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Gadget Review: Anker’s Soundcore AeroFit Pro

This open-ear headphone set does not compromise on sound quality while keeping you aware of your surroundings

Human ears come in all shapes and sizes. And there is at last a remedy for those co-workers and family members who insist on remaining annoyingly oblivious to the world around them by habitually having their personal audio devices strapped to their ears. These are the two most important findings that we came away with in our few weeks of testing the Anker Soundcore AeroFit Pro open-ear headphones.

Now, what would the personal habits of people around us have to do with a headphone review? We will come to that, but first let’s tackle this little problem of the varying shapes of human ears. You see, these new Ankers are open-ear headphones, the sort that hang over your ears, unlike buds that sit in the ear canal or over-ear headphones that wrap snugly around the entire ear as you pull their straps over your head.

The purpose of the open-ear headphones is to enable users to be aware of their surroundings and ambient sounds, while still enjoying their audio. This makes them safer to use while doing outdoor activities like walking, jogging or cycling – and perhaps more practical to use in co-working spaces.

To suit such a wide range of activities, however, the design of the open-ear headphone has to be such that it can take the jerky movements of vigorous sporting activities without falling off as it hangs over the ear. It accomplishes this by using the battery compartment as a natural counterweight that hooks over the top of the ear to sit behind it. This means that the curved nature of the open-ear headphone is by now a standard design of the genre. The arc that connects the driver at one end and the battery pack on the other goes over and behind the ear to keep the device in place.

This arc, though, is of a fixed length, unable to take into account the varying sizes of ears. Of the three or four people we tried this device on, none reported a snug enough or comfortable enough fit that did not seem precarious with too much movement.

But this is where Anker has an answer, unlike most of its competitors: a detachable titanium neckband that clips into each headphone and goes behind the neck to hold them in place securely.

While it takes just that tad longer a time than you might care to spend figuring out how to connect this neckband in the right direction, Anker has some visual guides in the form of a red dot on the right piece and a grey one on the left to tell you which end goes where. Have them all connected and you have a secure open-ear headphone set, held in place by the band so that now you can pretty much run the Dubai marathon to the sounds of your favourite tracks without any fear of the earpieces falling off.

The neckband is also adjustable, and you can easily tighten or loosen it according to the fit you desire by reaching behind your neck and pushing or pulling on two tabs that slide its titanium cords.

A word of caution, however: the neckband does not come with its dedicated case for storage when not in use and is small enough to easily misplace.

Speaking of cases, the AeroFit Pro comes with an oversized charging case to house these big headphones, with the USB-C port on its front and the Bluetooth pairing button on top. The case, just like the headphones themselves, is very well made and finished to a fault, extremely smooth and soft to the touch. Along with a visual and tactile expression of quality, it also provides 46 hours of extra playback time to the AeroFit Pro, which brings us to the battery life.

The AeroFit Pro gave us between 12-14 hours on a single charge, which is on the higher side when compared to others on the market. Not only are the 46 hours from the charging case another class-leading feature, but when you’re running low, a 10-minute fast-charge can give you around five hours of extra juice. Those are all impressive figures, easily making the AeroFit Pro our essential companion for gym or long walks.

The proof of any headphone is obviously in the hearing - and here the AeroFit Pro did not disappoint either. With highly directional speakers to optimise sound quality, it uses 16.2mm oversized drivers with titanium-coated domes. The speaker nozzle is acoustically designed to direct more sound waves towards the ear and there are four microphones that combine with AI to reduce wind interference on calls, so you can keep cycling through the onrushing wind while taking that important call.

If you would like to tweak the sound more, the device’s app allows for several effects. There’s spatial audio with either fixed or head-tracking sound; sound field modes such as ‘music’ or ‘movie’; audio presets like ‘Signature’, ‘Podcast’ and ‘Treble Booster’; and a customisable equaliser for finer, more personalised adjustments.

Due to their design, open-air headphones are prone to suffering from a lack of immersive sound when compared to other headphones, but not on this one. Whatever wizardly wand Anker waved on the AeroFit Pro has actually worked, and we were impressed by its sound quality, no matter the genre of music or audio, or even phone calls.

With all this said, what about that second learning from this device – the one on this being a remedy for people who have their headphones always on? Well, with the AeroFit Pro retailing at around Dh599 or less at most online outlets, this is perhaps the perfect gift for these annoying people who have to be tapped on the shoulder every time you want their attention. With this Anker, you can kill two birds with one stone: let them listen to whatever it is their ears are always glued to while still having their attention when you call for them.

Anker Soundcore AeroFit Pro open-ear headphones

Hits:

- Immersive sound and calls

- Great battery life

- Neckband for safe fit

Misses:

- Wobbly fit without neckband

- No case for neckband

Price: Dh599

Rating: 4.5 stars

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