Over the last few years we’ve had more headphone/earbuds than I want to admit. I have some hearing issues and am always looking for new designs to help improve sound quality and once I saw Shokz has the new OpenFit headphones out I had to give them a try.Unboxing and Setting Up:The “headphones” arrived in a nice “very small” heavy duty logoed box. Inside was the clamshell charging case, a USB C cable, and some literature.The first thing I did was to start charging the headphones by simply plugging in the clamshell case into a USB cable, already have plenty of those plugged into various chargers so I didn’t use the included one “but nice they did include a high-quality cable anyway”. After charging “green indicator” which didn’t take long as they already came ... MoreOver the last few years we’ve had more headphone/earbuds than I want to admit. I have some hearing issues and am always looking for new designs to help improve sound quality and once I saw Shokz has the new OpenFit headphones out I had to give them a try.Unboxing and Setting Up:The “headphones” arrived in a nice “very small” heavy duty logoed box. Inside was the clamshell charging case, a USB C cable, and some literature.The first thing I did was to start charging the headphones by simply plugging in the clamshell case into a USB cable, already have plenty of those plugged into various chargers so I didn’t use the included one “but nice they did include a high-quality cable anyway”. After charging “green indicator” which didn’t take long as they already came partially charged. I followed the instructions and opened up the case watched for the blinking LED and paired them to my Samsung S22 Ultra “no issues at all”. I also started up the Shokz app on my phone, “already had that installed as we have multiple shokz headphones already” and it immediately identified the OpenFits were connected and needed a firmware update which I went ahead and let it do.Use:These are like no “headphone” I’ve ever used, and although they look like they are going into your ear like earbuds they don’t, these rest just on the inside upper part of the “Concha” and leave the bottom part completely open, so any outside sounds come it without obstruction. These also wrap around your ear holding them very securely in place but are still extremely comfortable. I’m also surprised just how light these are, and after hours of use I completely forget I’m wearing them. There is just a single simple touch surface on each earpiece and it’s simple to operate, “double tap to answer/hangup calls or to play/pause music”, you “press hold” the left for previous track and the same for the right to advance a track. That’s pretty much it for controls, volume-wise you’ll have to use your phone controls for that.Sound Quality:Now I have plenty of Samsung earbuds around, also have the Shokz OpenRun and OpenComm sets. These pretty much blow them away. With my hearing issues I have not found a set of Samsung earbuds that get loud enough for me, and being earbuds they also block your hearing even if they do offer somewhat of a passthrough option. I’ve been using the OpenComms for awhile now and those are really good for making calls and music but they don’t quite have the bass these do “to me”. I also like that the Shokz app has a preset equalizer but also allows you to customize your own settings. I have these tweaked in for me and are pretty much perfect. Phone calls are super clear, even people on the other end are surprised as there’s no background noise and I sound completely normal. The only thing I’ve noticed is that if the sound feels off balanced “one side louder than the other” I just have to wiggle them around a little to get them to fit more evenly in my ear, but once there they don’t move and I rarely have to readjust them.Conclusion:These really are built well and even have an IP54 rating which gives them complete dust protection and water splashes from any angle. The sound quality is so good “with my hearing problems” I’ll be putting all the others aside and let my wife use them, and the one thing I noticed is that the sound quality is very evenly distributed “in my head” and not off balanced due to one ear being weaker than the other, it’s pretty noticeable for me. I also like the fact that these don’t go into your ear canal and plug them up, you get full outside sound with these so you can actually carry on a conversation with music playing “although a bit distracting” but also good for hearing traffic coming up from behind. Now if you are looking for noise cancelling/sound deadening then you’ll want to look elsewhere. I’ve been using these for about a week now and I still haven’t charged the case yet, although I don’t wear them every day I do use them probably around 2-3 hours every day playing music and taking calls. Shokz claims 7hrs of use and the case provides a total of 28hrs using it to recharge, I would say that’s very close to what I’m seeing.If you are looking for a new set of headphones that aren’t buds or are tired of trying to keep the buds in your ears “which irritates the heck out of me”, then you should really look hard at these new OpenFit headphones by Shokz I think you’ll be very pleased.

