Shokz OpenRun Air 2 Review: I Love This Lightweight Option for Open-Ear Bone Conduction Headphones

Shokz OpenRun Air 2: Fit and comfort

Right out of the box, this is clearly where the OpenRun Air 2 makes its case for joining the Shokz lineup. As a marathon runner, my ideal pair of headphones is one I forget I'm wearing, and the Air 2 gets as close to that as almost anything else I've tested. The ear hooks and frame kept the headphones locked in place through multiple long runs, and the lighter, lower-profile build compared to the OpenRun Pro 2 was noticeable after several hours of wear. Even in my three-hour training runs, I never dealt with soreness, slipping, or the kind of mid-run adjusting that, personally, would be an immediate dealbreaker for headphones. The wraparound neckband adds extra stability without adding noticeable weight, and while this is simply a preference, it's a big part of why I keep coming back to this design over true wireless earbuds.

Shokz markets these as "more than 9% smaller than OpenRun and weighing just 26.4 g," but the OpenRun weigh 26 g. When asked for comment, Shokz responded the "more than 9% smaller" claim refers specifically to overall physical volume, not product weight. It's based on third-party laser scanning measurements, which found that OpenRun has approximately 9.39% greater overall volume than OpenRun Air 2. So the key difference is the more compact and streamlined design, which is intended to provide a lighter-feeling and more comfortable fit.

Shokz OpenRun Air 2: Battery life and charging

Shokz claims OpenRun Air 2 has up to 10 hours of listening time (allegedly a 25% jump over the original OpenRun), with a 5-minute Quick Charge good for roughly two additional hours of playback. I'll report back if battery life starts to suffer over time, but in this first month with them, I have no complaints. The Air 2 survived my three-hour runs without any low battery alerts, and as always, the quick-charge feature is a much-appreciated safety net on mornings when you forget to plug in the night before.

Shokz OpenRun Air 2: Controls

Another personal preference of mine: Physical buttons over finicky touch controls. It's a small thing, but it makes a big difference when it comes to skipping a song mid-workout. Power and volume controls sit behind the right ear and are easy to find and press even while running. On the left side, you'll find the "play/pause" button, which works reliably and intuitively with the following controls: 

• Play/Pause: Click once.

• Next song: Double-click.

• Previous song: Triple-click.

• Answer/End call: Click once.

• Reject call: Press and hold for 2 seconds

Shokz OpenRun Air 2: Sound quality

Sound is the area where the OpenRun Air 2 shows its trade-offs as the lighter, more affordable option in the Shokz lineup. Compared to my OpenRun Pro 2, the Air 2's bass response produces a noticeable tickling or buzzing sensation against the skin when you push the volume up on bass-heavy tracks.

OpenRun Air 2 uses Shokz's 8.5-generation bone conduction technology. For context, the OpenRun Pro 2 has Shokz 10th-Gen Bone Conduction Tech (DualPitch), which greatly reduces those vibrations.

Even outside of that, the overall sound on the Air 2 leans a bit muffled, something I noticed even in the quiet of my own home. It's clear enough to enjoy a podcast or a workout playlist, but it's not going to wow anyone expecting rich, detailed audio. Of course, this level of sound quality comes with the territory of open-ear designs. On my runs, the Air 2 felt completely on par with the Pro 2. Plus, the fix for the bass issue is straightforward: Keep the volume a notch below max, or dial back the bass in the Shokz app.

And in my experience, I've found that even Shokz's more modest offerings tend to outperform other open-ear headphones on the market. If you're comparing the Air 2 to open-ear competitors rather than to its own siblings, it comes out ahead.

Shokz OpenRun Air 2: Call quality

Bone-conduction headphones haven't historically been known for great call quality, and the OpenRun Air 2 met my expectation for "gets the job done." On runs, the microphone did a solid job isolating my voice and cutting background noise. Cycling on an e-bike was a tougher test: Wind noise crept in more than I'd like, and I had a lot of trouble hearing the other person clearly. Again, this is less a knock on the Air 2 specifically than it is a known limitation across open-ear headphones. Like with the sound quality, when you factor in the known trade-offs of open-ear headphones, the Air 2 performed about as well as any competitor I've tried.

Shokz OpenRun Air 2: App and customization

The companion Shokz app is straightforward and fun to explore. You get a fully customizable EQ that you can save to your own preferences, plus six presets built for different situations, including a "Vocals" mode that's great for podcasts and audiobooks and a "Volume Boost" preset suited to noisy outdoor environments. It's not a super flashy app, but everything you'd really need to adjust is there and easy to find (including the bass adjustment that helps that buzzy sensation at high volumes).

Shokz OpenRun Air 2: Water and sweat resistance

With an IP67 dust- and water-resistance rating, these aren't designed for swimming, but they're still durable enough against sweat and rain. For now, they seem to be holding up just fine in this extremely humid (read: sweaty) training block.

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