

Low frequencies aren’t well served by the Shokz OpenRun Pro Mini because bone conduction headphones can’t generate the seal and pressure that true wireless, on-ears or over-ears can. The disadvantage of having an open design is that sound quality is impacted. These headphones are good indoors and out for calls, just watch out for loud noises and blustery conditions. It is affected by loud noises I recall a cement mixer truck going past and neither of us being able to hear what was said. Using them at a busy food market and the person on the other end said they could hear my voice clearly with the noises around suppressed that they never rose above being a minor distraction. Five minutes of charging provides another 90 minutes on the go.Ĭall quality is another happy surprise with these headphones. Using the headphones for two hours on another occasion saw them drop 20%, which seemed more indicative of their performance.

There were a few discrepancies at first, as using the OpenRun Pro Mini for 90 minutes at about 60% volume saw them drop from 60% to 57%. Shokz quotes 10 hours of battery and that seems about right from my tests. With a choice of Vocal and Standard your choices are limited, but Voice is decent enough, amplifying voices without greatly distorting music too much, though its main intention is for audiobooks and podcasts. You don’t need to open the app to adjust the EQ as that can be done by holding both volume buttons until you hear a beep, and Audrey (the voice of the headphones) instructs which mode the headphones are in.
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The app offers the basics in upgrading firmware, checking battery, control over playback, EQ options and enabling Bluetooth multipoint for connection to two devices at once. There’s an app, but it’s only compatible with certain OpenRun models, which includes the Pro and Pro Mini. Dual Noise-Cancelling Microphone for calls.Eventually I got used to the arrangement but if you haven’t worn a pair of bone conduction headphones before, I’d say there’s a slight learning curve in adjusting to them.Ĭhoices of colours come in black and beige, and there’s a carry case to keep the headphones in and a magnetic cable that latches on to charge them by USB. Muscle memory made me reach for my ear when the actual volume controls were located behind, while on the left is a multi-function button for playback and track skipping. There are controls on the headphones which, given my unfamiliarity with the design, I initially found hard to find. It’s a similar issue using the headphones in a supermarket or at train stations, as music is almost completely drowned out. Running on or near busy roads sees audio swamped by vehicles going past. The negative is the lack of noise isolation. There’s also no fatigue listening to music, and none of the oiliness and discomfort that in-earphones can produce. There are pluses and minuses to this design, and in the positive category is the greater situational awareness as there’s nothing blocking your ears, which is helpful for situations such as runs near busy roads. That doesn’t mean the Mini is waterproof, but a wipe down in case they get dirty should be fine. Their IP55 rating is both sweat and water resistant as well as offering some low protection against dust. They’re bendy and flexible and haven’t come a cropper when flung into a bag with a camera and books for company. The difference between the two sizes is 0.83-inches, which doesn’t sound much but the smaller version fit my head to a tee – a surprise since I always thought I had a massive head. The bigger model tends to leave a gap around the back of the frame and the head.

They’re lightweight (29g) and once on I barely noticed they were there during several runs. In shape, appearance, IP rating and even weight, there’s no difference between the Shokz OpenRun Pro Mini and the standard OpenRun Pro version.