I have tested out the Shokz OpenFit for over a week and I can say they are great if you run with your phone. The open ear concept is great for runs out doors where you want to make sure you are able to hear your surroundings. The materials on the OpenFit are soft, bendy, comfortable, and have touch sensitive controls. I have issues with earbuds falling out during runs and I did not have that issue with the OpenFits, since the over ear hooks kept them in place. One thing to note is that the OpenFits DO NOT use bone conduction technology, instead they use air conduction technology which I found to be not as effective as bone conduction.The carrying case is good and uses a USB C charging cable. The OpenFits snap into place in their protective charging/carrying case. I ... MoreI have tested out the Shokz OpenFit for over a week and I can say they are great if you run with your phone. The open ear concept is great for runs out doors where you want to make sure you are able to hear your surroundings. The materials on the OpenFit are soft, bendy, comfortable, and have touch sensitive controls. I have issues with earbuds falling out during runs and I did not have that issue with the OpenFits, since the over ear hooks kept them in place. One thing to note is that the OpenFits DO NOT use bone conduction technology, instead they use air conduction technology which I found to be not as effective as bone conduction.The carrying case is good and uses a USB C charging cable. The OpenFits snap into place in their protective charging/carrying case. I went on 10 runs so far with the OpenFits and I found that I had no issues listening to music when I was carrying my phone, however when I ran with my Apple Watch and tried listening to my running playlist (that is downloaded to the Apple Watch) the OpenFits stopped playing music half way through my run. In fact, my songs would randomly stop without any input from mm on the touch sensitive OpenFits. I thought this issue might be a fluke, but I ran three separate times while only wearing my Apple Watch and had the same connectivity issue with the OpenFits. The entire reason I wanted the OpenFits is to run with my smart watch, not my phone. If I didn’t have consistent issues I would rate these a 5, but the connectivity issue kept breaking my stride when going on a 30 minute run.

I'm sort of picky about earbuds. The sort that squeeze into your ear canal never fit properly for me, despite trying every size tip. The other sort that just slide over your ear canal and hang out a little bit also never stay in place and, especially the wireless ones, pop out and get lost. Shokz, well known for their bone induction headsets, have offered up an alternative solution. The OpenFit earphones wrap around the outside of your ear, and instead of going into or over your ear canal, they get inserted just above the canal and have tiny speakers that direct the sound into your ear from there. This has the benefit of allowing you to still hear environmental sounds while also being immersed in the audio that you are playing. This is the complete opposite of the ... MoreI'm sort of picky about earbuds. The sort that squeeze into your ear canal never fit properly for me, despite trying every size tip. The other sort that just slide over your ear canal and hang out a little bit also never stay in place and, especially the wireless ones, pop out and get lost. Shokz, well known for their bone induction headsets, have offered up an alternative solution. The OpenFit earphones wrap around the outside of your ear, and instead of going into or over your ear canal, they get inserted just above the canal and have tiny speakers that direct the sound into your ear from there. This has the benefit of allowing you to still hear environmental sounds while also being immersed in the audio that you are playing. This is the complete opposite of the ANC that many others tout, since instead of cancelling the outside noise and being in your own bubble, you are still very much aware of your surroundings.Listening to music with the OpenFit earbuds is quite enjoyable. The treble is clean and clear, with well defined mids, and decent bass depending on what you are listening to. I threw on some old wubby EDM tracks just to see how they would react, and with the subs going all over in the track itself, the bass response couldn't keep up and sort of had a warbled doppler effect. Throwing on Havergal Brian's Symphony No1 in D minor, I forgot that I was wearing headphones and listening to music while I was washing dishes, and I was wondering why everything felt so epic.Since these wrap around the auricle of the ear, at first I was worried about how they would be with glasses, so I made sure to try them both with my contacts and my glasses, as well as a pair of sunglasses. I was surprised to find that they were just as comfortable to use both bespectacled and without. This is a welcome change from the usual set of cans that I prefer, which always squeeze my glasses uncomfortably, causing them to readjust with every little movement. They also don't mess up my hair like wearing a pair of cans all day will.Being able to listen to environmental sounds while still enjoying a podcast or soaking in a new album is huge as a parent. There's times where I want to listen to something while doing a mind numbing chore, but end up doing it in silence because I have to listen out for my daughter in the other room. With these on, I can fold laundry, do dishes, and cook dinner while still being attentive, and even participate in family conversations, all while jamming to my "get things done" playlist.Multipoint pairing is also sort of a thing, but only through the app. The earbuds will connect to two different devices and the app allows switching between the devices. The earbuds will not auto-connect to whatever the proper device is.My only gripe is the touch controls and lack of sensors that can tell if they are being worn and automatically stop playback that I'm used to with other wireless earbuds. By default, the only things that you can do with the touch controls are changing the track and pausing, as well as answering/rejecting calls. Volume control is not possible through touch controls. And taking out the earbuds will not pause the music automatically. Not really a dealbreaker, but would have been nice to have.