New earbuds pair adaptive noise reduction with situational awareness for office, gym and outdoor use
Open-ear earbuds have long carried a structural trade-off: keeping the wearer aware of their surroundings has typically meant giving up acoustic control. The Shokz OpenFit Pro, priced at Dh949, sets out to close that gap by introducing adaptive noise reduction to an open-ear design without shutting out environmental awareness altogether.
Nickel-titanium alloy earhooks shape themselves to the contours of each ear, while Shokz 2.0 silicone keeps contact points soft enough for extended wear. Each earbud weighs 12.3g, and the open-ear format avoids the pressure build-up that can come with sealed in-ear designs, making the OpenFit Pro suited to long days at the desk or extended training sessions alike.
Noise reduction, open-ear style
At the centre of the design is Shokz’s Open-Ear Noise Reduction system. Rather than relying on the acoustic seal that conventional ANC depends on, it combines a triple-microphone array, feedforward and feedback signal processing, an AI-driven ear-adaptive algorithm and a Noise Reduction Ring that stabilises acoustic capture. Together, these elements target ambient mid-frequency noise, such as office chatter or café background sound, while leaving higher-priority environmental cues audible. The result is not silence, but a calmer acoustic backdrop that still keeps the wearer connected to their surroundings.
Sound reproduction comes from a synchronised dual-diaphragm driver system (11 x 20mm), pairing a PMI aluminium dome for high frequencies with a silicone diaphragm for bass, supported by OpenBass 2.0 for added low-end depth.
Notably, the OpenFit Pro is among the first open-ear earbuds to offer Dolby Atmos optimisation, paired with head tracking to keep the soundstage anchored around the listener during compatible content.
Battery and performance
Battery life stands out as one of the product’s strongest points. With noise reduction switched on, the earbuds run for up to six hours, extending to 24 hours with the charging case. Turning noise reduction off pushes single-charge use to 12 hours and total use to 50 hours with the case. Call time reaches up to ten hours per charge and 40 hours with the case, and a 10-minute quick charge adds up to four hours of playback. Bluetooth 6.1 supports stable multi-device pairing, useful for anyone switching between phone, laptop, and tablet through the day. Call quality benefits from the same triple-mic system, which improves voice separation and reduces wind noise without cutting off ambient sound entirely. An IP55 rating adds a reasonable level of protection against sweat and light moisture.
Compared with bone conduction alternatives, the OpenFit Pro offers noticeably stronger sound fidelity, and against passive open-ear designs, it introduces the first meaningful layer of noise reduction the category has seen. It remains less isolating than sealed ANC in-ears such as AirPods Pro-class devices, so listeners after total noise blocking should look elsewhere. But for office professionals in shared spaces, outdoor athletes and anyone who finds full in-ear isolation uncomfortable, the OpenFit Pro offers a rare middle ground: quieter surroundings without losing touch with them.