Shokz OpenFit review

Shokz is known for its specialty in the bone conduction headsets market, and the OpenFit represents its first foray into true wireless products. Still, Shokz does not waver from the principles of maintaining situational awareness because the OpenFit maintains an unoccluded ear canal, so you’ll hear what’s happening around you. So, how does the Shokz OpenFit fare?

Editor’s note: this article was updated on April 24, 2024, to add new charts, adjust some formatting, and answer an additional FAQ.

What’s it like to use Shokz OpenFit?

Designed for outdoorsy folks, the Shokz OpenFit are IP54 rated against dust and sweat, with flexible hooks that bend over the tops of your ears. Your color options consist of either black or beige. Getting the fit right can feel alien if you’re used to conventional in-ear earbuds. These buds gently angle over the tragus and rest in the concha. The first time, you might want to use a mirror or your front-facing phone camera because it’s an unusual sensation until suddenly it’s right. Once I hit the two-hour mark, the light pressure on my tragus starts to feel a bit uncomfortable, but it’s better than the Bose Sports Open Earbuds. If cutting the cord to earphones with the introduction of Bluetooth was the first step in freedom, keeping your ears unoccluded feels like the next one.

That said, there’s a set of ideal applications for the OpenFit; for example, if you’re a cyclist, the Shokz OpenFit are great candidates because you can wear them without your helmet getting in the way. You can also hear your surroundings perfectly without the artificial sound of transparency mode on conventional earbuds. If you enjoy late-night walks like me, the OpenFit offers an added layer of safety while piping your music into your ears. Of course, it’s also true that when you invite the world in with OpenFit, you can’t uninvite it, so anybody who uses noise canceling to focus won’t get that here.

The Shokz OpenFit comes in a larger-than-average true wireless earbuds case, but it’s still pocketable. Inside the clamshell case, it’s clear Shokz made efforts to keep the case small because the flexible silicone ear hooks overlap. Still, they snap into place securely.

How do you control Shokz OpenFit?

There’s not much to the Shokz OpenFit in terms of controls. The touchpad is located on the logo on each earbud. Taps register without issue, and the OpenFit emits a soft beep to indicate that each command registers.

Because of the lack of isolation, most users might appreciate direct control of the OpenFit for riding the volume to compensate for environmental noise. You can alter the press and hold function to the volume control in the Shokz app, which might be worth it.

How does the Shokz OpenFit connect?

The Shokz OpenFit uses Bluetooth version 5.2 with the basic suite of AAC and SBC codecs. Fortunately, the connection occurs quickly and easily and remains stable. It’s precisely what you’d want out of workout earbuds without fuss.

Should you use the OpenFit + Shokz app?

If you want to keep your OpenFit running the latest software and access EQ, it’s worth it to download the OpenFit + Shokz app. Shokz won’t force you to use it, and it’ll collect data if you do, so it’s nice that OpenFit works without the app, too.

You can choose from Bass Boost, Treble Boost, Vocal, Standard, or create your own EQ in the app. The custom equalizer utilizes a five-band EQ targeting 64Hz, 100Hz, 1kHz, 4kHz, and 8kHz. You can appreciate how direct and transparent the EQ information is without hiding behind buzzwords to describe the frequency controls. The app is simple and neatly laid out, with limited control over customizing touch commands.

How long does the Shokz OpenFit battery last?

According to our standardized battery test, the Shokz OpenFit lasts 7 hours and 13 minutes on a single charge, which is pretty spot on Shokz’s rating of 7 hours. The case stores an additional 21 hours of battery life.

You don’t get wireless charging, just USB-C charging with the included USB-A to USB-C cable. On the charging case, there are two indicator lights: one displays battery status (red for low, orange for medium, green for high), and a second light when open that’ll blink when pairing or go steady green to indicate pairing.

How well does the Shokz OpenFit block out noise?

By its nature, the Shokz OpenFit does not block noise. That’s not a flaw but a feature. By not having a seal over or in the ear canal, the outside world will reach your eardrums uninterrupted. Many will prefer the natural sound of the environment over a transparency mode, which can add amplified internal noise or suffer from gusts of wind outside.

However, hearing everything all the time negatively affects your sound quality, and you will be tempted to increase volume to compensate. It’s one of the main reasons we don’t recommend using open-backed headphones outside of quiet, private rooms. That’s the real downside of the OpenFit; even if you know that already, remember to monitor your volume. This means that most people won’t use these as their sole set of headphones, and you might want a second pair with active noise canceling (ANC) or very good isolation.

