Shokz OpenRun Pro review: The best bone conduction headphones for running

Our Verdict

The Shokz OpenRun Pro are the best bone conduction headphones for working out thanks to competitive sound, a barely-there experience and 10 hours of battery life.

For

• Comfy and lightweight
• Good sound for bone conduction
• Improved phone call quality
• Corking battery life

Tom'south Guide Verdict

The Shokz OpenRun Pro are the best os conduction headphones for working out thanks to competitive sound, a barely-there experience and 10 hours of bombardment life.

Pros

• +

  Comfortable and lightweight

• +

  Good sound for bone conduction

• +

  Improved call quality

• +

  Groovy bombardment life

• +

Shokz OpenRun Pro specs

Price: $179
Colors: Black
Bombardment life (rated): 10 hours
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.ane
Processor: Qualcomm QCC3024
Durability: IP55 Sweat-Resistant
Weight: 1.0 ounces

I didn't believe in os-conduction headphones until I replaced my AirPods Pro with AfterShokz Aeropex for running. The secure fit and open-air listening experience complemented my workout needs, even if the audio quality paled compared to the all-time sport headphones worn inside or over your ears.

Enter the $179 Shokz OpenRun Pro, a footstep upwards from AfterShokz Aeropex (which have been rebranded to OpenRun) and the first launch since the visitor'southward rebrand. The Pro version promises stronger bass, improved microphone quality, larger buttons and longer battery life.

So should you lot get these bone conduction headphones instead of any of the best wireless earbuds or best wireless headphones? Read this Shokz OpenRun Pro review to notice out.

Shokz OpenRun Pro review: Price and availability

The Shokz OpenRun Pro cost $179, which is $50 more than the Shokz OpenRun, but withal competitive with the best headphones. The OpenRun Pro cost the same as the Apple AirPods 3, for example.

(Epitome credit: Future)

You lot can preorder Shokz OpenRun Pro now, though release timing hasn't been confirmed. The OpenRun Pro headphones only come in black at launch, with more colors coming later this yr.

Shokz OpenRun Pro review: Design and comfort

The design of Shokz OpenRun Pro is very similar to the standard OpenRuns. If my OpenRun headset wasn't blue, I'd take a difficult fourth dimension distinguishing the two at a glance. Though the OpenRun Pro dons the new "Shokz" logo, dropping the "After."

(Image credit: Future)

A pair of vibration drivers are built into the ends of over-ear hooks that connect to each other via a thin yoke. The band is designed to snake behind your caput, almost reaching your neck. For me, that means wearing Shokz OpenRun Pro under my pilus or below a ponytail. The yoke doesn't offer any flexibility, and then I couldn't adjust the size to fit my head snug equally I'd like, but I'd trade that off for barely-there feel whatsoever day. The OpenRun Pro weighs merely nigh an ounce. Sometimes I'd forget I was even so wearing them long after I finished a workout.

(Epitome credit: Hereafter)

No affair how much I moved, I couldn't milkshake the OpenRun Pro off. The reason I ditched AirPods Pro for running is because the noise-cancelling buds kept falling out of my ears at the runway. Equally was my feel with the regular OpenRun headphones, the OpenRun Pro didn't budge during my runs.

Since Shokz OpenRun Pro is rated IP55 sweat-proof, the headphones are prophylactic for well-nigh kinds of workouts, even if you become caught in a little rain. The rating doesn't cover swimming, merely Shokz OpenSwim (formerly AfterShokz Xtrainerz) offer a fully-waterproof alternative.

Shokz OpenRun Pro review: Controls and phonation assistants

The Shokz OpenRun Pro uses the same physical buttons for controls as the standard OpenRun. A unmarried multifunction push button sits on the left driver housing facing out, while the volume rocker (which integrates the power button) is on the underside of the rectangular department behind the correct ear hook. The OpenRun Pro's rocker is most twice equally large equally the Open Run's rocker, solving my biggest complaint apropos the OpenRun's usability.

(Prototype credit: Future)

As for the MF button controls, a single tap means suspension or play while a double tap skips to the next track. Property down the MF push button summons a vox banana — either Google Assistant or Siri, depending on your paired smartphone — for queries or additional controls. I had no trouble waking Siri to respond to a text during my workout. Some more than full-featured headphones tin warning you to notifications via your vocalization assistant, merely I don't intendance for that, especially while I'g in the heart of listening to my running playlist'southward power jams.

