Shokz OpenFit Pro review: noise cancelling was the missing piece of the puzzle

Introduction

Shokz started as a fitness headphone specialist, but since branching out from bone conduction it’s worked hard to shake off the “second pair” stipulation. Having spent the last few weeks with the OpenFit Pro wrapped around my ears, I’m convinced the firm is closer than ever to having the only set of earbuds you need.

They evolve the open-style approach I loved so much on 2025’s OpenFit 2 by adding active noise cancellation into the mix for the first time. You’re also getting Dolby Atmos audio for your £219 (there was no US pricing at the time of writing) and some natty driver tech that preserves more bass than open earphones have any right to. Pre-orders opening up today directly from Shokz.

In theory, situational awareness when you need it – and far quieter surroundings when you don’t – justifies the £40 premium over the OpenFit 2. It’s not quite that simple for everyone, though. Let me explain…

Design & build: hooked on you

With a mix of nickel-titanium alloy and comfort-minded silicone rubber, the OpenFit Pro looks like a more sophisticated twist on the OpenFit 2. The hook design hasn’t changed all that much, so the pronounced curve wraps comfortably around your outer ear and places the buds directly over your ear canals. There’s now a tiny piece that sticks out to better direct the sound. I’ll go into detail further down about how effective it is (spoiler: very).

My black review unit coped well with daily use, not picking up any stains or sweat marks after workouts, and not getting marked by my glasses or bike helmet. IP55 resistance means they can be wiped down with a damp cloth, but swimmers will still need to head in the direction of Shokz’ OpenSwim Pro. There’s also a white version if you prefer.

They’re admittedly a few grams heavier than the OpenFit 2, but because all of that weight is distributed over your ear I could wear ’em all day without any discomfort. The ear hooks have just the right amount of flex and are rounded in all the right places, so don’t apply pointy pressure even when worn under a beanie hat during a recent cold spell.

The charging case is a little larger than before, which saves you having to overlay the buds on top of each other; they’re that little bit easier to stow away now. It’s maybe twice the width of a typical wireless earphone case, but still slim enough to slip in and out of my jeans pockets.

Features & battery: longer lasting, sometimes

They look more advanced than the mid-tier model, but Shokz has actually dialled back the OpenFit Pro’s functionality a tad by completely ditching touch controls. I’m all for it: the touch surfaces were unbound by default on the OpenFit 2, after being so fiddly and easy to trigger accidentally on the original Open Fit, so many users simply didn’t bother with them.

It’s physical buttons all the way here, with one on each earbud. They’re not the largest target but the way they’re raised up from the silicone surface meant I usually found them pretty quickly. Smart detection was spot on too, never once mistaking me adjusting the fit for being removed and accidentally pausing my music. This was missing on the OpenFit 2, so a big thumbs up for adding it here.

I couldn’t spot any noticeable improvements to voice call quality, which is decent enough for a pair of Bluetooth ‘buds. Shokz has again stuck with basic SBC codec rather than stretch to aptX or LC3 – given how much better these sound than previous efforts it might be time to offer a higher quality codec for those that want it.

Officially the OpenFit Pro has added an extra hour of battery life per refuel over the OpenFit 2, and two more to the charging case – but you’ll only get close to the claimed 12 and 50 hours respectively if you listen with ANC disabled. Turn on noise cancelling and it’s closer to six hours and 24 hours. Still a decent showing, mind.

The case is quick enough to add up to four hours of extra listening from a ten minute stay, and it has wireless charging support too.

Interface: listen up

Even with new noise cancelling abilities to find room for, Shokz hasn’t felt the need to entirely rework its companion app for this latest release. The layout is still clean and clear, with battery life on full view for both the case and each earbud. A swipe down reveals the ANC toggle – there’s no need for a transparency mode with open fit so it’s just on or off – and a slider to adjust the strength of the effect.

