Soundcore AeroFit 2 Review
Pros
- Comfortable to wear for long periods
- Plenty of EQ presets options
- Good set of touch controls
Cons
- Not the best in class open-ear sound
- A smaller design would be nice
- Questionable battery numbers
Key Features
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Bluetooth SBC, AAC and hi-res wireless audio with LDAC
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IP rating IP55 rating ensures these headphones are waterproof
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Battery 42 hours in total, 10 hours per charge
Introduction
The Soundcore AeroFit 2 joins the emerging ranks of open-ear, true wireless earbuds that offer a safer way to listen to your sounds.
The follow-up to the AeroFit and a more affordable alternative to the AeroFit Pro, the AeroFit 2 uses air conduction instead of bone conduction so it can be used in all listening environments when you’d prefer not to entirely block out the world around you.
The design is new, there’s wireless charging and promises of rich sound and top-notch call quality. There isn’t exactly a shortage of earbuds that promise to do the same, but thankfully like the AeroFit, the AeroFit 2 emerges as another good option to add into the open-ear mix.
Availability
Soundcore is sticking to the same price for the AeroFit 2 as it did for the AeroFit, so that’s £99.99 / $99.99, which places it within the mid-range area of open-ear earbuds.
That price makes it a more affordable alternative to the likes of the Shokz OpenFit (£180 / $180), the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (£299 / $299), both of which have dropped in price since launch. You can also factor in the Nothing Ear Open, which are £129.
I’m also a fan of the Sivga SO1 and SO2, which sit at £69.90 / $69.90 and while both have a larger design and lack the EQ modes of the AeroFit 2, they still offer good sound for the price.
Design
- Revamped earhook design
- Uses touch-style controls
- Now included wireless charging case
Soundcore has changed the way the AeroFit 2 sits around the ears and while it’s still an ear hook-style design, it’s now made from a liquid silicone. The air conduction units are more rounded and larger, and can be twisted to move them closer or further away from your ear canal. That’s to help make them a better fit for more ear sizes and also offer more control over how audio is fired towards your ears.
The buds come in your pick of black, white or green (pictured) and remind me of wearing the Shokz OpenFit. These aren’t buds that disappear when worn, but I’ve used them for long periods including hour-long workouts and sitting at my desk working for a few hours and I’ve never felt I’ve needed to take a break.
Soundcore sticks to onboard touch-based controls, which can be customised from the app and allows you to assign taps and multiple taps to adjust volume, skip tracks, summon your smart assistant and handle calls. The larger surface area makes operating the controls more reliable than the first AeroFit, even when on the move or during more energetic exercise time.
They’ve been slapped with an IP55 rating, protecting against sweat, water and dust, though not against submersion in water. Given Bluetooth streaming and water don’t mix, that’s no big deal.
There’s a change with the charging case, which is a shorter and now wider one with a single physical button to activate the pairing mode and an LED strip out front to let you know when the buds are charging. When the buds are in place, they do not budge.
Anker’s now added wireless charging and dropping them onto two different QI-enabled wireless chargers showed its wireless charging powers were all in good working order.
Features
- Multipoint connection mode
- Slight drop in battery life
With the Soundcore app you can pick from a large number of EQ presets or create a custom one. There’s also an additional 3D surround sound mode that helps to provide a more immersive, Spatial Audio-style experience when watching films and gaming. You also get access to multipoint sharing and an additional gaming mode setting.
Promised battery life is actually down from the AeroFit, dropping to 10 hours from 11 hours with the same overall 42 hours promised when you factor in a fully charged charging case. It does still have the same charging mode that gets you 4 hours of listening from a 10-minute charge, which isn’t bad at all.
I found that one hour of listening at near to top volume saw the battery drop by 10%. That would work out to 5 hours. Listening at louder volume and demanding more in terms of bass and power clearly has an impact. I do like the addition of wireless charging, but I’d definitely take more battery as opposed to the more convenient charging method..
