Shokz OpenFit Pro

We have been quite enthusiastic about Shokz's approach to sound design on several occasions, and their latest OpenFit Air was particularly impressive for a number of reasons. Now they are trying to repeat their success with OpenFit Pro, the absolute flagship model within this "open" design paradigm. The price is high, at £220, which is certainly not insignificant, but now that it seems that there is an audience that wants in-ear headphones without silicone tips in the ear canal, the time may be right.

Okay, so what do you actually get for your money? These are still a pair of open "in-ear" headphones, if you will, that come in a wide but thin case made of rather stylish soft-touch plastic, which supports wireless charging. Both the case and the devices are IP55-certified, and there is a pretty wild Bluetooth 6.1 connection that provides access to a strong connection, better range and, of course, dual connection with multiple devices at a time.

They are still large, perhaps even too large. Of course, one could argue that aspects of this size disappear as much of them are "hidden" behind the ear, but I have a theory that these could be shrunk further, if only for the sake of appearance.

There are 11x20 millimetre dual-diaphragm "Shokz SuperBoost" drivers in each, which enable the use of Dolby Atmos. Added to this is something as seemingly contradictory as active noise cancellation in a pair of devices that are "open" and do not close the ear canal. It's all tech jargon, and what's most important here is that the sound is surprisingly deep, full, and well-balanced. You can feel the device give way slightly under heavy bass, i.e. a kind of vibration, but overall, Shokz performs really well here, and that applies to everything from the holistic, mystical, almost cinematic sound of Laura Misch to a heavy podcast from Third Ear. Simply, it works.

The active noise cancellation is a bit of a funny thing because even though you can feel it struggling to "clean up" a given noise picture, whether it's a busy city street or sudden shouting and screaming on a crowded bus, it's just not nearly as effective as you'll find in devices that naturally close off the ear canal, either via over-ear and on-ear headphones or traditional in-ears. But at the same time, I wouldn't say that they don't make a difference, as you can hear the effect, and it's a more isolated sound than if Shokz hadn't tried this at all.

There are relatively easily accessible physical buttons that can be set up as you wish, and they work brilliantly. It's nice to see physical buttons making a comeback to this extent, as it makes so much more sense when you can't see the buttons and have to find them solely by touch and muscle memory.

At the same time, it's worth pointing out that these are the most isolating "open-ears" I've tested, and there seems to be something paradoxical about that statement, doesn't there? Yes, you could just turn it off and be happy that you have the option, but the whole point is that the average buyer wants to be more present and not isolate themselves when exercising, running, or moving around, right?

That's why it's worth pointing out that Shokz' OpenFit Air, which we reviewed in 2024, is available for significantly less right now, and while they don't have anything that sounds quite as good, they give you Shokz' build quality, solid call quality, and many of the same features for... well, a third off the price. But the OpenFit Pro is still a huge leap forward in terms of sound quality in open-ear headphones, and combined with wireless charging, solid IP rating, and Shokz's attention to detail, there is definitely an audience that just wants "the best Shokz" and that's what they get here.