Open-ear earbuds have always forced an impossible choice: hear your surroundings or actually control what you’re listening to. The new OpenFit Pro changes that equation for the first time.
The Breakthrough You’ve Been Waiting For
Triple-microphone noise reduction brings selective sound control to open-ear design.
Open-ear earbuds have suffered from one fundamental flaw since day one—they let everything in. Great for safety during runs, terrible when your coworker’s keyboard sounds like machine gun fire. Shokz’s OpenFit Pro ($249) introduces Certified Open-Ear Noise Reduction, the first system that meaningfully reduces ambient sound while preserving situational awareness.
The magic happens through a triple-microphone array that captures noise from multiple angles, then applies AI-powered processing to reduce mid-frequency sounds by up to 99.4% during calls. You’ll notice this most in gyms, where the constant hum of treadmills and ventilation gets dialed down significantly.
It’s not the complete isolation of AirPods Pro—that would defeat the open-ear purpose—but it’s enough to reclaim your audio experience in moderately noisy environments. The system includes adjustable intensity levels, so you can dial in exactly how much ambient sound to filter without losing awareness of your surroundings.
Audio Quality That Actually Competes
SuperBoost dual-diaphragm drivers deliver surprisingly robust sound within open-ear constraints.
The OpenFit Pro packs Shokz’s new SuperBoost technology—synchronized dual-diaphragm drivers that extend frequency response to 40kHz. Translation: crisp treble and surprisingly powerful bass that doesn’t disappear the moment ambient noise creeps in. The aerospace-grade aluminum construction feels premium, though the speaker pods now sit directly in your ear’s concha rather than floating outside like previous headphones.
Battery life reflects the noise reduction trade-off:
- 12 hours without it enabled
- 6 hours with it enabled
The physical button controls are a relief after years of accidentally pausing music during pushups with touch surfaces. Dolby Atmos optimization with head tracking sounds impressive on paper and delivers noticeably wider soundstage, especially with video content.
Some users report an uncomfortable pressure sensation when noise reduction runs at maximum intensity—the acoustic equivalent of your ears popping on an airplane. Lower settings eliminate this issue while maintaining most of the benefit.
Premium Positioning, Premium Results
At $249, the OpenFit Pro justifies its cost by solving open-ear audio’s core limitation.
The OpenFit Pro earned a CES 2026 Innovation Award for good reason—it’s the first open-ear earbud that doesn’t completely surrender to environmental noise. Compared to Shokz’s OpenFit Air or OpenFit 2+ ($199.95), you’re paying $50 extra for noise reduction technology that transforms how open-ear earbuds function in real-world environments.
The question isn’t whether these sound better than closed earbuds—they don’t. The question is whether they finally make open-ear design viable beyond jogging and casual listening. For users who’ve wanted situational awareness without sacrificing audio control, the OpenFit Pro represents the first genuine solution to open-ear audio’s defining compromise.
