Shokz — the headphone/earbud company that specializes in options that don’t actually go into or even over your ears — today has dropped a couple new products that add features and functionality in one case, and go easier on your wallet in another.
The bigger of the two updates, arguably, is the OpenSwim Pro. (We’ve got a full OpenSwim Pro review you should check out.) They build on the original OpenSwim headphones, which use bone conduction to transmit sound into your head (just like the original landlubbing AfterShokz Aeropex). The biggest difference — and the thing that makes the new version “Pro” — is that they add a major feature that was missing the first time around: Bluetooth. That was a pretty limiting factor, meaning that you could only listen to an audio file (music or otherwise) that you sideloaded to the OpenSwim via a computer.
And that’s still how you’ll get music or podcasts or whatever onto the OpenSwim Pro for when you’re in the water. But once you’re out of the pool and done with your laps, you can toggle the OpenSwim Pro back to Bluetooth mode, which then allows you to listen to your favorite streaming music or podcast app. The OpenSwim Pro will cost you $180.
Also new are the OpenFit Air. (Be sure to check out our full OpenFit Air review.) These are open-ear headphones (or earbuds, if you prefer) in that they still use air to move sound around, but they sit just above the entrance to your ear. Like other products that include “Air” in their name, these are a little smaller and a little lighter, and a little less expensive at $120 a pair. (That’s $60 off the retail price of the original OpenFit.) They also have been redesigned just a touch, with a two-tone finish that I’d argue actually looks better. They also retain the same sort of USB-C case for charging.
So what’s different? Mostly the speaker. The OpenFit Air don’t sound quite as good as their older siblings. But if you don’t have both to put against each other, it’s likely you’d put them on and still be plenty impressed, especially if you consider that folks tend to buy these sorts of headphones when they need to be able to still hear the world around them and aren’t quite as concerned with perfect audio reproduction.
Both the OpenSwim Pro and OpenFit Air are available now.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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