Shokz OpenFit 2 review: The most comfortable earbuds you can buy are now even better

Shokz’s first open-ear earbuds — the Shokz OpenFit — showed me just how comfortable earbuds can be.  I was so impressed by the design and materials that I called them the most comfortable earbuds in the world.  However, as comfy as they are, the OpenFit struggle with sound quality, have a limited set of controls, launched without Bluetooth Multipoint, and they don’t support wireless charging. Any of these omissions might have been acceptable if the OpenFit had been priced around $100, but at $180 they’re among the most expensive open-ear earbuds you can buy.

Now that Shokz has released the OpenFit 2 with the same $180 price, has it addressed these concerns or is there still room for improvement?

Let’s check them out.

What’s changed?

While Shokz hasn’t granted every item that was on my wishlist, it has made a significant number of changes on the OpenFit 2:

• New shape with softer silicone
• Larger drivers with improved bass response
• Physical buttons (in addition to touch controls)
• Longer battery life per charge
• Better water resistance (IP55 versus IP54)
• Newer Bluetooth standard

Shokz OpenFit 2 specs

Design

Thankfully, Shokz has taken an if-it-ain’t-broke approach to the OpenFit 2. You get the same, silicone-wrapped, highly flexible earhooks, but they have a tighter curve compared to the OpenFit. This new shape is less about making them more secure — the first-gen were more than capable of staying put during workouts or runs — and more about keeping them correctly positioned. There was a bit of wiggle to the OpenFit’s shape, which meant you occasionally had to reposition them. The OpenFit 2 cling a little more tenaciously.

Shokz says it has used a new version of its “ultra-soft silicone” on the OpenFit 2. I can’t tell the difference; they’re every bit as comfortable as the first-gen, even when wearing glasses.

For me, the biggest improvement is the inclusion of physical buttons. I’m not a big fan of touch controls at the best of times, and I find them especially difficult to work with on open-ear earbuds, because the body of the earbud tends to move about. Being able to grip that body between my thumb and forefinger (while using my forefinger to press the button) makes life way easier.

The charging case is also largely unchanged. It still provides excellent access to the earbuds with its wide-open clamshell shape, and it remains on par with other earhook-shaped earbuds for its size and weight. One minor improvement is the addition of a dedicated Bluetooth pairing button. Shokz tells me that some of its customers were confused by the OpenFit’s pairing process: you need to press and hold on both earbuds for five seconds (while the earbuds remain in the case). The case button is perhaps more obvious, but I don’t think it makes the pairing process any faster or easier.

The one charging case improvement I had been hoping for is still missing: There’s no wireless charging.

I can’t explain it, but this seems to be an industry-wide issue. Wireless charging has become nearly universal in wireless earbuds’ cases, but it’s far from ubiquitous in the open-ear category.

Controls and connections

Once you’ve got the OpenFit 2 paired via Bluetooth, it’s a very stable connection. I never had any issue with the OpenFit’s stability, however, the use of Bluetooth 5.4 on the OpenFit 2 should theoretically improve reliability. Unfortunately, Shokz hasn’t taken advantage of one of BT 5.4’s best features: LE Audio with Auracast support. Depending on the chipset Shokz chose for these earbuds, these features could be added with a future firmware update, but the company hasn’t said it it plans to do so.

I’m thrilled that Bluetooth Multipoint is available out of the box (the OpenFit received this capability as a firmware update three months after they launched) and I really like the way it’s implemented in the Shokz app. You can see a list of all previously paired devices and manually select which two you want to be connected. Switching between these connections was quick and seamless.

I’m also very happy with the new physical buttons. As I said above, they’re easy to press, even with a thin set of gloves. With single-, double-, and triple-click gestures (plus a press-and-hold gesture) there are now more than enough options for controlling playback, call management, volume, and voice assistant access. My one critique is that the app only lets you customize some of these gestures. For instance, the double- and triple-click gestures can only be used for track-skipping. Volume can only be controlled via press-and-hold, and the single-click gestures can’t be changed at all — they’re always used for play/pause.

Sound quality

The first-gen OpenFit didn’t get very loud (a big problem for an open-ear design) and even within their limited volume spectrum, bass distortion would creep in around 75%. The bass response itself was mediocre.

The OpenFit 2 make big gains (literally) in sound quality. They’re loud enough to overcome all but the noisiest conditions (though voice-heavy content like podcasts will still be easily drowned out). In fact, they’re louder than several competitors including the Soundcore’s Aerofit 2, C40i, and AeroClip. There’s an appreciable amount of bass, though, like most open-ears, competing external sounds may reduce your ability to hear it. I wasn’t aware of any distortion, even at the loudest setting.

Overall, the sound signature is nicely balanced and when you’re in a quiet, indoor setting, there’s an impressive amount of detail. The only flaw is a tendency toward sibilance when you’re above 65% volume. It’s most noticeable when listening to s-sounds in speech or vocals, but if you’re a detailed listener, you may notice it on cymbal and snare hits too. There are some handy EQ tweaks available within the app — some of which may help to offset the sibilance effect — but I found the default setting to be the best for overall sound.

One of the best things about open-ear earbuds is that they naturally create a wider soundstage than traditional, closed-fit earbuds. The OpenFit 2 are especially capable in this regard, giving the impression that the sound source is much further away than it is.

Call quality

Calling on the OpenFit was already really good, a highlight in fact. It’s even better on the OpenFit 2.

I have been amazed at how earbuds like the AirPods Pro 2 and Sony WF-1000XM5 can make it seem like you’re talking to your callers from a quiet, residential neighborhood, even as heavy urban traffic rumbles by. The OpenFit 2 can pull off that same trick, with better precision.

That was demonstrated during one of my test recordings. A cement truck passed within ten feet of where I was standing. I could barely hear myself talking, but the OpenFit 2 reduced the truck to a whisper while barely altering my voice.

I’ve always considered open-ear earbuds to be the best design for making calls and the OpenFit 2 are hands-down the best open-ears for this activity.

Battery life

How long do you need your earbuds to last while they’re out of their charging case? I would have said the OpenFit’s 7 hours is plenty, but that was before I found myself wearing these things all day — something I’d never be able to do with regular earbuds. With the OpenFit 2’s claimed 11 hours of life between charges, all-day use is now conceivable. Just keep in mind that Shokz’s numbers are based on and industry-standard 50% volume. That’s probably loud enough for indoor use, but you’ll need more power outside.

The case itself extends the total playtime to 48 hours (20 hours more than the OpenFit) and the fast-charging feature generates about an hour of playtime for every five minutes of charging time.

Conclusion

It’s always good to see companies respond to feedback when designing a second-gen product. The OpenFit 2 address nearly every criticism I had of the OpenFit (except the lack of wireless charging) and even improve battery life to the point where you could use them all day.

With audio quality and volume levels that finally justify their $180 price, I think they’re an excellent choice for anyone who wants the benefits of an open-ear design.

Shokz says it plans to continue selling the first-gen OpenFit for the foreseeable future, but with only a $20 discount, I don’t think that’s enough reason to buy them instead of the OpenFit 2.