(Epitome credit: Future)

Shokz OpenRun Pro review: Sound quality

Wireless bone-conduction headphones don't audio as strong as nigh wireless headphones. Compared to even the best cheap earbuds, there's a certain degree of definition lost when music isn't fed direct into your ears. Just the Shokz OpenRun Pro come up the closest of any bone conduction headphones I've tested (including the Bose Frames) to delivering extensive audio.

Shokz OpenRun Pro excelled with electronic synth riffs, maintaining precision and composure throughout Van Halen's "Jump." Rihanna's "We Establish Dear" sounded sexy, yet still punchy. Vocals aren't as pronounced every bit I usually like, though the witty verses of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis'southward "Tin't Hold U.s." held their own against the soaring piano line.

(Image credit: Future)

Now permit's talk nigh bass. Shokz says the OpenRun Pro gained two bass enhancers compared to the regular OpenRun headphones, so I expected a amend thump. The improvement is actually quite subtle. I only noticed deeper levels in true bass-heavy tracks similar Frank Ocean'due south "Pyramids," though the OpenRun Pro can't match the song's complexities carried through over-ear headphones.

Even so I'grand hesitant to truly compare bone conduction headphones to over-ear or in-ear headphones. The use-cases are different, with bone conduction catering specifically to those who want to be able to hear what'south happening around them. While the best noise cancelling earbuds cake noise, os conduction lets information technology all in. I don't want that in the gym, simply when I'grand outside running, existence able to hear people and vehicles is crucial to safety. Even during a domestic dog walk, being a female person in a busy city forces me to pay attention to my surroundings at all times.

Shokz OpenRun Pro review: Telephone call quality

The basic OpenRun Pro headphones struggled with call quality, creating a noticeable echo and picking upwards on far too many ambient noises. Shokz answered by calculation a dual racket-cancelling microphone to OpenRun Pro.

I ran several call tests (some unintentionally, forgetting I had the OpenRun Pro on) and each time the receiver could tell I wasn't speaking through my smartphone'south microphone. While some detected a faint echo, or the vox of a loud passerby picked upwards during a walk, the general consensus gave the OpenRun Pro a thumbs-up on call quality.

Shokz OpenRun Pro review: Battery life

Another notable upgrade the OpenRun Pro has over the OpenRun is battery life. The OpenRun Pro is rated for x hours rather than 8 hours, offering more listening time between charges. Better yet, the battery can terminal up to x days when the headphones are turned off. With a couple of workouts lasting nearly an hour, the OpenRun Pro I tested needed juice subsequently one week, with the built-in assistant reminding me of the battery level every time I turned the headphones on.

(Epitome credit: Future)

I wish the headphones would automatically turn off when I wasn't listening to music for an extended period of fourth dimension because, over again, I forgot I was wearing the OpenRun Pro often. Fortunately, a 5-infinitesimal quick accuse gave me virtually 1.5 hours of listening fourth dimension in case I realized OpenRun Pro was dead when getting ready to workout. The case is protective, but it doesn't have congenital-in charging like AirPods, Powerbeats or Galaxy Buds cases.

Shokz OpenRun Pro review: Verdict

Different styles of headphones serve different purposes, and the Shokz OpenRun Pro's purpose is important enough to earn the headphones a spot in my rotation of audio hardware. While I like the regular OpenRun model for outdoor runs, the OpenRun Pro's improvements to telephone call quality and bombardment life make it a stronger champion for bone conduction technology.

Whether for ear health or spatial awareness, os conduction is becoming a capable alternative to headphones that blast sound direct into your ears. In situations where it's important to hear what's happening effectually me, it's bone conduction or bust. Or no headphones at all I approximate, but what fun is that?

Kate Kozuch is a senior writer at Tom's Guide covering wearables, TVs and everything smart-home related. When she'due south not in cyborg fashion, you can find her on an exercise wheel or channeling her inner glory chef. She and her robot ground forces will rule the world i twenty-four hour period, merely until and then, reach her at kate.kozuch@futurenet.com.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/shokz-openrun-pro

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