Club Benefits
Tom's Guide Verdict
The Shokz OpenDots Air offer a cheaper alternative to the flagship OpenDots 2 and I rate them as the better buy of the pair. They sound good, have a supremely comfortable and secure fit thanks to the lightweight design, and are great value.
Pros
- +
Comfortable fit
- +
Good sound quality for open buds
- +
Stay put during runs and other workouts
Cons
- -
OpenDots 2 and others offer better sound
- -
Open design means they can be drowned out
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Price: $129 / £129
Colors: Black, purple
Battery life (rated): Up to 9 hours; 36 hours (with charging case)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 6.1
Water resistance: IP54 (buds)
Weight: 0.22 ounce (per bud)
Shokz has launched two sets of clip-on open headphones, and while the premium Shokz OpenDots 2 might get more attention, I think it’s the cheaper Shokz OpenDots Air that stands out as the better buy of the pair.
I’ve been testing both sets of buds for three weeks ahead of their launch, using the Shokz OpenDots Air for a variety of workouts, including over 50 miles of running, as well as general use in the office and while traveling.
Both are among the best workout headphones I’ve tried, thanks to their lightweight design, comfortable fit, and impressive sound quality for open buds.
While the OpenDots 2 are an upgrade with regards to design, sound quality, and battery life, I think the OpenDots Air are almost as good on all fronts, and cost a lot less.
Shokz OpenDots Air review: price and availability
The Shokz OpenDots Air launched on 4 June 2026 alongside the OpenDots 2, with the latter being the direct replacement for the Shokz OpenDots One.
At $129/£129, the OpenDots Air are the cheaper of the new models, with the OpenDots 2 costing $199/£179.
Shokz OpenDots Air review: design and fit
The OpenDots Air are lightweight plastic headphones that clip onto the outside of your ear so a speaker rests inside your ear canal without blocking it.
They’re very slightly lighter than the OpenDots 2, but have a less premium feel without the metallic sections on the pricier buds.
I found the OpenDots Air extremely comfortable to wear for extended periods. I barely felt them on my ears, but they were also still tight enough to be secure when doing runs and other workouts.
For me, the clip-on design is more comfortable and convenient than earhook headphones like the Shokz OpenFit Pro, because the OpenDots Air don’t get in the way of glasses and hats at all.
The buds are also interchangeable, so you can wear them on either ear and the controls will switch around accordingly.
While they’re not fully waterproof, the IP54 rating on the OpenDots Air is high enough that I’d have no concerns about sweat or rain wrecking them.
The OpenDots 2 do have a higher IP57 rating and an IP54-rated case too, while the OpenDots Air’s case has no IP rating, so you might have to be careful about stashing it in sweaty running backpacks and belts.
Shokz OpenDots Air review: controls
The OpenDots Air use a combination of force sensors on the barrel of the bud that sits behind your ear and taps on the stem that wraps around your ear to control playback.
You can customize these controls to those you need most, including volume up and down and the option to activate your voice assistant, and I found they were easy to use during and outside of workouts.
In general, I prefer the reliability of a physical button on my headphones, but I had no problems tapping and squeezing the OpenDots Air with sweaty fingers during runs or other training sessions.
Shokz OpenDots Air review: sound quality and awareness
The OpenDots Air don’t benefit from all the features on the OpenDots 2 with regards to sound quality, lacking the latest Shokz Bassphere 2.0 tech and improved Dolby Audio available on the more expensive buds.
They don’t offer the depth and power of the OpenDots 2 when comparing them directly, as a result, especially when it comes to bass, but the OpenDots Air still sounds good for open headphones, and I enjoyed using them during workouts and in the office.
As with most open headphones, the OpenDots Air sound best with quieter tracks from singer-songwriters like Waxahatchee, but even when I put on my running playlist, which is packed with bass-heavy tracks to get me going, the headphones didn’t disappoint, especially when the bass boost EQ mode is activated in the partner app.
That’s one of four preset EQs, and you can also create two custom EQs. I mostly stuck to the well-balanced standard mode and turned to bass boost when listening to heavier tracks.
In loud environments, the OpenDots Air can be drowned out, and they’re not as good for traveling as in-ear headphones as a result. You also don’t get the same level of bass as you do from in-ear buds in general, but these are common issues across all open headphones, not just the OpenDots Air.
The advantage of the open design is clear when running or walking outdoors, when I could hear traffic around me, so I felt safe running on quiet country roads with the buds.
I also prefer using open buds in the office a lot of the time because you can stay aware of those around you, though there are certainly times when it feels better to use in-ear buds with noise cancellation to really block out the world.
Shokz OpenDots Air review: call quality
The OpenDots Air doesn’t have the extra bone-conduction mic you get on the OpenDots 2, which is there to improve call quality, but still sounded similarly good during calls during my testing.
I was described as ‘tinny’ by those I called, but they praised the overall clarity and volume of my voice in calls, and had no trouble understanding me.
Shokz OpenDots Air review: battery life
The OpenDots Air lasts nine hours on a charge, and with the case, you get 36 hours of use in total. A handy quick-charge feature nets you two hours of playback from five minutes of charging.
These numbers are pretty good for such small buds, and I found that the OpenDots Air lived up to their listed stats in my testing.
The OpenDots 2 have slightly longer battery life at nine hours (40 hours with the case), and offer wireless charging as another small upgrade on the OpenDots Air.
Should you buy the Shokz OpenDots Air?
The OpenDots Air are excellent open headphones and surpassed my expectations for both regular and workout use.
They are a minor downgrade on the OpenDots 2 in several ways, the most important being sound quality, but the savings you make mean they’re the better buy in my opinion, because the OpenDots Air still impressed me with their fit and sound.
Other good clip-on options include the Soundcore AeroClip at a similar price, or the budget-friendly EarFun Clip, and there’s also the Shokz OpenFit Air for those who prefer an earhook design, and the Shokz OpenRun if you’d rather use bone conduction buds.
If you’re all in on clip-on headphones, it’s worth upgrading to the OpenDots 2, or even the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, which offer the best sound I’ve come across with clip-on buds, but the OpenDots Air would be my pick of the trio for their balance of performance and price.
