Shokz OpenFit 2+ review: A new set of priorities

If you're unfamiliar with the brand, Shokz makes open-ear audio equipment, generally intended for exercise, comfort, and with an open-ear design that lets you stay connected to the world around you. This has its benefits and drawbacks, and will likely turn many buyers away. But if you're not 100% committed to getting the best audio experience out there (at least in terms of true wireless buds), the OpenFit 2+ might have a lot to offer you.

The RRP for the OpenFit 2+ is $339. That puts them in competition with the best true wireless earbuds on the market, such as the Apple AirPods Pro 2 and Google Pixel Buds Pro 2. It's also identical pricing to its sibling earbuds, which were released on the same and and which you can read more about in our Shokz OpenDots ONE review. (If you want the tl;dr, we scored the OpenFit 2+ higher, though many of the differences are largely down to personal preference.)

The OpenFit 2+ changed how I think about earbuds, in terms of what I personally look for. I mostly use buds for audiobooks and podcasts, and most often around the house when doing chores or hobbying. As such, I don't really need great audio (though obviously it's preferable), and being able to easily hear my surroundings is a big benefit – especially given the poor state of ambient mode for all earbuds.

Of course, I've always aimed to avoid products that create physical discomfort, but I hadn't fully appreciated just how important good comfort can be, especially for long stints.

These are, hands down, the most comfortable buds I've ever used. I'm not usually a fan of things that wrap behind the ear because I quickly find it uncomfortable or painful. But the OpenFit 2+ are so light and flexible that I often forget I'm wearing them. I once spent about five minutes looking for the left bud then gave up, only to realise when I put on the right bud on and hit play that I'd been wearing the left since I hit pause over an hour previously.

The fit is secure and doesn't move around during jogging or other exercise, though they're only IP55 resistant, so while they should hold up to a moderate downpour, don't take them swimming.

One subjective downside I can imagine is the uncommon look might turn some people off. The battery segment that hangs behind the ear does admittedly look a little droopy, but I find it a small price to pay for how easy on the ears these things are – and I mean that quite literally.

They're only available in black and light grey, but this might be a good thing. Anything even approaching your skin tone would probably score you several double takes every time you left the house.

There's a good spread of controls, most of which you can customise to different actions. The available actions for the one physical button on each bud are: single click, double click, triple click, and long click.

There's also a touch action that's disabled by default, and which you can turn on via the app. And despite this seeming lack of confidence by Shokz, I didn't run into any problems with accidental activations. But unfortunately, the only command that can be assigned to this is a long press, triggering your voice assistant.

But an odd and glaring omission is any way to answer, hang up or reject calls via the buds themselves, which is worth noting if you spend a lot of time chatting on the phone. And it's not entirely clear why every action can't be paired with every command.

Audio performance is lacklustre for this price point, but pretty for an open-ear design. Let me explain.

Earbuds need to create a solid seal within your ear canal to deliver the best quality audio. That, or they make some kind of demonic pact, which is the option I have to assume the Apple Airpods 4 design team took. But even those physics-bending-buds only have a small gap between driver and eardrum, and they aren't nearly as good as the fully-sealed Airpods Pro 2.

Shokz exclusively makes open-ear audio equipment, which sit pretty far from your ear canal. The idea is to let you stay in touch with the surrounding world – great in particular if you have kids or don't want to have to pause every time someone talks to you – but not conducive to great audio.

So when I say the OpenFit 2+ audio experience is impressive for what it is, I mean it's done a good job with its self-imposed handicap. The audio is a bit quiet overall and even more so toward the bass and treble ends of the spectrum. But for the most part it's on par with some of the better mid-range earbuds we've tested.

And while staying connected to the outside world can be a good thing, it's a two-edged sword. Walking along a busy street can make it hard to hear – especially if you're listening to a podcast or audiobook. And of course, active noise cancellation (ANC) is out of the question.

Shokz has also included Dolby Audio as an optional setting, but I found it over-tuned everything towards bass and increased the gain beyond what the OpenFit 2+ could handle, so I'd recommend leaving it off.

Battery life is absolutely fantastic. Shokz claims up to 11 hours of playback per bud, and up to 48 hours if you include the case. Plus, a 10 minute charge in the case will give you around two more hours if your buds are low. This was all pretty much bang on in our testing.

I also unintentionally got a chance to try out the sleep mode on multiple occasions, given how often I forgot I had one slung over an ear. And I honestly never came close to wearing these buds down except on the one occasion where I did so intentionally.

If you're after true wireless buds and you prioritise comfort, battery life and an open-ear design over audio quality, I'm not sure you can do better than the Shokz OpenFit 2+. I'm personally a sucker for good audio, but I still think these might become my daily drivers from now on.

I wish I could have scored the OpenFit 2+ higher, but the gap in audio quality between them and the Airpods Pro 2 or Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 is cavernous, so I'm probably already pushing things as it is. The OpenFit 2+ can still provide enjoyable music and is totally fine for audiobooks and podcasts, but you won't find yourself getting lost in your favourite tunes. The lack of ANC will also put some people off, especially for $339.

Plus, you need to consider if you're fine with the look of this droopy boy dangling down behind your ear.