I’ve stated it earlier than, and I’ll say it once more: I like earbuds with ear hooks. Prior to the Beats Fit Pro, Powerbeats Pro had been my exercise earbuds of alternative, so I used to be wanting ahead to testing out Anker’s newest open-ear earbuds, the Soundcore AeroFit sequence. I’ve examined different open-ear earbuds, so I went into this with an concept of what to anticipate however was a bit blown away by what Anker was capable of do with these sonically. So I’m going to air this out, inform you what it’s worthwhile to know, and assist you set the right expectations to find out if these are your subsequent pair of earbuds that may assist you transfer by areas the place it’s worthwhile to have your listening to unobstructed however nonetheless wish to rock out to your favourite tunes!Open-Ear Sound Explained(Image credit score: Tshaka Armstrong)Let’s make it like that Thanksgiving feast and set the desk so you recognize what you’re entering into. This would be the Reddit “Explain it like I’m 5” clarification of audition because it pertains to earbuds. The sonics of earbuds that sit in your ear canal are very completely different from people who sit outdoors that canal. Inside your canal, the vibrations generated by earbud drivers extra immediately excite the auditory equipment, whereas people who sit outdoors that canal have their vibrations affected by not being targeted by the confines of an ear canal, resulting in a bass and sub-bass expertise, which may be muted by comparability, given their tiny dimension. Another technique to put it: consider your self shouting right into a crowd, the place in-ears are like an old-school analog megaphone, whereas open-ears are like simply shouting with no help. Does that make sense? You can yell at me on Twi-er, X, if it doesn’t.After all, at its most rudimentary, “sound” or higher but, “audio” is just not far more than a factor producing atmospheric vibrations that excite the constructions inside your ear, which you then understand as “sound.” If that factor producing sound is in an enormous, open house, these atmospheric vibrations disperse broadly like throwing a stone right into a lake. That’s open-ear earbuds. In-ear units include these vibrations or “sound waves” in order that fewer vibrations are misplaced as they journey from their supply to your listening to equipment. The affect of this loss is bigger on low-frequency sound, like bass, than it’s on high-frequency sound, like treble.Hopefully, that locations my insights into context all through the remainder of this evaluation. AeroFit Pro vs AeroFit: Pros and consAnker Soundcore AeroFit (l), AeroFit Pro (r) (Image credit score: Tshaka Armstrong)So, let’s get proper to it, lets? Let us start with the sound high quality of each the AeroFit and AeroFit Pro. You’re mainly carrying a boombox subsequent to your ears, strolling round like a 2024 model of Radio Raheem. And that makes an enormous distinction in my testing of each of those models. Neither of those goes to “wow” hip-hop followers with their bass response. However, the shortage of punch is inherent on this expertise. The AeroFit Pro (which I’ll additionally discuss with as AFP) include 16.2mm dynamic drivers, whereas the AeroFit (AF) have 14mm dynamic drivers. You will hear the distinction in sound in the event you audition each models. From the bigger drivers, coupled with LDAC help, you’re going to get greater, fuller sound out of the AFPs. What bass there may be to be skilled can be a bit extra sturdy than that of the AFs. In the gymnasium and on the road, you’re going to get extra “loudness” to struggle competing ambient sounds. That sound can be fuller, so you possibly can flip the music down and compete much less with ambient sound out on the road and nonetheless have good high quality sound. Admittedly, after going by my native .flac recordsdata and lossless streaming tracks, I loved my time with the AeroFit Pros greater than the AeroFits. I wasn’t all that impressed with the AF sound replica for the cash, and I’d positively advocate spending the extra $40 and going with the AFP mannequin. You’ll get extra battery life, that bigger set of dynamic drivers, spatial audio (although that was not that nice, extra in a second), LDAC help, and bodily buttons as an alternative of touch-based controls. The solely space the place the AF has the AFP beat is in water resistance. The former is IPX7, and the latter is IPX5 waterproof.Swipe to scroll horizontallyCatergoryAnker Souncore AeroFit Anker Souncore AeroFit ProWeight12.23g8.5gDrivers14mm16mmSupported Bluetooth ProfilesAAC, SBCAAC, SBC, LDACBluetooth version5.35.3Spatial AudioNoYesMultipoint ConnectionYesYesWater ResistanceIPX7IPX5ControlsTouchButtonsAeroFit Pro Audio Tested(Image credit score: Tshaka Armstrong)So, let’s get extra into my expertise with the AeroFit Pro. As I said earlier than, bass and sub-bass are the weaknesses of bone conduction and open-ear earbuds, and that weak point reveals up when listening to tracks like “A Milli” from Lil’ Wayne. There’s no sub-bass available within the replica of that monitor, when you do get some respectable thump on the larger bass frequency, and it sounds fantastic. Speed steel tracks like these from Gojira and Sylosis fare higher general, however they are going to nonetheless be a bit mild within the bass response as properly. You’ll discover this