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The Anker Soundcore AeroFit is an “open-ear” earbud designed for outdoor cardio enthusiasts. Instead of placing the driver in your ear like a traditional set of earbuds, the AeroFit’s design has the driver sit outside your ear, allowing you to hear the outside world clearly. Exercising in busy and public places with headphones or earbuds that block out a significant amount of your surroundings can prevent you from hearing things like an approaching cyclist or vehicle, so the open-ear style is best suited if you want to remain aware of your surroundings while listening to music. Unfortunately, this design has limitations regarding the quality of sound produced, but at SoundGuys, we acknowledge the need for this earbud style and its popularity among athletes. Read on to discover if the sonic trade-offs are worth it.
Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.
Considering the AeroFit’s open-ear design, secure over-the-ear fit, and IPX7 protection rating, these earbuds are best suited for outdoor fitness enthusiasts.
What’s it like to use Soundcore AeroFit?
The Soundcore AeroFit earbuds are stored in a protective charging case. While these earbuds feature an IPX7 protection rating, the charging case unfortunately does not.
Opening the case automatically activates the earbuds; three small white lights indicate its battery level. Considering the earbuds’ hook-shaped design, I find it best to put them on with a rotating motion around the back of my ear. Remember, these are designed to sit outside your ears, not in your ears, so it may feel a little different if this is your first pair of open ears.
Placing the earbuds back in the charging case and closing the lid automatically disconnects them from your device.
How do you control the Soundcore AeroFit?
You control the AeroFit earbuds via touch control operation. Both earbuds feature a touch control surface, and you must customize your actions and commands via the Soundcore app. Below is an example of how I set up our review model.
| Action | Left earbud | Right earbud |
|---|---|---|
| Action Touch once | Left earbud Volume - | Right earbud Volume + |
| Action Touch twice | Left earbud Next track (default) / Answer or end call | Right earbud Play / pause (default) / Answer or end call |
| Action Long press | Left earbud Previous track / reject a call | Right earbud Voice assistant / reject a call |
Should you use the Soundcore app for the Soundcore AeroFit?
We recommend downloading the Soundcore app to get the most out of the AeroFit. It provides battery life info for the charging case and earbuds, access to the EQ section, customization of your touch controls, and firmware updates.
How do the Soundcore AeroFit connect?
Pairing the Soundcore AeroFit Pro over Bluetooth is as straightforward as follows:
-
- Open the charging case; this will turn on the earbuds.
- Open the Bluetooth menu on your device and scan for new devices.
- Select the AeroFit.
- Download the Soundcore app for further sound control and the ability to customize your touch controls.
How long does the Soundcore AeroFit battery last?
In our standard test, designed to emulate real-world use, the Soundcore AeroFit lasted 14 hours and 37 minutes, well over the advertised 11 hours. Anker also states you can recharge the earbuds roughly 2.8 times with a fully charged case.
The earbuds support fast charging; 10 minutes will get you approximately four additional hours of playback. The charging case, however, does not support fast charging.
How well do the Soundcore AeroFit block out noise?
The goal of the open-ear design is to allow the sounds of the outside world to pass so the AeroFit does not block out any noise. Outside noise can reach your eardrums uninterrupted, maintaining your awareness levels by not having a seal over or in the ear canal.
You may be tempted to turn up your volume to compensate when your surroundings get noisy, or you’re feeling those workout beats, but as you may already know, this always comes with the risk of noise-induced hearing loss. It’s essential to watch your volume levels with the open-ear design.
How do the Soundcore AeroFit sound?
Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)
The chart below shows how the sound of the Soundcore AeroFit was assessed by the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Score algorithm from HEAD acoustics.
Timbre (MOS-T) represents the headphones’ spectral properties (how faithfully they reproduce the frequency spectrum) and temporal resolution (timing).
Distortion (MOS-D) represents non-linearities and added noise: higher scores mean cleaner reproduction.
Immersiveness (MOS-I) represents perceived source width and positioning: how well virtual sound sources are defined in three-dimensional space.
See here for a detailed explanation of what MDAQS is, how it works, and how it was developed.
