Shokz OpenFit Pro Review

Introduction

When it comes to open-ear headphones, no brand has been more synonymous with them than Shokz with its bone and air conduction efforts.

This site has looked at quite a few of them, but with the market expanding and established headphone contenders such as Bose and Sony offering more models, the competition is heating up.

Of course, there’s the Apple AirPods 4 with ANC, which this OpenFit Pro lines up against with its noise reduction support. Having won our best open earbuds in 2025 with the OpenDots One, can Shokz mount a repeat win with the OpenFit Pro?

Design

• Over-ear hook
• IP55 rating
• Physical controls

The OpenFit Pro deploy an over-ear hook design, different from the OpenDots One (which are clip on). While they don’t go in the ears, the drivers sit close enough to fire sound at it, while the over-ear design keeps the earbuds tucked in.

I’ve found them comfortable to wear on runs, exercising at the gym, and walking around in general. The build quality is robust with Shokz’s Ultra-Soft Silicone 2.0 tech helping to manage comfort. I’ve found that I don’t really feel them once they’re in place, even when I’m wearing glasses.

They’re not too difficult to put on either. Some over-ear hook designs can be fiddly but the Shokz more or less slip in without much fuss or complaint. I’ve found if there’s any confusion it lies in that they’re upside down in the charging case, which makes me pause to figure out which one goes on which ear.

I have noticed a scratching noise if you’ve got long hair or are wearing a hat, and sometimes inserting the headphones and gliding my finger against the microphone can cause a sharp whistling sound.

I should mention the controls. Shokz forgoes touch controls of the OpenFit for a physical, clicky button located where the main housing connects with the ear hooks. It’s easy enough to find and you can play/pause, skip tracks, enable Noise Control and manage volume. It’s a smart decision to go for physical controls over more fiddly touch controls, and pressing the controls doesn’t upset the fit.

They come in two colours: black and a fetching white finish, and they’re rated to IP55, which protects them against sweat, some rain and dust.

The charging case they come in is a whopper, slightly bigger than the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 though slimmer which means they slip into pockets a little better. The case can get a bit scuffed and marked but the matte finish (at least on the black version), means they’re not too obvious.

Battery Life

• 50 hours in total
• Fast-charge support

Factor in the charging case and Shokz believes the OpenFit Pro can last up to 50 hours. On a single charge it’s 12, and with Noise Reduction on, Shokz says it’s around six.

I’ve found that an hour’s worth of music at 50% volume in their Open mode saw them drop to 90%, which is about 10 hours. The Shokz app records drops every 10%, so it could be a little better but still likely to be closer to 10 hours rather than 12.

There is fast-charge support with a 10-minute charge providing another four hours of playback. The headphones also support wireless charging, though I’ve found that’s never as fast as charging over USB-C. It’s likely more convenient for some, though.

Features

• Bluetooth 6.1
• Shokz app
• Dolby Atmos head-tracking

The OpenFit Pro are among the first of a new breed of headphones that support Bluetooth 6.1, though to get the most of what Bluetooth 6 brings, you’ll need a mobile device that supports it as well.

Still, I haven’t had much of an issue with the Shokz’s connection (aside from a brief stutter here and there). You get Bluetooth multipoint to connect to two devices at once. Codec support only stretches to AAC, with no aptX Adaptive, LDAC or LHDC, the latter is popular in Asia.

You do get Dolby Atmos support, and while technically every pair of headphones can do Dolby Atmos (even pairs), they key difference is that the OpenFit Pro are optimised for the format with the inclusion of head tracking where you move your head and the music you’re listening to moves with you.

The Shokz app acts as the hub for features. You can manage battery life, switch between the Open and Noise Reduction modes (and play with the strength of the latter).

You’ve got EQ options: Standard, Bass Boost, custom in the form of 10-band EQ, as well as a Private EQ that manages the amount of high frequency sound leaked from the headphones. I’m not sure how well it works in practice, the best means of not all allowing sound to be heard by other people seems to be managing the volume control instead.

