit 2+ at least. I wasn't expecting the difference in sound quality to be as big as it is with the Dolby Audio on the Shokz OpenFit 2+, and I think it's worth paying the extra $20 to upgrade to them from the OpenFit 2. It's a shame Shokz didn't launch both products at the same time in the U.S., so consumers got a choice between them rather than now potentially regretting buying the OpenFit 2. However, the OpenFit 2 are still excellent open headphones for workouts and general use, and a saving is a saving, so if you're not too worried about wireless charging or Dolby Audio you'll be getting a great set of buds for less.
Stuff.tv
4 days ago
- Stuff.tv
After testing the Shokz Open Fit 2, I might never wear another pair of fitness headphones
Stuff Verdict A comfier fit, more impactful audio and brilliant battery life make the Open Fit 2 a slam dunk set of open-style earphones for fitness fans. Pros Some of the best sounding open-fit open fit earphones yet Excellent battery life Secure fit that's wonderfully comfy Cons Still a step behind in-ears for volume and sound quality Missing a few features expected at this price Introduction Shokz being early to the open-style earphone party was hardly a surprise, given its laser focus on fitness; no other wireless earbuds come close for situational awareness, which helped make the original Open Fit just as workout-friendly as the bone conduction neckbands that established the firm as an exercise must-have. First attempts usually leave room for improvement, of course, and Shokz has done exactly that for the second-gen version. The Open Fit 2 brings a bigger sound courtesy of dual drivers, better battery life, and an even comfier fit. That should help them compete with a rapidly growing number of open fit rivals. There's also an even more advanced OpenFit 2+, which adds Dolby Atmos spatial sound and wireless charging to the mix for an extra $10/£10. The Open Fit 2 has been out in the wild in the US for a while now, but this is the first time they've officially made their way to Europe and the UK. At $179/£169 they command a premium over Shokz' neckband line-up – is going true wireless worth the extra outlay? How we test headphones Every pair of earphones and headphones reviewed on Stuff is used for a minimum of a week's worth of daily listening. We use a playlist of test tracks made up of multiple genres to assess sound, and use our years of experience to compare to other models. Manufacturers have no visibility on reviews before they appear online, and we never accept payment to feature products. Find out more about how we test and rate products. Design & build: get your hooks in The hook-style design hasn't changed dramatically from the original Open Fit, but Shokz has made this latest pair thinner, with a more pronounced curve meant to keep each bud securely positioned near your ear canal. The old ones could come a bit loose while running, but I had no issues with the new version. They're only marginally heavier than before, and at 9.4g apiece you'd hardly call them heavyweights. Both buds stayed securely in place no matter what I got up to. The nickel and titanium alloy construction helps keep the weight in check, and the way they're wrapped in ultra-soft silicone made them the most comfortable set of open-fit earphones I've ever worn. Crucially they didn't cause any discomfort when worn with glasses or under a bicycle helmet, so there aren't many sports they can't cope with. That said, you get IP55 protection here, meaning swimming is out of the question (Shokz has the Openswim Pro if watersports are more your vibe). Sweating and running in the rain are fine, though. That rating applies to the buds only, so you've got to be a little more careful with the case. It doesn't look all that different from the previous generation, being small enough to slip in a pocket, but a fair bit chunkier than the average true wireless earphone case. The way the headphones overlap each other can make taking them in and out a little fiddly, but strong magnets help align the charging pins and the lid opens up nice and wide. Black and Beige aren't the most exciting of colour options, but the mix of silicone and metal effect polycarbonate trim give the buds a purposeful look. The silicone picks up dust quite quickly, but clean up just as easily with a damp cloth. Features & battery: press for service Touch controls are undeniably a faff to use reliably when you're mid-workout. Owners of the original Open Fit will know that first hand. Thankfully Shokz has added a physical button on each earbud, which finally means no accidental pausing or skipping tracks when adjusting the fit during a run. Even better, they're big and deep enough to press while wearing gloves. I like that Shokz hasn't ditched the touch panels from the first-gen model altogether; they are just unbound by default now. Each side can be assigned a press-and-hold action through the companion app, should you want to use them to wake your phone's voice assistant. The four noise-cancelling microphones