Sound Quality
- Added High-Res audio support
The AeroFit 2 uses air conduction to deliver its open-ear sound, putting speakers in close proximity to your ears without entirely blocking them up. There’s now a new driver setup that uses a racetrack diaphragm and features 20mm by 11.55mm drivers compared to the 14mm drivers on the original AeroFit. That’s joined by new BassTurbo technology for a deeper bass performance.
I found the first AeroFit mustered up mostly likeable open-ear sound, and that while it didn’t blow me away in all departments, it did feel well equipped for working to working out and were certainly more likeable than the pricier AeroFit Pro.
I’d say it’s more of the same on the AeroFit 2. It’s not the very best open-ear sound I’ve experienced, but it’s good enough to be used in the same scenarios. It does pay off to make use of those EQ presets and it’s a shame there isn’t a way to toggle between a few of them on the buds themselves to better optimise the AeroFit 2 sound on the move.
There’s good overall warmth, which unsurprisingly is more present indoors and not when competing with more exterior sounds. Outside, they retain some of that likeable warmth, offer good volume and a nice rumble of bass. They don’t get drowned out by exterior sounds, and the balance of your sounds and the sounds around you feels just about right.
It’s a bit of a game of matching EQ presets with music genres or podcasts to get the most rewarding sound. The Soundcore signature and Balanced presets works fine for some audio and is lacking for others. They’re not as immaculately balanced as I’d like, but give you enough across the spectrum to ensure things are bright and enjoyable on the whole.
Bass performance is woolly as opposed to tight and snappy. Mids are smooth albeit lacking exceptional levels of detail and the treble performance has a grainy quality, which some will appreciate but I wanted and hoped for more in that department. It was very much the same for using them for calls too. They handle voices fine, but as far as giving you the best call quality, they’re not quite there.
On Bronski Beat’s Smalltown Boy you can get a good feel of that woolly bass and those smooth mids. On Tame Impala’s Feels Like We Only Go BackWards, in that signature EQ preset it’s a little harsh sounding in places and you do experience some bass muddiness. On Jill Scott’s Golden, bass is a little more punchy and those vocals are delivered in an enjoyable fashion.
Where I think the AeroFit lacks in comparison to the best in this category is the overall balance and clarity I think you do get from the Bose Ultra Open and rival buds like the Shokz OpenFit Air.
Should you buy it?
You want open-ear earbuds with good controls and sound
The Soundcore AeroFit 2 are comfortable to wear, with easy to use controls and offer a sound that makes them versatile to use for home, work and for workouts.
You want the very best sounding open-ear earbuds available
If you’re seeking out the best that the open-ear earbuds have to offer, the AeroFit 2 comes up short against the best.
Final Thoughts
The Soundcore AeroFit 2 are another solid-sounding set of open-ear earbuds that while aren’t impeccable in all departments, offer enough in most to make them worth grabbing.
I still think they lack behind the competition for sound, especially the similarly-priced Shokz OpenFit Air, but what Anker offers is a very wearable design with better touch controls than Shokz and good sound to make it a good buy. I just think you could spend a bit more money and get one of the best in this open-ear earbuds category.
Trusted Score
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- Tested for two weeks
- Tested with real-world use
FAQs
The Soundcore Aerofit 2 carry an IP55 rating offering some resistance against water, sweat and dust but are not fully waterproof and should not be submerged in water.
Full Specs
| Soundcore AeroFit 2 Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £99.99 |
| USA RRP | $99.99 |
| Manufacturer | Anker |
| IP rating | IP55 |
| Battery Hours | 10 |
| Wireless charging | No |
| Fast Charging | No |
| ASIN | B0DCZ2QFV8 |
| Release Date | 2024 |
| Model Number | A3874 |
| Audio Resolution | SBC, AAC, LDAC |
| Driver (s) | 20mm x 11.55mm |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Colours | Black, white, green, blue |
| Frequency Range | 20 40000 – Hz |
| Headphone Type | On-ear (Open) |
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