AfterShokz Aeropex review

AfterShokz (now named Shokz) has an iron grip on the bone conduction headphones market, with a handful of products aimed at athletes. The AfterShokz Aeropex lets you can keep an ear on what’s going on around you without the need for a software-powered transparency mode or mono listening. We like bone conduction headphones because they don’t clog up your ears—it’s good for those with certain sensitivities— but they’re usually far from perfect.

After spending two weeks with the AfterShokz Aeropex, we can confidently say that this is a great headset for a niche audience. Let’s find out if it suits your needs.

The Aeropex is a pretty easy-to-use wireless headset with just three buttons and a two-pin charging connection. What sets the Aeropex apart from other wireless headphones is that it uses vibrations to transmit sound through the bones in your skull, rather than relying on speakers that directly fire sound down your ear canals. It sounds scary, but the technology has been around for decades.

At first glance, you might be tempted to shove the rounded pieces into your ears—don’t do that. To properly wear the headphones, you’ll need to place the earbud-shaped parts right in front of your ear canal so they rest on your cheekbone (see here). A band connects the two buds and stretches to accommodate a variety of head sizes. The band arches where it meets my ears and the whole thing feels comfortable when I’m at my desk or on a walk. However, anytime I remove a mask with the Aeropex on, I inadvertently shift the headset around or off altogether. Oh, and combining the Aeropex with both a mask and glasses, well, that will turn anyone into a tangled mess.

The headset has an entirely rubberized exterior, which keeps the Aeropex in place during light activities. I imagine the coating could catch on longer hair and mess up a good do, since it collects dust and turns into a fuzzy-looking mess pretty quickly. Thankfully, the headset has an IP67 rating, so I just run it under water and wipe it down with a cloth to get rid of grime.

How do you control the AfterShokz Aeropex?

The Aeropex has a sparse control layout with a power/volume up, volume down, and multi-function button. Annoyingly, a loud beep accompanies any command and you cannot disable this tone. It can be a bit disruptive when I adjust the volume with more than one click.

Take a look at the table below to understand how to control the Aeropex for playback and calls.

	One press	Two presses	Three presses	Press and hold (2s)	Press and hold (3s)
Multi-function	One press Play / pause music Answer/end call	Two presses Next track Redial last number (when idle)	Three presses Previous track	Press and hold (2s)Press and hold (3s) Access voice assistant Answer incoming call, hang up current call Reject a call
Volume up	One pressTwo pressesThree presses Increase volume Check battery status (when idle)			Press and hold (2s)	Press and hold (3s)
Volume down	One pressTwo pressesThree pressesPress and hold (2s)Press and hold (3s) Decrease volume Check battery status (when idle)
Volume up and down together	One pressTwo pressesThree pressesPress and hold (2s) Reject a call				Press and hold (3s) Change EQ setting (while music plays)

The AfterShokz Aeropex is a solid pair of workout headphones if you prioritize safety and avoid certain kinds of exercises. Runners, cyclists, and even rock climbers will enjoy the headset, but this isn’t the pick for someone doing bench presses. Since the Aeropex wraps around the back of your head with a few-centimeter gap between your skull and the band, any position where your head leans back on something will thrust the headset forward and off of your cheekbone, leaving you with askew headphones when you sit up.

The Aeropex shines with rock climbing, as it stays out of the way and rarely interferes with movement. On occasion, I knock it out of place on overhangs, but it’s easy to readjust. Runners will like the Aeropex too as the band only flops a little bit and never jostles the headset out of place.

I like the Aeropex for cycling because it leaves my ears completely open to passing cars and other cyclists. Sure, you get the same effect with a portable speaker, but with the Shokz headset, you can enjoy safety and a private listening experience. That said, getting the band to play nicely with a helmet is hard, and it never feels completely comfortable.

Even with its fit quirks, I appreciate how the Aeropex keeps me tuned into the environment, whether it’s friends cheering me on as I climb, or a barking dog at the end of block. Adjusting the fit is a small inconvenience compared to that level of situational awareness.

With the AfterShokz Aeropex, you only get the default SBC Bluetooth codec, so no high-quality audio streaming to any device. Even if the Aeropex supported AAC or aptX, you wouldn’t be able to perceive the higher quality audio since the headset does nothing to block your ears from the external world. No matter what codecs it supports, a bone conduction headset will never sound as good as a pair of earbuds that seal to your ears or properly fitted headphones.

