Shokz is in an unusual position as a company. First, it was a small challenger brand chasing the bigger open-ear headphone companies, like Jawbone. After a few years of rivalry, those other companies went down, and Shokz was left as the biggest and best open-ear brand in town.
But now, with the air-conduction true-wireless open-ear headphones (as opposed to bone conduction) having a moment of popularity, suddenly Shokz once more finds itself competing against bigger brands. However, this time, the brands are much, much larger players, like Bose and Sony, not to mention brands with reputations for brilliant audio quality, like Audio-Technica and Beyerdynamic. Shokz is challenging once again, just this time it’s from the middle, with a leading track record on bone conduction audio.
That’s kind of where the Shokz OpenDots Air find themselves as well. For Shokz, they’re an entry-level product, as you can tell by the stripped-back feature set compared to the flagship OpenDots 2. However, they’re priced at the high-middle range, competing against the best JBL has to offer, and not cheap enough to be in ‘just give it a go’ territory.
I’ve had the Shokz OpenDots Air for almost two months now, and I like them a lot for what they are. I just don’t know where they fit given all the options out there.
First impressions
The first thing I noticed about the Shokz OpenDots Air is the gorgeous purple colour. It’s more like one of those pearlescent sheen colours with just a hint of purple, and it is very on trend. So sparkly. It’s also available in black, for those who prefer that colour scheme.
Pairing was as easy as you’d expect – on iPhone I paired it through Bluetooth settings and updated using the Shokz app. On Android I just held it near my phone and it paired.
Shokz OpenDots Air specifications and price
| Quick charge | 10 min = 2 Hours of Usage |
| Battery life | 9 Hours (36 Hours with Charging Case) |
| Weight | Earbuds: 6.3g ± 0.2g Charging case: 37.3g ± 2g Total weight: 49.9g ± 2.4g |
| IPX rating | IP55 |
| Microphone type | Dual AI Noise-Canceling Microphones |
| Audio technology | Bassphere + DirectPitch |
| Price (RRP) | $219 |
| Warranty | 12 months in addition to your Australian consumer law rights |
| Official website | Shokz Australia |
Looking at the specs, the OpenDots Air seem to be somewhere in between the Shokz OpenDots One and OpenDots 2 (yes, the change in naming conventions bothers me too), with a few other cutbacks. However, all the basics are there.
Comfort
While the Shokz OpenDots 2 are the most comfortable earring-style earphones I’ve tried, these are among the least comfortable. After half an hour of wear, the shell of my ear feels fatigued. After an hour, it just straight up hurts.
Perhaps with a couple of months of daily wear, the clamp force will calm down a bit, but after two months of sporadic wear, they’re still not comfortable for me. They’re roughly on par with the MotoBuds in terms of comfort.
Audio quality
The Shokz OpenDots Air aren’t as much of a step down in terms of raw audio quality (as long as you’re not really focusing on it), compared to the OpenDots 2 as I’d feared. They lack the bass power of the flagship, and they certainly don’t have the clarity. But if you’re getting headphones to run with once a week, or just use for podcasts, or to have something on in the background, I actually don’t hate them, and I’m a fussy snob who hates a lot of things.
Listening to my usual playlist, it’s very clear that I’m missing roughly 25-35% of the soundstage. It’s much emptier than I’d expect, even on really full songs. The bass is muddy and holey, though it’s more than present enough to help give you a beat to run to. The mid tones sound fine enough, and the high tones are often audible.
They sound like what you’d expect from a mid-range open ear earring-style earphone, if not a little better, when you consider the severe limitations of the form factor.
Microphone
There is no sugarcoating it – the microphone is bad. It sounds compressed, muffled, and unclear. Using it for calls is an unpleasant experience (because the person on the other end of the call complains). It seems to be designed more for talking to an AI companion than to an actual human.
Who are the Shokz OpenDots Air for?
These are the earring-style open-air earbuds for people who have a decent budget, but don’t want to break the bank. They’re for fashion-conscious users who want to listen to podcasts while they work and still hear their colleagues.
I still maintain that users would get a better experience from an ear-hook-style pair of open-ear headphones (like the Shokz OpenFit Air), because they sound better and are more comfortable. But these do look better and more subtle than the other style, and will better suit some aesthetics. They also come in purple, which is just instantly better.
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