Shokz Gets So Many Things Right on Its New Running Headphones

Headquartered successful Shenzhen, China, Shokz has garnered rather a estimation among runners successful the US. A runner person and her NYC marathon buddies each curse by these headsets. The OpenRun Pro headphones launched 2 years agone were a deed already, but Shokz upgraded them and released the OpenRun Pro 2. The flagship moving headphones are present disposable connected the site for $180.

Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

The Shokz Sports Series has a just magnitude of bone-conduction headphones that person dilatory go the company’s identity. Designed to beryllium worn erstwhile you’re training, moving a marathon, hiking, biking, oregon adjacent during engaged commutes, these headphones person 1 overarching purpose: to support you successful interaction with your surroundings. Many wireless in-ear buds already execute that by embedding mics that unnaturally stress the ambient sounds astir you. But since that’s an artificial mode of achieving a earthy effect, it often sounds unpleasant. This is wherefore you perceive that overly fake hiss and the excessively exaggerated biology sounds connected a batch of earbuds’ ambient modes.

Being alert of your surroundings outdoors is besides conscionable a substance of safety. The headphones remainder connected your cheekbones alternatively of wrong your receptor canal truthful that your ears are escaped to perceive biology sounds. The dependable is transmitted to your ears done vibrations via your cheekbones. Of course, the downside is simply a driblet successful audio prime since a peripheral heavy successful your receptor canals volition dependable amended than 1 resting an inch away. Low-end is what ends up getting the astir affected by bony conduction tech.

Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

On the caller OpenRun Pro 2 headphones, Shokz is moving to its proprietary DualPitch, which uses a brace of separate, dedicated drivers alternatively of a azygous operator doing each the enactment connected the company’s past offerings. The 2 drivers—bone conduction and aerial conduction—are decoupled, which means they enactment independently.

The institution says DualPitch offers 2 large benefits: reduced vibrations and improved bass. Since bony conduction tech relies solely connected vibrations, it’s important that they don’t consciousness excessively overbearing for the user. Also, arsenic mentioned, bony conduction deals with the biggest stroke to bass, truthful the further aerial conduction operator helps remedy that.

A large alteration for the second-gen OpenRun Pros is that they present enactment USB Type-C charging. I was a regular idiosyncratic of the Shokz OpenSwim Pros until they ran retired of foodstuff a fewer weeks ago. They person been lying dormant connected my broadside array ever since, lone due to the fact that I haven’t had the clip oregon patience to look for its proprietary magnetic charger. Thank God and the EU for pushing companies worldwide to power to a cosmopolitan Type-C charging standard.

Other charging-related upgrades see amended artillery beingness (12 hours compared to 10 hours connected the Gen 1s) and a five-minute speedy charge, providing an further hr (a full of 2.5 hours) connected the flagship. The charging clip is inactive 1 hour, and the particulate and h2o absorption is inactive IP55. I preferred higher h2o resistance, astatine slightest IP57, for headphones designed for unsmooth adventures. I’m gladsome the Type-C charging larboard has a rubberized flap covering to forestall particulate particles oregon h2o from getting through.

Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

Shokz says the clamping unit has been reduced by 16% compared to erstwhile models, but I’d person to walk much clip with it than the 10-minute demo I was fixed on with different media. The OpenRun Pro 2 headphones battalion an other gram—30g compared to 29g connected the past model—but that should hardly beryllium noticeable. The Bluetooth mentation upgraded from 5.1 to 5.3 connected the caller version. The noise-canceling and wind-resistant mics connected the Gen 2s connection AI noise-reduction algorithms. Shokz guaranteed successful the demo that they’d beryllium bully for filtering astir 96% inheritance sound successful windy conditions up to 25 km/h.

Starting today, you tin bid the OpenRun Pro 2 headphones for $180. They travel successful 2 colorways, Black and Orange, and 2 sizes, Standard and Mini, to accommodate assorted caput sizes. I’ve been considering resuming my evening runs, and I’ll instrumentality this arsenic a sign.