get the job done when it comes to voice calls, largely stripping out wind noise but still having to contend with Bluetooth's meagre call codec bandwidth. There's no fancy aptX, or future-friendly LC3 or Auracast connectivity here either, although the former isn't a huge loss given open fit earphones are rarely the last word for sound quality. I do wish Shokz would've added wear detection, as I'd regularly take the buds out when talking to people, then discover my audio had kept playing to itself – frustrating when listening to podcasts. Sure, the open fit means you could just pause playback and hold a conversation just fine, but to me keeping earphones in comes across as rude. The firm gets top marks for boosting battery life between generations, though. I got very close to the claimed 11 hours of listening per trip to the charging case, with volume being the only limiting factor. The case itself has enough juice in reserve to bring total playback up to a heady 48 hours, or almost double what the original Open Fit could manage. Ten minutes of charging is enough for two more hours of listening, which is handy if you ever get caught short. These buds don't announce their remaining battery life when you put them on like the OpenRun Pro 2 neckband does. Interface: keep it simple Shokz hasn't shaken up its smartphone companion app much between generations, so you're still getting a streamlined UI that doesn't overwhelm with superfluous features. The important ones are front and centre, with the the first thing you see on the main screen being remaining battery life for the case and each bud. You can upgrade the firmware here, as well as activate multipoint pairing and customise the controls. There are presets to pick for each action, rather than letting you come up with an entirely bespoke configuration, but they're all sensible choices. I spent the most time experimenting with the four different equalizer modes – Bass Boost, Treble Boost, Vocal, and Standard – and creating my own using the five-band custom EQ. Bass boost and Treble boost worked exactly as advertised, giving my tunes a more full-bodied sound; the former was great for electronic tracks, while the latter was better for vocal and acoustic songs. It's a shame there's no way to toggle between EQ modes on the buds themselves, though – just via the app. Sound quality: loud and proud A new dual driver setup has transformed the way the earbuds sound compared to their predecessor. With one dedicated to bass and the other delivering the mid-range and high-end, the Open Fit 2 is louder and more full-bodied than before, while also reducing the amount of sound leakage. Leakage is pretty much unavoidable with open fit earphones, but I was able to use them on the sofa without any complaints from my wife while she was watching TV next to me. I wouldn't wear them to the library, but they'll be just fine for the gym or any outdoor exercise. The new drivers can't completely counter the other limitations of open fit, namely a lack of impactful low-end – but I was still impressed by how much bass presence these earbuds had. Using the standard EQ, the synth hits on Culture Shock's City Lights sounded punchier than almost every other open fit earphones I've tried, aside from the far pricier Bose Ultra Open. You'll get more sub-bass oomph from almost any pair of in-ears, but there's none of the thinness you'll get from some rivals. At the other end of the frequency range, there's a lot more precision and bite that helps vocals and instruments make their presence felt. I can't fault the amount of volume on tap, either. There's enough of it that I wouldn't listen beyond 60%, yet I could still hear my music over passing cars while out on the road. Podcasts are more of a challenge in properly noisy environments, so these probably aren't the earphones to wear on your commute after your morning workout. Shokz Open Fit 2 verdict That ultimately means you'll be buying these as your second pair of earphones, rather than a replacement for your existing ones. A pair of regular earbuds are still your best bet if sound quality matters most, too. But if you're not a fan of neckband-style headphones and need the sort of situational awareness that only open fit provides, these are easily the best of the bunch for exercise. Stuff Says… Score: 5/5 A comfier fit, more impactful audio and brilliant battery life make the Open Fit 2 a slam dunk set of open-style earphones for fitness fans. Pros Stuff Says…Score: 5/5A comfier fit, more impactful audio and brilliant battery life make the Open Fit 2 a slam dunk set of open-style earphones for fitness fans. ProsCons Excellent battery life Secure fit that's wonderfully comfy Cons Still a step behind in-ears for volume and sound quality Missing a few features expected at this price Shokz Open Fit 2 technical specifications Drivers 2x dynamic ANC No Bluetooth version Bluetooth 5.4 Codecs supported SBC Durability IP55 Battery life 11 hours (buds) 37 hours (case) Dimensions 152x76x23mm, 72g (case) 9.4g/ 0.33oz (buds, each)
