Shokz expands its line of clip-on earbuds with the affordable OpenDots 2 and OpenDots Air.

Sporty earbuds, the kind that squeeze around the edges of the ears instead of plugging into them, have exploded in popularity over the past year, so Shokz’s doubling down doesn’t surprise me. The brand made its name with bone-driven sports headphones, moved into open earbuds with the OpenFit line of ear-hooks, and then introduced its first clip, the original OpenDots. Now it’s splitting that into two tiers, with OpenDots 2 and the simpler, cheaper OpenDots Air.

They fit into a crowded corner of the market, alongside other clips like the Sony LinkBuds Clip, Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, and HUAWEI FreeClip 2, all chasing the same buyers. The Shokz has a longer open history than most of them, however, and dwarfs them in price. The company says it was the success of the first OpenDots that pushed it to take the design beyond sports and listen to it every day.

If you’re not already wearing an open-ear pair, the trade-off is almost always the same: because the bud sits outside your ear instead of covering it, you lose the isolation that wireless earbuds provide. But you get to be aware of traffic and people around you, which is all about walking, exercising, or training.

Compared to last year’s OpenDots, not everything is new with the 2. The two share the same $199.95 price, dual 11.8mm drivers, 40-hour battery rating, and Qi wireless charging. The biggest changes are the new sound technology, Basssphere 2.0 and MirrorPitch. The Basssphere 2.0 packs two 11.8mm drivers into each bud to act as one large 16mm driver, and Shokz says the redesigned internal structure reduces distortion by 70% while delivering more bass and volume. The bass has a real punch for an in-ear pair, and it stayed clean as I cranked things up. Words are heard clearly, and loud enough to enjoy the music while hearing what’s around you. MirrorPitch retracts the sound field to reflect the sound in your ear for what Shokz calls a more focused sound, and there’s enhanced Dolby Audio on board as well.

Another big change is in phones. OpenDots 2 adds a bone conduction microphone alongside the standard two. Shokz headphones use bone conduction to play music through your cheekbones; here, it does the opposite, picking up the vibrations of your voice to give the noise reduction system a clean reference of what to keep and what to cut. Shokz says calls stay clear in wind up to 12 mph. Call quality is usually where open ears reach, so that’s what I want to include in our lab. Besides that, other improvements of OpenDots 2 include better water resistance (from IP54 to IP57), Bluetooth 6.1 instead of 5.4, fast charging, and new controls for pinching the sensor to cut accidental taps. They’re comfortable, too — small and light enough that there’s little pressure on the ear, even after a while.

OpenDots Air isn’t as pretty, but it retains a lot of the important functionality. They have a simple design, weigh only 6 grams per bud, have two 11.8mm drivers with old Basssphere tuning, and DirectPitch to limit sound leakage to people around you. Side by side, OpenDots 2 sounds clearly better; the Air is fine, but I noticed a slight gap in quality. You still get four EQ presets, Bluetooth 6.1, multipoint, the same power sensor controls as the flagship, and up to 36 hours of battery life. But it leaves out a lot: no wireless charging, no Dolby Audio, two mics instead of three, and low IP55 water resistance. Whether the $70 savings is worth it depends on how you’ll use them. Both are also compatible with SBC and AAC codecs, except for the high-resolution option.

Both are on sale today for $199.95 and $129.95. If you’re looking for a more complete pair, the OpenDots 2 is an easy choice – the same price as the model it replaces, and better in a number of ways. The Air is only worth it if you care more about price and function than features. Either way, what I’ve heard so far is promising; OpenDots 2 feels like a real step up, not just some bump.