Reviewer’s notes
How the Soundcore AeroFit sound relies significantly on where you are listening and what is happening around you. The open-ear, unsealed fit allows your surrounding environment to compete with your music, so you need to have reasonable expectations. In either case, listening in a quiet room at home will give you a completely different experience than listening while jogging through busy streets. You won’t get any bone-rattling low-end from the AeroFit.
Listening to People of the Sun by Rage Against The Machine while strolling through my city’s downtown core, I quickly discover the stock “Soundcore Signature” is the most usable of the available EQ settings. As expected, the mid-range frequencies of Tom Morello’s scratchy, coarse guitar tones dominate the mix. The rhythm section and vocals are present, but with a lack of bass and treble frequencies, there isn’t much to get excited about. The same applies to electronic tracks like Blue Monday by New Order. You get a good amount of the lead synth cutting through the center. Still, the steady pulse of the kick remains distant, and any production details like reverberation effected treble frequencies sound dark and muffled. It’s important to recognize these sonic trade-offs when considering open-fit headphones.
At best, much like the AeroFit Pro, I found the AeroFit earbuds to sound okay, but they could benefit from more powerful and cohesive EQ options. Listening at a reasonable volume outside, I could still hear the conversations of people passing, approaching vehicles, and nearby cyclists, so in that regard, the design does accomplish its intended aims.
Objective measurements
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Compared to our headphone preference curve, the AeroFit’s frequency response is severely compromised in all but a narrow section of the midrange. This is the reality of the open-ear design. You need to have reasonable expectations if you’re new to this style of earbuds; they’re designed with a single purpose in mind. This means that most people won’t get them as their only set of headphones; you’ll probably need a second pair with active noise canceling (ANC) for commuting and traveling.
Can you use the Soundcore AeroFit for phone calls?
You can use the Soundcore AeroFit to take phone calls. You’ll get a decent performance in ideal conditions, but they struggle in our outdoor simulations, which is disappointing considering their primary intended use case. Take a listen to our standardized microphone demos below:
Microphone Frequency Response
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Soundcore AeroFit microphone demo (Ideal conditions):
How does the microphone sound to you?
Soundcore AeroFit microphone demo (Office conditions):
Soundcore AeroFit microphone demo (Street conditions):
Soundcore AeroFit microphone demo (Windy conditions):
Soundcore AeroFit microphone demo (Reverberant space):
Should you buy the Soundcore AeroFit?
If you’re an outdoor cardio enthusiast who prioritizes safety and awareness, the Soundcore AeroFit is for you. The long battery life, snug over-the-ear fit, charging case, and IPX7 protection rating are all great features, and the open-ear design allows you to hear approaching cyclists, people, and vehicles. If you want a complete and immersive listening experience for your workouts, you’ll want to stick with some traditional earbuds.
What should you get instead of the Soundcore AeroFit?
The Shokz OpenFit $179 at Amazon are another option for open-ear true wireless earbuds. They offer most of the same benefits and features, like a companion app with EQ options and a charging case, and even boast an IPX54 protection rating, but they simply don’t compare when it comes to battery life. The Shokz OpenFit only offer 7 hours of playback time, compared to the 14 hours from the AeroFit.
The Sony LinkBuds WF-L900, $178 at Amazon, are also worth a look. The donut-shaped earbuds were very comfortable and relatively secure with the right ear fin. Though the sound is compromised in much the same ways as the Anker Soundcore AeroFit, they sound okay in the right environment.
You may also want to look into bone-conduction headphones. The Shokz OpenRun ($129 at Amazon) is currently the best set of bone-conduction headphones for most people, and they’re a rebrand of the popular AfterShokz Aeropex. You get Bluetooth 5.1, 8th-gen bone conduction technology, and fast charging, but unfortunately, you have to deal with the company’s proprietary two-pin charging connector.
It’s also worth pointing out that active noise canceling (ANC) earbuds are increasingly featuring a transparency mode that will allow you to maintain an awareness of your surroundings, even with a sealed fit that doesn’t compromise audio quality in the same way as open fit headphones like these.
Frequently asked questions
With an IPX7 protection rating, the AeroFit are water-resistant and sweat-proof.
Yes, using the Soundcore app, you can connect up to two devices.
Yes, the AeroFit have a microphone for taking calls.
Yes, the AeroFit are good for running or working out outdoors.
The AeroFit charge while stored in the charging case, but the case itself charges via USB-C.