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The universe works in mysterious ways sometimes. Within a week of each other, I received the Shokz Openfit and the Anker Soundcore Aerofit Pro true wireless earbuds to review.
Both of these earbuds are designed to allow ambient sound into the ear, so you can listen to music or your favourite podcast while also hearing your surroundings.
While they are mostly marketed to fitness enthusiasts needing to hear traffic, they are equally suited to office environments where you can enjoy a conversation with a co-worker without removing your earbuds.
Because I tested the Aerofit Pro alongside the Shokz Openfit, and they have a similar design and price, it’s inevitable I will make some comparisons.
Yet, the Aerofit Pro came out a clear second in the head-to-head. There are still positives, but you can pick up better options.
Design
First impressions aren’t everything, but they are still important. My first impression when unboxing the Aerofit Pro is that they are far too bulky.
The charging case measures in at 79.56 × 65.27 × 24.24 mm. That’s almost the same space astwo AirPods Pro cases.
That bulk also carries some heft, weighting 88.74 grams with the earbuds inside. In your pocket, it feels uncomfortable, so you’ll definitely want to drop it in a bag.
Unlike traditional earbuds, the Aerofit Pro don’t go into your ear canals. Instead, they are designed to hook around your ears, with the earbud section resting on the entrance to your ear and using a technology called air conduction to pump sound into your ear.
Unlike the Shokz Openfit, the Aerofit Pro has a large, bulky earpiece, which covers most of your ear hole. It still lets through external sounds, but it’s more of a muffled sound because there the Aerofit Pro is blocking clear access.
The ear hooks are comfortable to wear for extended periods, but they don’t have any shape memory like the Shokz, instead just having. Flexible arm design.
Soundcore does have a couple of advantages over the Shokz. The first of which is the inclusion of a fabric neckband that can attach to both earpieces for added security while running.
I’m not really a runner, so I didn’t use the band for any extended period of time, but it’s easy to attach and feels secure.
The second advantage is physical buttons — one on each ear — which can control volume, playback, and pausing and skipping tracks.
The AeroFit Pro features an IPX5 rating, which is a little underwhelming given the Shokz’s IP54 rating. That means that the Soundcore earbuds aren’t rated for dust, but are slightly more secure against water.
Performance
The Aerofit Pro offers some premium specs over the lower-level Aerofit model, including support for Spatial Audio.
Unfortunately, the implementation feels underwhelming. It doesn’t work out of the box. It’s only when connected through the Soundcore app that you can enjoy the Spatial Audio experience.
Even then, it’s not a great implementation. There’s an obvious transition from one ear to the other, a delay from the head tracking. Basically, when you turn your head, whether listening to music or watching a film, one ear cuts out while the other side gets louder.
It’s not so much immersive as frustrating.
The audio quality is okay, but mostly underwhelming. The Aerofit Pro boasts a 16.2 mm custom dynamic driver with a titanium coated dome, which is designed to offer a better bass experience when the earbud doesn’t sit inside your ears.
Unfortunately, bass is lacking. Music — whether played in stereo or “spatial” modes, sounds thin and tinny, particularly at lower volumes.
Things do sound better at louder volumes, but that also reduces the effectiveness of the design’s ability to hear ambient noise.
Battery life is solid. Anker promises about 14 hours of playback from a single charge with these Soundcore models. There’s a bunch of extra juice in the charging case as well.
I believe those numbers are probably pretty close to true. I wasn’t able to sit with these on for 14 hours straight to test it out, but it was about a week of a couple of hours a day before I needed to charge.
Verdict
The idea of on-ear earbuds that let through ambient sound seems to be growing in popularity, and I’m a fan of the concept. I’m not a huge fitness fan, but even in an office-environment, I feel like being able to hear your coworkers while still being able to listen to music is a win-win scenario.
But I wasn’t a massive fan of the Soundcore Aerofit Pro, particularly given I reviewed them alongside the Shokz Openfit model. Even though they were relatively comfortable, the Soundcore earbuds lacked the audio quality of the Shokz earbuds.
It features some additional features like Spatial Audio support, but it wasn’t well implemented, so I wouldn’t say it’s a big selling point.
Ultimately, for the asking price, there are better options if you’re after this style of earbud.
Where to buy:
Buy the Anker Soundcore Aerofit Pro online
Anker supplied the product for this review.
