The Shokz OpenFit Air True Wireless are a follow-up to the Shokz OpenFit True Wireless. Like their predecessor, they don't employ a bone-conducting design; instead, you can think of them as two mini speakers that sit outside your ear canal. The idea is that hearing more ambient sounds will help you remain aware of your surroundings. The key difference between these and their predecessor is that the OpenFit Air come with multipoint Bluetooth support. So how do they fare when put through their paces?
Our Verdict
The Shokz OpenFit Air are great for sports and fitness. They're decently comfortable and have a stable fit that will stay on for all but the most intense workouts. Their open-ear design allows you to stay aware of your surroundings while exercising outdoors, and their IP54 rating ensures they can withstand splashes of rain. Still, if you plan to exercise in very noisy areas, you might find that their lack of noise isolation makes hearing your audio a little too challenging. The addition of multipoint Bluetooth is a nice touch, but their controls are only adequate, so you might find yourself wishing you had more ways to control your audio while mid-run.
Decently comfortable fit.
Great on-ear stability.
Bad noise isolation (by design).
The Shokz OpenFit Air are inadequate for travel, but they're not designed for this purpose. By design, these earbuds don't block out any of the noise around you, so if you wear them on a plane or train, you'll hear all the engine rumble and passenger chat you would if you weren't wearing any buds at all. That said, they're decently comfortable, and they come with a carrying case that will protect the buds if you toss them into a carry-on, providing the buds with three additional charges if needed.
Decently comfortable fit.
Bad noise isolation (by design).
Mediocre leakage performance (by design).
While not a traditional choice, the Shokz OpenFit Air can be a suitable option if you like to listen to music while chatting with colleagues, as the design allows you to hear both audio and your coworkers simultaneously. Their mic has a reasonable recording quality, so you can make calls in a pinch, but you'll probably want to do so in a relatively private area, as their mic isn't the best at separating your voice from any noise around you. They're comfortable enough to wear for extended periods, but their battery won't last through a whole workday without needing a recharge. They're also obviously a poor choice if you value silence or privacy, as they won't block out the sounds of chatty coworkers, and anyone nearby will hear your audio if you listen loudly.
Decent microphone noise handling.
Bad noise isolation (by design).
Mediocre leakage performance (by design).
The Shokz OpenFit Air aren't suitable for wireless gaming. You can use them with PCs via their Bluetooth connection, but their latency is too high to be suitable for gaming.
The Shokz OpenFit Air are Bluetooth-only headphones; you can't use them wired.
The Shokz OpenFit Air are disappointing for audio reproduction accuracy. That said, many of their technical shortcomings are by design, as their open fit and driver architecture struggle to reproduce bass frequencies. As a result, they have a bright sound profile. Their frequency response occasionally deviates from this in the treble range, which can cause sibilants to alternate between sounding shrill and dull. While their drivers' design results in some distortion, group delay, and phase issues in our testing, the lack of bass reproduction means these issues are imperceptible.
The Shokz OpenFit Air have terrible noise isolation, though this is by design. Their open-ear design means they offer almost no attenuation of external frequencies, no matter their pitch. That said, if you're considering picking these up, it's likely due to their ability to let in external noise.
The Shokz OpenFit Air have an okay mic performance. Your voice will be intelligible when using the microphone, although it'll sound a little thin. It does a satisfactory job of separating your voice from its background, meaning you should remain understandable if you need to take calls in a moderately busy environment, like a downtown street.
The Shokz OpenFit Air have decent frequency response consistency. You'll need to ensure they're well-positioned on your ears, but once you do, you'll be rewarded with consistent audio delivery. If you have longer hair or glasses, it's worth taking a few seconds to ensure the fit isn't being obstructed by either.
Performance Usages
Changelog
-
Updated Dec 09, 2025:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.0, which adds the following tests: Stereo Mismatch, Group Delay, Cumulative Spectral Decay, PRTF, Harmonic Distortion, and Electrical Aspects. We've added new performance usages and updated the text throughout the Sound tests.
- Updated Nov 18, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.0, which updates our sound tests and adds performance usages. You can read more about this in our changelog.
- Updated Oct 17, 2024: Review published.
- Updated Oct 08, 2024: Early access published.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Shokz OpenFit Air True Wireless come in three colors: 'Black,' 'White,' and 'Pink.' This is our model's label.
If you come across another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the comments.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Shokz OpenFit Air True Wireless are a follow-up to the Shokz OpenFit True Wireless. They share a similar ear-hook design with both their predecessor and other open-fit earbuds, like the Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless. These kinds of designs are meant to help you stay aware of your surroundings while on a run outside. Their truly wireless design also makes them a little more portable than other open-type designs like the Shokz OpenRun Pro Bone Conduction, which are attached to a neckband. That said, the OpenRun Pro Bone Conduction have a slightly higher IP rating than the OpenFit Air True Wireless, so they can withstand being immersed in water.
Check out our picks for the best headphones for running.
The Shokz OpenFit Air and the Shokz OpenFit True Wireless share a similar open-fit, ear-hook design that helps you stay aware of your environment while running outdoors. The OpenFit True are the better choice for most people as they're more comfortable, have a better mic, and have a more balanced sound profile. That said, the OpenFit Air can connect to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously.
