Beats Studio Pro vs. Shokz OpenSwim

Beats Studio Pro

The Beats Studio Pro are over-ear headphones made for people who want solid sound and noise cancellation. They come in several colors like black, deep brown, navy, and sandstone. The design is pretty simple—nothing flashy—but they’re built to be comfortable with soft ear cushions that you can wear for hours. They’ve got Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), which helps block out outside sounds—good if you’re on a plane or somewhere loud. There’s also a Transparency Mode, so you can hear what’s going on around you without taking them off. Battery life is impressive—up to 40 hours with regular use, and if you forget to charge them, a quick 10-minute plug-in gives you about 4 more hours of playtime. Sound-wise, they’re tuned to be clear and balanced, not overly bass-heavy like older Beats models. There’s a feature called Personalized Spatial Audio, which makes it feel like the sound is coming from all around you—nice for movies or certain songs. If you’re into wired listening, you can conn...

Shokz OpenSwim

The Shokz OpenSwim is a set of bone conduction headphones designed specifically for swimming. Unlike regular earbuds, these don’t go inside your ears. Instead, they rest on your cheekbones and use vibrations to send sound directly into your inner ear. This means you can still hear what’s happening around you while listening to music. They don’t have Bluetooth because Bluetooth doesn’t work underwater. Instead, they come with 4GB of internal storage, so you load your own MP3 files onto them. The battery lasts about 8 hours, which is plenty for most swim sessions. They’re IP68 waterproof, meaning they can handle continuous submersion, though there’s usually a depth limit (often around 2 meters). At 30g, they’re lightweight and designed to stay in place while swimming. The package includes a USB charging cradle, a carrying case, and swimming earplugs, which help improve sound quality underwater. People who use them generally love the sound quality and find them easy to use, thoug...

Reviews

Reviewed on 2/22/2025

I really wanted to like these headphones because I love using Apple products. When my AirPods Max died, I first ordered a pair of Beats Studio Pro as a replacement and went to the Apple Store to try them out. Sadly these headphones were underwhelming, especially given their price, and I ended up returning them. The main problem is that the ear pads are some of the smallest on the market. My ears were constantly touching the sides of the pads, which was annoying, and with so little space inside the headphone they got warm very quickly. The second problem is that these headphones somehow feel cheap and low quality, very much in contrast to most other Apple products I've used. For example, they have this large button on the side that you use to control the headphones, and it gives off these loud plasticky clicks when pressed. I'm really not sure who I would recommend these headphones to. Maybe if you really like the Apple ecosystem and happen to have tiny ears, these are the headphones for you. Otherwise, there are so many other quality headphones on the market that cost less. I ended up with Bose QuietComfort and I'm very satisfied with that choice.

Reviews

Reviewed on 2/16/2025

I bought my OpenSwim headphones in 2021 and four years later they are still serving me well. They survived multiple trips to Thailand and Greece, including both in the open sea and in swimming pools. They were fun to use for snorkeling. I love the sound quality, I was genuinely surprised how good they sounds underwater, it's like having your own sound system. I wish they had bluetooth that you could use when not submerged, and as far as I know the newer models do have that. With either model, you still need to load your own songs for underwater use though. Everyone uses streaming services these days so mp3 are actually kind of hard to find, which is something I didn't expect I'd struggle with when I first bought these. Except for a few drawbacks that really amount to nitpicking, these are excellent, reliable, sturdy, and high quality headphones.

Pros
ItemVotesUpvote
Lightweight1
Come with Apple 'Find My' feature1
Compatible with other Apple products1
Cons
ItemVotesUpvote
Feel cheap and plasticky1
Ear pads are small1
Your ears will get hot1
Pros
ItemVotesUpvote
Work underwater1
Lightweight1
Battery life1
Cons
ItemVotesUpvote
No blueetooth1

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