Further down there’s Dolby Atmos upmixing, as well as an option to turn on head tracking. It works as well as any I’ve used, pinning sound to twelve o’clock as you turn your bonce back and forth. This is a nice to have if you’re a fan, but as someone who prefers listening as the artist intended, I rarely reached for it.

More useful were the sound settings directly below, which let you pick from five presets or create multiple custom modes with a 10-band EQ. There’s a noticeable difference between bass boost and treble boost, highlighting how well the OpenFit Pro’s drivers closes the distance to your ear canal.

Elsewhere there’s a toggle for multipoint pairing, a Find My Earbuds tool (which plays a noise rather than use any sort of tracking tech) and a latency-busting mode for gaming and multimedia. You can also upgrade the device firmware here; one was pushed out during my testing and took about five minutes to complete.

Lastly you can customise the controls. Each press must be picked from a few approved functions, but with press-and-hold, double- and triple-click, and a single click + long press combo I’ve not seen on many rivals before, there’s plenty of choice.

Sound quality and noise cancelling: quiet riot

Three microphones and some algorithmic heavy lifting power the OpenFit Pro’s active noise cancelling tech. They can’t defeat physics, but as long as you aren’t expecting absolute silence, you’ll love the way they tackle background chatter. When I put them on it feels like I’m dialling the volume down on the outside world by 50%, or lining my ears with cotton wool.

With the buds on but no music playing, you still hear everything around you well enough – it’s just very muffled. Play a tune, though, and suddenly other people talking nearby aren’t nearly as distracting. You don’t have to drown out places with their own background music like gyms. With other open fit earbuds, I’d usually have to crank the volume up considerably to offset what was going on around me. Here I could listen at a much lower, more comfortable level without losing out on audible detail. I also found it surprisingly calming to wear around the supermarket while listening to a spoken word podcast.

It has limits: I could still clearly hear my mechanical keyboard clacking while at work, even at maximum ANC strength – at which point the hiss was quite noticeable. But it quietened the turbo trainer and fan I use for workouts in my garage, and there’s no other open fit earbud I’d want to wear on public transport. Air travel will be a step too far if you’re not the lightest of sleepers, though.

Importantly, Shokz has managed to pair this with an impressively nuanced sound. A new synchronised dual-diaphragm driver setup delivers a surprising amount of low-end oomph; the hollowness I’ve experienced with other open fit buds just doesn’t exist here. Teddy Killerz’ Feed Your Soul has plenty of synth squelch where it should, and KMFDM’s Hau Ruck hits suitably hard at 50% volume. True, a pair of in-ears or over-ear headphones will have it licked for bass – but the gap has never been smaller.

There’s a balanced amount of treble that doesn’t overwhelm the mid-range, while keeping vocals clean. Health’s Ordinary Loss is still suitably haunting in between the guitar thumps. The sense of space is naturally wider because the drivers aren’t wedged down your ear canals, but it doesn’t feel massively removed either. Dolby Atmos brings things much more forward in the mix, if you like that sort of thing.

Leakage is still something to think about, but because you can listen at lower volumes it’s less of an issue here than with previous models.

Shokz OpenFit Pro verdict

They’re as solid a pick for exercise as any open fit earbuds, but the OpenFit Pro shouldn’t be relegated to “just for workouts” status. As long as you’re not front row at a concert or next to a construction site you’ll be happy enough with their ability to soften – but not fully remove – outside distractions. They work brilliantly in environments where normal open-style earbuds would be drowned out, or force you to listen at high volumes, and back that up with sound quality you just don’t expect from the class. Battery life is ace as well.

Whether they can be your only pair of earbuds depend on whether you’re a frequent flyer or work in a particularly busy office. If silence is the goal no matter what you’re doing, I still think they’ll get relegated to backup status – and given the price increase, that might make them more of a niche proposition than the OpenFit 2. But if you want to regularly swap between situational awareness and a more hushed environment, these make a strong case for themselves.

Shokz OpenFit Pro technical specifications