Soundcore’s Aerofit 2 pro aim to achieve the impossible: add effective noise canceling to open earbuds. These aren’t the first open earbuds to travel this quixotic path, but they do so in the most novel way I’ve seen yet, by physically transforming between buds that leave your ear canals open and ones that plug them up to administer noise canceling directly.
It’s a cool idea that goes beyond other open-ear noise cancelers we’ve tested. They'll even sense which position they’re in and change their mode and sound signature accordingly. Though they’re bulky (especially the case) and more onerous to wear than my favorite open buds, they offer relatively good sound, solid features, and accessible controls.
Unfortunately, Soundcore’s innovative take on open earbuds for any scenario still doesn’t come off in a way that would make me recommend them. I’ve been singing the praises of open earbuds for a while now, which are more versatile than you might think, but traditional wireless earbuds still do a much better job piping sound in than open earbuds do keeping it out. Sadly for fans of novel design, the mighty morphin’ Aerofit 2 Pro are no exception.
Is That a Case?
Photograph: Ryan Waniata
The first thing you’ll notice while unboxing the Aerofit 2 Pro is that their charging case is massive. I'm talking two or three times the size of most modern buds. I kept making the joke on Zoom calls with my editor that it looked just like a Nokia cell phone from the early aughts—I stand by it.