Shokz has announced the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, a new contender for the best bone conduction headphones designed for runners and the best running headphones. With audio improvements that promise deeper bass and longer battery life than the original OpenRun Pro, these look set to be Shokz’s best headphones yet.
The Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 retain the same look and feel of its predecessor, the original Shokz OpenRun Pro (and this goes back to the older models, when the brand was called Aftershokz), which featured a heavy-duty headband with a silicone cover and transducer pads designed to fit around the temples.
This standard bone conduction design leaves your ears free to hear the world around you (great for staying aware of potential hazards while running) while transmitting audio through your temples to your eardrum.
The OpenRun Pro 2 feature several minor changes, as they feature both bone conduction drivers and air conduction speakers. The bone conduction driver is said to offer a “new innovative dual-reed and coil design that stabilizes the vibration system and produces a purer vocal sound,” while the air conduction speaker is pitched lower for “deep, resonant bass.” It sounds like our testing of these headphones will sound good.
The OpenRun Pro 2 also offer longer battery life (12 hours, compared to 10 on the original model), multipoint pairing with two devices, and a listening time of 2.5 hours from just five minutes of charging. They are available now, priced at $179.95/£169/AU$299.
Analysis: If it ain't broke…
Bone conduction headphones haven't changed much in design since the days of the Aftershokz Aeropex (although we now have the best open-back headphones around, too), and with the OpenRun Pro 2 Shokz isn't messing with this tried-and-true formula.
It's simply a matter of improving what's already there, with better audio quality and a longer lifespan. To be honest, that's all I had to do, and I'm certainly one of those who say “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.”
I'm an avid user of the original Shokz OpenRun, so the prospect of having incredible sound quality and 2.5 hours of playback from a five-minute charge is an exciting prospect. Stay tuned for a full review soon.