The AfterShokz Aeropex uses Bluetooth 5.0, so there’s no chance of it supporting LE Audio and the LC3 codec when the time comes. While this is a bit disappointing, you still get certain perks like reliable connectivity and improved power efficiency relative to Bluetooth 4.2 products. Surprisingly, the Aeropex supports Bluetooth multipoint so you can connect it to two devices at once, which makes it a solid headset for work.

The Aeropex uses a 145mAh lithium-polymer battery that merits an official 8-hour battery life and my usage reinforces this specification. You get 10 days of standby time and the headset takes two hours to recharge. Unfortunately, you must use a proprietary charging cable that magnetically latches onto a two-pin connector on the right side of the Aeropex. If you lose the cable, you’ll have to buy a new one from Shokz.

When you charge the headset its LED will light up to communicate battery status: red means it’s charging and solid blue means it’s fully charged. If it flashes red every two seconds, the battery is low.

Does the AfterShokz Aeropex block out noise?

The AfterShokz Aeropex does not block out background noise because it leaves your ears completely unoccluded. This lack of isolation is a feature, not a bug. If you want headphones that block out noise, there are plenty of options for athletes and average consumers alike.

There is no sub-bass with the AfterShokz Aeropex, which should come as no surprise since it doesn’t touch your outer ear, let alone make any kind of seal to your ear canal. To combat this, the bass response sounds notably louder than the mids. This kind of sound makes sense because bass notes in music are usually the first casualty of auditory masking, and separately, most athletes prefer a loud bass output for workouts.

Lows, mids, and highs

Since it’s hard to recreate an ideal fit with the Aeropex, sound quality is inconsistent. When I place the headset directly on my cheekbone just in front of my ear, the song 17 anymore by marcos g sounds quite good. His vocals come through clearly but the claps before the bass drops at 0:25 are much quieter than I’m used to. The same goes for the subsequent bass drop a second later, which continues throughout most of the song.

When I slide the headset up or forward just a centimeter, loudness and clarity take a nosedive. Anytime I listen to the Aeropex and eat at the same time, the sound is also inconsistent because of how my jaw slightly misplaces the Aeropex with every bite.

Still, this headset sounds very good and definitely better than the retired Trekz Titanium from AfterShokz. Because of the all but absent sub-bass response, the Aeropex sounds best when it’s reproducing spoken word content like podcasts or audiobooks.

Can you use the AfterShokz Aeropex for phone calls?

The AfterShokz Aeropex is not a great headset for phone calls, but it has a serviceable microphone. As long as you only take calls in a quiet environment, the person on the other end will hear you just fine. However, if you decide to take a walk on a windy day, the person on the other end of the call may be left frustrated by all the background noise. Listen below and tell us what you think!

AfterShokz Aeropex microphone demo:

The AfterShokz Aeropex knows how to serve a niche, and if you’re someone who wants to exercise outside or who wears hearing aids and wants to hear music simultaneously, this could be the perfect option. I feel confident when biking around town with the Aeropex, and I like hearing the world in tandem with my music. While not spectacular, the sound is pretty good for something that doesn’t directly interact with your ears.

Still, the Aeropex has its drawbacks like the proprietary charging method and its value relative to other headsets. For the typical listener, there are far better options at your fingertips if you value sound quality, comfort, fit stability, or features.

What should you get instead of the AfterShokz Aeropex?

If you’ve decided against bone conduction headphones, let us point you toward the Bose Sport Open Earbuds. Similar to bone conduction headphones, the Sport Open rests on top of your ear and leaves your ear canals unoccluded. This allows you to hear everything going on around you but the sound quality is better since Bose really just uses directional speakers to funnel sound down your ear canals.

Bose’s wireless sport earphones aren’t quite as durable as the Aeropex and have a typical IPX4 rating. Similar to the Aeropex, there’s an odd proprietary charging cradle that comes with the Sport Open Earbuds, but at least with Bose’s earphones you get a mobile app for updates.

For those who don’t mind having things in and on their outer ears, the Sony LinkBuds WF-L900 is a really nice alternative to bone conduction headsets.

Sony’s earphones have a donut-shaped hole in the center so external sound can travel down your unobstructed ear canals. This way, you get better sound quality than the Bose Sport Open and any bone conduction headphones, all while hearing your surroundings almost as well. The WF-L900 earphones have an IPX4 rating and fit much more securely and comfortably than the Aeropex. You can use the Sony Headphones Connect app to customize your listening experience, and its case uses the standard USB-C input for charging.