AfterShokz has modified its title to Shokz and launched new ninth-gen bone-conduction headphones that supply improved bass efficiency in comparison with the corporate’s earlier flagship mannequin, the Aeropex (now referred to as the Shokz OpenRun). That makes the OpenRun Professional the most effective bone-conduction headphones you will get proper now, though they nonetheless cannot match the sound high quality of conventional headphones.

Bone-conduction wi-fi headphones do not go in your ears — they really ship sound via your cheekbones. The large good thing about this know-how as a security characteristic for working is that, due to its open design, you may hear what is going on on round you — visitors noise specifically — whereas listening to music or having a cellphone dialog (sure, they carry out nicely for voice calls). Additionally, some race coordinators do not enable runners to put on something of their ears, which is the place headphones like this turn out to be useful.

They do provide fuller sound with extra bass, nevertheless it’s an incremental enchancment, not an enormous leap ahead. Like different bone-conduction headphones these are strongest within the midrange the place voices dwell in order that they’re greatest for podcasts, speak radio, newscasts and audiobooks. They’re additionally good for making calls and, like different Shokz fashions, have multipoint Bluetooth pairing.

Shokz additionally makes different extra inexpensive fashions as nicely. The OpenComm, which integrates a increase microphone, additionally has multipoint Bluetooth pairing.