originally of the Gojira monitor “Stranded,” the place the drum intro is available in. That stated, I used to be really stunned by how properly these open-ear earbuds overpowered the horrible gymnasium music taking part in over the home audio system on the gymnasium I’m going to. I couldn’t actually hear their music over the sound the AFPs produced. That’s nice for me as a result of I used to be really lamenting having to make use of one thing throughout my exercise, which might hinder my potential to zone out and deal with that thoughts/muscle connection.My different concern in addition to having to listen to their music over my very own was really how properly these would keep on my head as a result of if you first put them on, the half that holds the audio system over your ears seems like they’re simply dangling off the facet of your ears. However, I used to be pleasantly stunned after I hit the native elevated metro prepare cease to run stairs after which once more after I went to the gymnasium. No motion! These are a pleasure to put on throughout exercises. For my gymnasium exercise, I even took the included neckband with me in case the AFP fell out, however I by no means hooked up it as a result of the match was so stable. That stated, if I had been using a motorbike, I’d positively connect that neckband as an additional security measure towards shedding them. And the neckband is straightforward to connect and detach. It clips to the ends of the earbuds through robust magnets and doesn’t funds as soon as hooked up. I used to be pleasantly stunned at how properly the Anker Soundcore AeroFit Pro really match throughout exercises.Now, my exercise didn’t encompass dynamic actions like burpees, however after I was mendacity again on the flat bench, they by no means moved in any respect. When I went to do dips, I bought the identical outcome. Running these stairs, which I’d contemplate dynamic motion, they stayed in place.The solely caveat with regard to suit is that the dimensions of the AeroFit Pros might be a bit tough for these with smaller heads and ears, whereas the AeroFits, with their visibly smaller dimension, would possibly really be a greater match.With regard to watching films and video content material, they’ll present a stable expertise in the event you go away the Spatial Audio off. Turning that characteristic on creates a tunnel impact, which I observed after I was watching “Thor: Ragnarok.” The excellent news is that there isn’t a latency when watching!But how do they sound on the opposite finish? When you’re taking a name? Well, throughout considered one of my noon walks by a really busy a part of Santa Monica, filled with automobiles and all of the sounds of a bustling city panorama, my spouse couldn’t hear any of it whereas we chatted for round 20 minutes or so; she stated that I used to be additionally clear and straightforward to listen to. While we had been on that decision, I additionally walked right into a grocery retailer, and she or he stated she couldn’t hear the music taking part in over the shop audio system within the background.Final Thoughts(Image credit score: Tshaka Armstrong)In phrases of the remainder of the options, each models help AAC and SBC audio; each have 4 mics with a background noise canceling AI algorithm, and neither case is wi-fi charging enabled however fees through USB-C. You’ll rise up to 14 hours of playback with the AeroFit Pro, and from useless, 10 minutes of charging will get you 5.5 hours of playtime. With the AeroFit, you get 11 hours and as a lot as 4 hours of playtime with a 10-minute cost. Both models additionally help multi-point connections to 2 units, with the characteristic turned off by default, and with the AFPs, you’ll have to decide on between turning on LDAC help or multi-point performance. Both can’t be lively on the similar time.Should you purchase these?I feel that most of these applied sciences have come a great distance since my bone conduction walkie-talkie utilizing paintball days in 2006. The sound high quality of many open-ear earbuds I’ve examined is fairly darn good with respect to the constraints of the expertise. But, you recognize what else has come a great distance? Hear by, or ambient sound passthrough applied sciences. There are competing merchandise that sit in your ear canal whereas nonetheless permitting you to listen to every little thing round you in a way that sounds pure. Of these competing merchandise at this value level or beneath, Soundcore’s merchandise appear to have a lot better battery life, which is unquestionably a consideration. For instance, the Jabra Elite 5 has stable hear-through, however you’ll get half the battery lifetime of the AeroFit Pro. Additionally, in the event you trip a motorbike on busy city streets or work in some place like a warehouse the place you wish to have tunes on, however situational consciousness is mission crucial, these could also be for you! I feel these are nice for very particular use instances, and in the event you fall into a type of “need to hear what’s going on around me and listen to music/podcast/audiobook” conditions, give the AeroFit Pros a attempt.
With surprisingly loud sound replica, Anker’s Soundcore AeroFit Pro presents a compelling possibility for these trying to have their tunes, or podcasts on deck, whereas holding their ears clear for his or her surroundings.