You can customise the controls in the app, toggle Smart Wear detection on, and if you forget where you placed the OpenFit Pro, you can get them to play chime until they’re located. There’s also the option of Latency Optimisation, best used if having issues with video/audio synching, but this can cause stutter in areas where there’s interference.

Noise Reduction

• Effective noise reduction
• Good call quality with caveats

It’s important to remember that Noise Reduction is not Active Noise Cancellation.

This system doesn’t aim to suppress all sounds, just reduce them. You might feel its semantics and that both do the same thing, but in light of these headphones being open-eared, true ANC just isn’t possible.

So with expectations set, the Noise Reduction feature works in reducing the noise around me, though there are a few caveats.

It works best when faced with consistent sounds. Wearing them in a gym and the reduction is enough to quieten the sound of gym equipment, a TV and music to a much less noticeable level. It’s not heavy duty ANC but it does make what was loud quieter.

Worn outside, it works when there’s more noise in an open space. You can hear the effect with cars humming rather than droning past and the sound of people is less noticeable. It even handles the sound of the overhead DLR, getting rid of the more bassier sounds.

What I’ve noticed is that the strength of the Noise Reduction does go up and down. It is adaptive, but there’s a delay before the OpenFit Pro realises there’s noise and unleashes its noise reduction algorithm.

Still, it works, similarly to the AirPods 4 with ANC and it’s good enough you can walk around a busy city with a reduction in nearby noise. I wouldn’t however, suggest you wear them on the Underground – there’s only so much wizardry these headphones can perform.

Call quality is good but with caveats. Voice clarity is good – the person on the other side could hear me and there was no noise they picked up on despite the open design, so the built-in microphones work well.

But the headphones did cut out when there was lots of noise as they couldn’t hear me on the main road, but before and after the main road, it was fine. There’s also the struggle of hearing yourself in loud areas, since I’m not isolated from the outside world like I would be if I was wearing over-ears or true wireless earbuds.

Sound Quality

• Wide soundstage
• Rich bass
• Not the most energetic performance

I’ve felt that the sound quality for open-ear headphones are getting better. Not as good was their in-ear true wireless counterparts, but definitely on an upward trend.

The first I felt were really good were the Bose Open Ultra Earbuds with their crisp, clear performance. The Shokz OpenFit Pro are warmer and richer in tone, and not as detailed than the Bose, but they are good in an area where open-ears have struggled, which is bass.

Don’t expect reams of low frequency extension but there is decent depth as well as clear, warm tone. It’s a bigger bass performance than the Bose when listening to Easy Life’s Skeletons and while the bass could do with more weight and a touch more energy, for where open-ears are right now, it’ll do.

The OpenFit Pro can’t hit the same level of detail as a similarly priced true wireless – the Sony WF-1000XM6 and Status Audio Pro X are better – but the levels of fine detail are decent, the soundstage is wide plus the stereo image is good as well.

There is a limit to how deep the bass can go. On bass heavy tracks there is some vibration/tickling which happens with both stereo and immersive audio.

Compared to a Panasonic RB-F10 – a much cheaper model by the way – and the Shokz is clear step up. It’s a more confident sound, smoother and more detailed.

Highs aren’t presented with as much brightness or variation as I’d like with GoGo Penguin’s Ascent or The Last Dinner Party’s Nothing Matters, but there’s a good sense of detail with the sound and tone of the guitars, and vocals are always clear. The Bose sounds more precise but also lacks the weight the OpenFit Pro provide, sounding thinner.

Another area where the OpenFit Pro struggle a little is its sense of energy. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Y Control is not the most energetic performance, the fluid, fast pace that track warrants isn’t something the OpenFit Pro can provide.

Dolby Atmos really extends to the head-tracking, which works. I find it handles immersive audio better than the Bose.

Should you buy it?

FAQs