For most people, the Shokz OpenFit Air are a better choice for running outdoors than the Shokz OpenRun Pro Bone Conduction. The OpenFit are more stable on the ear and easier to transport since they don't have a neckband. That said, some runners might find the OpenRun more comfortable. The OpenRun's continuous battery life of 14 hours is also far superior to the 6.5 hours the OpenFit offer, but the OpenFit's case provides an extra three charges, while the OpenRun's doesn't provide any. Annoyingly, the OpenRun use a proprietary cable to charge, unlike the OpenFit, which charge via the USB-C port on their case.
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are better open-fit workout earbuds than the Shokz OpenFit Air. The Bose are more comfortable and stable and their continuous battery life is three hours longer. That said, the Bose are much more expensive than the Shokz, and they don't support multi-device pairing.
The Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless are better open-fit earbuds than the Shokz OpenFit Air. While both pairs lack bass, the Bose's treble is more even and detailed than the Shokz's, which can be rather piercing. The Bose also have a better build quality. That said, both pairs will withstand water splashes, and only the Shokz support Bluetooth multi-device pairing.
Test Results
The Shokz OpenFit Air have a bright sound profile. Since they don't enter your ear canal at all, they're unable to produce much low- and mid-bass thump and punch. In general, the design of these headphones means you'll have a decent idea of what your audio is supposed to sound like, but it won't sound immersive or full-bodied. That might leave music nerds feeling a bit underwhelmed, but if you love to listen to podcasts while running, you'll have no trouble hearing what's being said.
You can tweak the sound of these headphones using four presets included with the companion app. Additionally, when using the microphone, the headphones' frequency response is further thinned. What little high bass these headphones produce is removed entirely, and the highest frequencies are shelved off. While that results in a boxy sound, it can actually make voices a little easier to hear, as low rumble and high-pitched noise are removed from your audio.
The Shokz OpenFit Air have decent frequency response consistency. Since they don't enter your ear, there are some small deviations in the low-bass and mid- to high-treble ranges, but in general, you'll get consistent sound with each wear. If you've longer hair or glasses, it's worth taking a few seconds to ensure the buds aren't being obstructed by either.
The bass profile target compliance is awful, but that's to be expected from earbuds that don't go into your inner ear at all. They produce almost no audible low-bass, and the mid-bass is also drastically reduced. If you need to feel the thump of a kick drum in your favorite EDM tunes, these are not the cans for you. You will hear some high bass, so you'll get enough of the warmth of basslines to get an idea of what the bass range is doing, but it will be implied more than truly felt or heard. In songs like Habit by Ought, the melodic bassline is audible enough to provide the harmonic foundation for the song, but it's not loud or present.
The Shokz OpenFit Air have excellent mid-range target compliance. The dip in the lower part of the low-mids is a continuation of the weak bass range. Above that, the mid-range is mostly flat apart from a peak across the mid- and high-mid range that pushes vocals to the front of busy mixes but can also make them sound a bit honky. In songs like Hello by Adele, her voice comes through loud and clear, and only feels overemphasized if you listen at very loud volumes.
The treble target compliance is decent, though the response is quite uneven throughout this range. Two peaks and a dip in the low treble mean vocals can be a little harsh, but inconsistently so, with only certain words standing out. Similarly, a couple of peaks and dips in the mid-treble range can render sibilants harsh or piercing, depending on their pitch.
The peaks and dips performance is mediocre, meaning the frequency response does an unremarkable job of following the bright sound profile. The bass and mid-ranges are generally flat, so instruments are rendered accurately and with detail. However, the treble range is very inconsistent. That's to be expected since these buds aren't inserted into your ear, but it does mean that the audio you listen to can be harsh one second and dull a second later, depending on the pitches of the instruments being played. You don't wear headphones like these to hear a detailed reproduction of your favorite audio, but to instead get a decent enough representation of your audio while also being able to hear your environment.
The stereo mismatch performance is great, and these headphones don't exhibit much mismatch between the L/R drivers in terms of frequency and amplitude. While the graph does indicate some phase issues in the lower-mid range, these are largely unnoticeable with regular audio content.
While these buds exhibit considerable variance in their group delay in the bass range, it's essential to note that they don't reproduce much of this range in the first place, so this has minimal impact on audio reproduction.
The harmonic distortion performance is decent. They exhibit higher distortion levels in the bass range at both regular and elevated listening levels, but this doesn't significantly impact the sound, as these headphones struggle to reproduce frequencies in this range.
These headphones aren't wired and don't need an amp to drive them.
These are the settings used to test the Shokz OpenFit Air True Wireless. Our results are only valid when used in this configuration.
The Shokz OpenFit Air True Wireless are truly wireless headphones that hook around your ears without being inserted into your ear canal. Instead, the buds act like small speakers positioned outside your inner ear, allowing you to hear ambient sounds around you alongside your audio. They're made of plastic and silicone and come in 'Black,' 'White,' and 'Pink' colorways.
