SHOKZ OpenFit Air - Open-Ear Headphones, True Wireless Earbuds, Water Resistant, Secure Earhooks for Daily Use, Black

After some research online about earbuds that are outside of the ears, I purchased these and have been using them for a few weeks. I am very happy with their fit and ease of use. I had no issue connecting to my Android phone or other devices. It pairs with everything. The charge lasts longer than I expected and is quick to charge with a standard charging cable. The case is sturdy, but I did purchase a protective cover to install over it. They do exactly what they say - you can listen and still hear! Highly recommend them for their design, function, and value.

Way back in 2017, I purchased a pair of the OG Aeropex headphones before they rebranded their company and brand lines. I think today's equivalent would be the Shokz Open Run.Anyway, I absolutely loved those headphones; they were my daily driver for everything from chores and yard work to biking and even driving as my vehicles does not have BT. The battery was still lasting more than 5 hours per charge, the sound hadnt changed... just wonderful. Then why did I 1) decide to try the open air and 2) why did i need new headphones?Turns out, as good as the Aeropex are, they're no match for a 6 month old puppy (see images). RIP Aeropex.I've had these OpenFit Air's for about 12 hours now. I've used them in three different common for me situations: driving, a work call, and working in the yard.Sound quality- Better than the Aeropex. The sound quality is higher, but you dont give up any of the awareness that i loved so much with the bone induction tech.- Volume was a little mixed. One of the podcasts I was listening too was a little too low, but music/calls were fine. I think it was more their mixing than the headphones- As they are not intended to be the highest fidelity / best sound reproduction buds, I dont review them as such. They wont win anything there. That said, they're more than fine for you if you're going in with the understanding that these are for being active, for hearing the world around you AND what is playing in your ear. IF you have those expectations, they're great.Fit / Comfort- For my ear, they fit perfectly. Not loose, not snug - they dont feel like they're going to fall out at all.- They're much lighter weight and easier on my ear. I've already forgotten they're on twice. If these had a battery that lasted 12 hours, I could easily have them on my ear all day and not feel a difference. That should tell you something. For comparison, I thought the Aeropex were decent and I could wear them for 2-3 hours without fatigueControls- I'll admit, I havent yet RTFM, so this is me attempting to intuitively figure it out.- Pairing was super easy, didnt even need to long press/wacky tap or anything to enter pairing mode, it just did it out of the box.- They turn on and connect automatically, like my airpods do, nice. (I sometimes had to twiddle the Aeropex)- I have yet to figure out how to turn the volume up/down- Double tapping on the left bud seems to play/pause whatever you're listening to- There's something you can do with a long press, it makes the bud beep, but it's not intuitive- After I RTFM I'll likely understand more, but they're not the most intuitive (both the Aeorpex and Apple Air Pods are better in this reguard)Overall... I love them. I truly hope they last as long or longer than my last pair of Shokz headphones. Will update if things change!