How does the Shokz OpenFit sound?

The first thing to note about the Shokz OpenFit is that how they sound relies significantly on where you’re listening, owing to the unsealed fit, letting the environment compete with your music. If you’re listening in an utterly silent room, you may notice the OpenFit is a bit light on the bass and mids, but it’s not as drastic as the chart suggests. Consider that most musical fundamentals are above 40Hz when you look at the chart above. Depending on your source material, the relatively loud treble frequencies might jump out more.

Compared to our headphone preference curve, the OpenFit’s response is compromised, with a somewhat trebly sound, but you’ll still hear the kick drum and bass parts. Efforts have clearly been made to balance the utility of the unsealed fit with the engineering challenges of delivering bass because these sound decent.

Lows, mids, highs

Listening to Rinsed by Dean Blunt and TYSON, the OpenFit plays back the bass quietly, but it’s there. The low-end deficiency becomes most apparent when TYSON, whose voice is much higher than Dean Blunt’s, comes in loudly, necessitating a reduction in overall volume. Otherwise, the looping guitar parts come through at a good level relative to the vocals in the sparse track.

Bringing in some drums with a dance remix of Wot by Captain Sensible (feat. Franky Fontaine) yields surprisingly more bass output than expected. What stands out is that the treble in the percussion and backing vocals comes through sounding somewhat harsh, likely due to the exaggerations in the treble and comparatively quiet mids and lows. The disco-style guitar plays at a good volume as well. What stands out most is that there’s too much treble overall, which is fatiguing, prompting one to explore the equalizer in the app.

Can you use the Shokz OpenFit for phone calls?

One of the most impressive features of the Shokz OpenFit is the surprisingly good microphone performance. Under ideal circumstances, the mics relay your voice, regardless of pitch, sounding quite true to life. You’ll pick up some noise in an office, such as typing, but OpenFit largely filters it out without compromising your speech. The OpenFit mics perform better when you use them in a noisy street than in an office, filtering out noise well. There’s some compromise in quality when combating wind, but it’s still a better-than-average result.

Shokz OpenFit microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Shokz OpenFit microphone demo (Office conditions):

Shokz OpenFit microphone demo (Street conditions):

Shokz OpenFit microphone demo (Windy conditions):

Should you buy the Shokz OpenFit?

The Shokz OpenFit are somewhat niche in that, unlike most wireless earbuds, you don’t want to use them for all purposes; the world is too noisy. However, if you’re active outdoors or prefer to stay in touch with your environment, they’re pretty good, with a decent bass response for the unsealed fit and an app to adjust the sound.

For the most part, the OpenFit does the job well, besides some mild discomfort from the bud resting on the tragus over a prolonged session. Additionally, plenty of other active earbuds offer greater waterproofing than IP54 (which is still welcome) but don’t safeguard wearers from rain.

Nevertheless, what’s good about Shokz OpenFit is that they simply work. They connect quickly, and commands register without hindrance. The battery life is decent, and the mics are good, too. Their design doesn’t feel like you need to baby them, which can’t be said for most wireless earbuds.

What should you get instead of the Shokz OpenFit?

Open-seal earbuds are not usually our favorite at SoundGuys because they compromise sound quality and offer limited utility. However, we recognize they have their place on the ears of athletes.

If you have an iPhone, the Apple AirPods (3rd generation) offers an unsealed fit and oodles of iOS-exclusive features such as spatialized stereo and H1 chip functionality. You lose out on the added security of over-ear hooks and dustproofing with the IPX4 rating. However, if the AirPods work with your ear shape, you can benefit from its unsealed fit for $195 at Amazon.

Try the Sony LinkBuds WF-L900 ($178 at Amazon) if you want an unoccluded fit with some additional functionality in the app and the less noticeable appearance of over-ear hooks. These buds balance the need for stability using an in-ear loop with a discrete look. You’ll want to use the included equalizer because the default frequency response isn’t amazing. Still, the mics are relatively good for phone calls.

Lastly, you can go in the other direction and pick up over-ear hooked earbuds like the JLab Epic Air Sport ANC with a more robust IP rating meant to endure all kinds of scenarios. You can use the transparency mode when you’re out and about and switch to a standard or ANC mode when you need a break from the world. It helps that these sound better than any of the other options here and only cost $89 at Amazon.

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