These headphones are decently comfortable. They're light, and the silicone covering on the ear hooks is soft, meaning they don't cause unnecessary discomfort. Since they don't sit inside the ear canal, they won't apply pressure to your inner ear. On the other hand, if you wear glasses or have long hair, you may find it challenging to get the ear hooks to sit flush around your ears, as your hair or glasses' feet can get in the way. It's worth taking some time to seat these correctly, especially if you're about to take them on a run.
These headphones have okay controls. There's a touch-sensitive surface on the outside of the body of each bud. In general, the buttons are well thought out for using mid-stride; for example, touching and holding will increase or decrease the volume. Many touch controls are also available to you, as shown in this video. Unfortunately, you can't control all of the headphones' features via their touch surface. For example, if you want to control the volume and skip through tracks, you lose the ability to control the voice assistant via the touch surface.
When you enter a touch command, the buds will play a tone to confirm your entry. There are also chimes when you reach the minimum or maximum volume. While helpful, the volume tone feedback can become annoying when adjusting the volume by several steps.
The Shokz OpenFit Air are fantastically portable. They don't have a bulky headband, so you can easily stow them away in pockets and bags.
The Shokz OpenFit Air come with a good carrying case. It's a little larger than most cases that come with truly wireless earbuds, but it'll still slip into your pocket without too much trouble. The case itself is made from solid-feeling plastic and doesn't have any obvious weak points.
These headphones have a good build quality. The body of each earbud is made of plastic and metallic vinyl, while the ear hook is wrapped in soft silicone. There are no obvious weak links, and they're certified IP54, so they're protected from dust and water splashes.
The Shokz OpenFit Air have great stability. They don't always feel as stable as other exercise-focused earbuds, but they'll stay in place during your runs. Glasses and longer hair can make it a little harder to get a good, stable fit, as they can prevent the ear hooks from gripping snugly against your skin. If either of those categories applies to you, it's worth taking some time to seat them correctly before embarking on your workout. If your glasses get in the way, you can also consider a different clip-on design, like the Anker Soundcore C30i Truly Wireless.
- Shokz OpenFit Air True Wireless
- USB-A to USB-C charging cable (29 cm/11.4 in)
- Charging case
- Soft pouch
- User guide and warranty information
The noise isolation performance of these headphones is, unsurprisingly, terrible, but in this case, that's a good thing! They are designed to let you hear your environment, so high noise isolation would constitute something of a design flaw. While wearing these, you'll hear everything from the low rumble of a passing bus to the high-pitched whine of a nearby fan. In short, you'll be aware of your surroundings while running outdoors.
These do an awful job of isolating you from real-world sounds, but that's what they're designed to do. They sit outside your ear, so you hear noise in your environment along with your audio. Wearing these, you'll hear the low rumbles of airplane engine noise, ambient office chatter, and the sound of car horns and doors being slammed.
These buds have a mediocre leakage performance, but that's by design since they don't form a seal with your ear. Audio that does leak out is concentrated in the treble range. Even if you listen at moderate volumes, people around you will hear your audio, but it will sound thin.
The integrated microphone's recording quality is okay. It makes your voice sound a bit thin due to the dips in the mic's response through the high-bass and low-mids. That said, it captures plenty of the high-mid and low-treble where your voice's detail and articulation are, so whoever you're speaking to will understand you.
The microphone does a satisfactory job of separating your voice from any surrounding noise. While it doesn't entirely isolate your voice from environmental noise, it does enough to ensure you're understandable. That said, louder sounds like a PA announcement or a subway train will totally overpower the mic system, so these aren't a good choice for taking calls while commuting or in very noisy areas, but they'll do a decent job in a pinch.
The Shokz OpenFit Air True Wireless have decent battery performance. They're advertised to provide six hours of continuous battery, and we measured just over this at 6.5 hours. Their carrying case supplies an extra three charges for a total of roughly 28 hours of battery life. They'll fully charge in a little less than an hour, but a 10-minute charge will supply them with two hours of playback time, so you'll be able to charge them up for most runs right before you leave the house. If you'd prefer open-fit buds with a longer continuous battery life, consider the Shokz OpenRun Pro Bone Conduction, which last 14 hours. That said, the battery performance varies with use.
The Shokz app is satisfactory. It's a fairly basic companion app that allows you to view the remaining battery life in the buds and case, check for and run firmware updates, and change between four EQ presets. You can't customize these presets, though, and there's no access to proper graphic EQ. However, you can customize what the controls on each bud do and toggle multipoint Bluetooth on or off.
These headphones come with a 29 cm (11.4 in) USB-A to USB-C cable, which is exclusively used for charging. You can't use it to listen to audio.
These headphones have amazing Bluetooth connectivity. Unlike the Shokz OpenFit True Wireless, they support multi-device pairing, which can be toggled on or off via their companion app. They also support QuickPair for Android, but not iOS. They exhibit high latency when connected via the standard SBC codec, making them a less ideal choice for gaming or streaming videos. That said, some apps compensate for latency in different ways, for example, by delaying the video to coincide with the audio.
You can connect these headphones to Bluetooth-enabled PCs with full simultaneous audio and microphone functionality. However, they don't support any other connection method to your PC.