Quick summary:ProsComfortable for me, including when wearing glasses.Soundstage is good for an open ear headphoneCustomer service seems responsive.Long battery life.Simple controls.ConsNo way to turn these off manuallyOnly four touch functionsDoesn't seem to like FiresticksLong (TL:DR) reviewWhether it's clothes or shoes or glasses or ear/headphones, a review of anything that fits on your body is subjective. And with ears being particularly different from one individual to another, any review of a product like this is especially subjective.The same goes for sound quality in this case. A sound device that doesn't fit the same from one person to another won't be perceived the same, either. With all of that said, below is my take on the Shokz OpenFit AirsI've been using a pair of Plantronics (PLT) Backbeat 3150 open ear headphones since 2020. They've been great, but wearing/charging them daily, they are no longer holding a charge long enough for a full 2-hour run. I'd buy another pair, but they've been discontinued since 2021.I've tried my wife's Apple Airpods. Frankly, I hate them and they are even more overpriced than Bose (IMO). Not doubting quality of the product, but found them extraordinarily uncomfortable and the isolation while running was not what I'd want. I also never cared for the "I've got a plastic straw hanging out of my ears" look. But, THAT is totally subjective. :-)Excluding the Apples, the Shokz were the fourth headphones I tried. The first three were Anker Soundcore Aero Fit, Tozo Open Buds, and Baseus Eli Sport 1. Those three were all cheaper than the Shokz, but I don't think that the price was necessarily a reflection on quality.The three considerations, if you exclude price, were:Fit (Ankers would not fit my ears)Sound quality (Tozos had muddy base)Sweat/water resistance. (DId not have confidence the Baseus would hold up to sweat).The Shokz were the only ones that ticked all three boxes adequately.FitIf you wear glasses, the slim flexible over-ear piece of the Shokz is nearly ideal (maybe Bose Ultra Opens better). Not saying the Shokz will fit every ear, but if the four I tried were any indication, then these have the best chance of working for you.SoundSound was good, with adequate bass and rich immersive soundstage (Ankers sounded the best, followed by the Shokz and Baseus). Again, sound quality for open ear headphones is more down to how they fit by your ear canal than the actual quality produced. I do wish the Shokz were just a little louder, but given that the idea of an open ear headphone is to be able to hear your surroundings, then they are just fine. I have not used these for phone calls, so, sorry, nothing to tell you there.Sweat/Water resistance (fit and second rating digit are both key):I sweat...a lot. And while I didn't keep the Ankers (IPX7) or Tozos (IP67), I think they both would have been fine. The Baseus I wasn't so sure of. They seem to accumulate sweat more than the others and are only rated IPX4. Technically, the Shokz, at IP54, have the same "4" rating for water and sweat resistance, but they don't seem to hold the sweat like the Baseus did.Battery life (case and phones).Using and putting these back in the case to charge, they seem to last forever. I haven't measured actual time, but I've gone two weeks of 1-2 hour runs (8 total runs) without having to charge the case.Customer serviceI wrote customer service because of a problem (noted below) and they were helpful and responsive.Negatives/compromises:Power and chargingYou turn these off by putting them back in the charge case and closing it. And, as far as I know, that this the only way to manually accomplish this. The other way is to disconnect them from your Bluetooth device and then they will supposedly go to sleep after a few minutes. I simply wish there was a way to turn them off on the headphones themselves. First, if I'm out for a run, I'm not taking my case with me. If I want to stop at the end of a run and turn them off, then I have to manually disconnect from my watch or phone and then hope they turn off. Second, keeping any rechargable device always fully charged is bad for battery health.ControlsThe music controls work well; better (simpler) than the others I tried. But, you have exactly four control choices (defaults in parentheses):1. Touch and hold left (volume down)2. Touch and hold right (volume up)3. Double tap left (Play/Pause)4. Double tap right (Skip to next track)You can change these defaults, but I, personally, need a fifth control if I want to repeat/restart a track. The four options are the four I'd pick if left with only four, but I do wish there were more possibilities. And if you add my power off concern above, a sixth control would be nice.FiresticksOk, this is an odd one and that's why it's last among my concerns. With summer temps pushing 100 degrees (38C) where I live, I do run on a treadmill some of the time. I have a small TV with a Firestick behind my treadmill and have never had any issues with headphones, including the old PLTs or the other three headphones I tried before picking the Shokz. But with these Shokz, the sound seems to go "wonky" from time to time. Basically, it will momentarily switch from stereo to mono and then back again about once every minute or two. It's annoying. I wrote Shokz and they suggested resetting the headphones, which I did four times, but this did not fix the issue. No issues with any other devices (watch, phone, tablet, other televisions), but just the Firestick. And before you think range, the Firestick is less than three feet from the headphones. Also, I have tried with other Firesticks and the only one that seems to not have this issue is the latest 4k Max version.Final conclusions:Open ear headphones are, as a type, the most subjective of all of the different headphones/ear buds simply because of ear anatomy/size. If you're considering any open ear/on ear phones, then do what I did and try a few. And ignore reviews that rail on sound quality because your perception is tied to how well these fit around your ear canal. I said that the Ankers sounded best of the four I tried, but that was only if I manually held them against the ear opening. If I just let them "hang" on my ear, they were the worst "sounding" by far.I didn't mention the Shokz app, but it does work just fine. The Tozo app was maddening and the Baseus wanted to always monitor location. Anker's app was fine, too.So, what you've read above is admittedly subjective. You may hate these as much as I like them. Do your homework and then don't be afraid to order a few different models to try them out.

Comfortable and lightweight!! Battery lasts a super long time!! Have not tried to figure out the volume control or how to take a call, but mainly use these to listen to my audiobooks. Pull them off when I want to stop. I can get them to pair with either my phone or my computer. The quality of sound is great!! Its clear, crisp, and has a great tone!! Music sounds wonderful as well!! Why spend so much money on high end earbuds when you can get such awesome quality for a fraction of the cost???? The color is so pretty too! Highly recommend!!