

It’s like you’re actually in a room with live music). It’s a neat trick (swivel your head and the focal point shifts. Plus, you can customize the spatial audio-by taking photos of your head and ears-so the sound is tailored to how you would naturally hear.

Thanks to an H2 chip and amplifier, the 2nd generation has noticeably deeper bass and clearer, louder sound.
BEST BUDGET WIRELESS EARBUDS FOR COMPUTER PRO
The OpenRun Pro comes in two sizes- the Mini has a shorter band that wraps around your head and bounces less.Īpple’s flagship earbuds may look similar to the version that launched three years ago, but there are huge improvements to what you hear. The OpenRun Pro also features a quick charge mode, which gives you 1.5 hours of playback after just five minutes on the charging cable. Battery life has been extended to an impressive 10 hours-up from 8 hours on the OpenRun, which previously was known as Aeropex. You still won’t mistake the audio quality for a decent pair of ear buds, but it’s a fair compromise we’re willing to make for the added safety we get from running with our ears uncovered. The top pair of headphones from Shokz is the OpenRun Pro, which features richer sound with better bass than earlier models. These headphones use bone conduction technology to transfer sound through your cheekbones, leaving your ears open to hear potential hazards before they sneak up on you. But, it’s not just neat audio effects at play here-the sound is remarkable for small headphones.įor road runners who aren’t comfortable jamming an earbud in as cars whiz past, there’s Shokz (the company changed names from AfterShokz at the end of 2021). It’s trippy, at first, but you won’t actually trip while you’re running-you get used to the feature quickly. When you turn your head, the audio rotates so it sounds like the band is in the same spot, just as the sound would change when you swivel your head at a real concert.

The coolest feature, however, is one you might have never considered-spatial audio. It’s easy to use and there’s no fumbling for small buttons. Like the Studio Buds, you still get the delightful tactile buttons that require just a light press to play/pause, two presses to skip, three to go back, and a long press to activate active noise cancellation and transparency modes or Siri. No matter how sweaty we get, these buds don’t budge, and they don’t ache when you get up to an hour or 90 minutes of running.

They take everything we love in the AirPods 3 and Beats Studio Buds, but cram it all into a tiny set of buds with an ear wing to help them stay put. If we had to pick a single set of running headphones from Apple, we’d grab the Beats Fit Pro. Best All-Around Headphones: Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) Earbudsīecome a Runner's World+ member for exclusive access to product testing opportunities!.Best for Safety: Shokz OpenRun Pro Bone Conduction Headphones.Best Earbuds With Spatial Audio: Beats Fit Pro True Wireless Earbuds.Scroll down for more in-depth reviews, how we differentiate the types of headphones (and help you choose which is best for you), and what key features to look for. Neckband means that while there’s no wire to plug the earbuds into your cellphone, there is a wire or band that joins the two earbuds to each other.īelow are some of the pairs we wear to jam out on our runs. The best running headphones are smaller and more affordable than ever-and have almost entirely eliminated wires-yet it’s tough to know what kind of sound you can expect from these tiny wireless earbuds before you buy.įor the sake of making useful comparisons, we segmented our test pool into three categories: Truly wireless, truly wireless with ear hooks, and neckband earbuds. We’ve also ensured the headphones you find here are in stock and have removed any that are no longer available. Editor’s Note: We updated this article on October 2, 2023.
