The Soundcore AeroFit 2 Pro are a true novelty: they are open-ear earbuds that, with a quick pivot, become in-ear noise-cancelling ones. It makes them one of the most flexible headphones I’ve ever tried, and I’d be surprised if they don’t start a trend.
They’re packed with bonus features including spatial audio, head tracking, dual connection to your phone and PC, and they’ve even got a gaming mode to reduce latency (with admittedly mixed results). But while their audio is impressive in both modes, and their customization rich, their in-ear configuration is a letdown thanks to meagre active noise cancellation (ANC) and a below-par battery. Is it enough to ruin these $180/£180 buds?
Soundcore AeroFit 2 Pro: Comfortable, well-built earbuds
The thick anchor portion of the AeroFit 2 Pro buds hugs the bottom of your ear and I never felt like they’d fall off, even when I went running in the rain (which you can do thanks to the IP55 rating). The loop sat snugly on my ears without ever chafing or irritating me.
The case is a lot larger than most, but slim enough to sit in my pocket without issue. The buds feel light and particularly comfortable in open-ear mode. I could almost forget I was wearing buds and, as somebody who’s used to in-ear buds with transparency modes, it was a real joy to keep my ear canals clear. I could, for example, play on my Steam Deck while still hearing everything my wife was saying, and when I was listening to a podcast outside I was fully aware of what was happening around me.
When I twisted the pivot to slide the tips into my ear they felt slightly less comfortable, probably because there’s no flexible rubber on those tips. But they’re slim, which means they won’t dig into your ear, and I could still wear them for hours at a time. Only once, after about three hours, did I feel the urge to take a break.
Twisting between open-ear and in-ear modes is easy, with a satisfying click between each of the five increments. The hinge felt sturdy and tight even when I repeatedly yanked them back and forward more aggressively than any normal person would.
The flexibility of the buds’ main stem does mean their tips wiggle towards and away from your head when you press them. That means that hitting the physical button – no touch controls here – on either side requires a bit of force because you need to press the buds against your ear before the button actuates. But that’s a minor gripe, and the controls worked every time I tried them.
Soundcore AeroFit 2 Pro: Reliable, customizable sound with a dedicated gaming mode
The AeroFit 2 Pro earbuds don’t sound as rich as top-of-the-market earbuds, but I was generally impressed with the audio quality. They’re clear and vibrant in every configuration – provided you’re happy to fiddle with the settings a bit.
The sound smartly adjusts as you twist them from open-ear to in-ear. In open ear mode with the default EQ the audio lacks detail and the bass is slightly artificial but the important stuff – including vocals in both podcasts and music – is loud and punchy. When you twist to the in-ear mode, the sound gets far more detailed: I could pick out every note on every instrument in The Verve’s Bitter Sweet Symphony.
Soundcore Signature and a separate “Balanced” EQ will sound decent whatever you listen to, but rarely amazing. Soundcore Signature, for example, muffled the vocals in Bitter Sweet Symphony – whereas in Elton John’s Rocketman, they were vibrant. Everything also sounded a little washed with ANC turned on, so I switched it off when possible.
You have to be prepared to dig into the settings to get a sound that works for you. Thankfully, there are plenty of options including 22 EQ presets and you can set separate, custom EQs for in-ear and open-ear modes. J. Cole’s 03′ Adolescence worked much better with the Hip Hop EQ, brining out the detail in his vocals and the bass in the beat. Bitter Sweet Symphony sounded, strangely, most balanced and lively on the Jazz preset.
A dedicated gaming mode is what initially drew me to these buds. Soundcore says it reduces latency and emphasizes vocals and footsteps – I could still feel the lag between my inputs and game sounds on my laptop, Steam Deck, and Switch 2, and they’re nowhere near as good as dedicated earbuds with 2.4GHz wireless connection (to be expected, of course).
You do get clear directionality and detail, so when I played Arc Raiders I could always tell where my enemies were coming from.
For more casual, story-driven games, I found gaming mode more of a hindrance than a help. In Disco Elysium, voices sounded blurry and blown-out, as if the actors were speaking too close to their microphones. Turning gaming mode off and fiddling with other settings gave me the sound I wanted.
It means gaming mode feels, ultimately, slightly pointless. The noticeable lag means you’re unlikely to use these buds in a multiplayer shooter – and casual games sound better without it.
But I do appreciate its inclusion, and it fits the idea that these buds offer tons of bonus features that you might not expect.
They support the LDAC Bluetooth codec, which works with newer Android devices and gives you noticeable more detailed sound. You can adjust the left-right audio balance – useful if your hearing isn’t equal in both ears. They connect seamlessly to two devices at once, such as your phone and laptop, and smartly switch back and forth. Spatial Audio gives you a wider soundscape at the cost of detail, and has both a movie and music mode (I enjoyed watching films this way). And you can even turn on head tracking so the sound moves about as you tilt your head, which feels novel.
Soundcore AeroFit 2 Pro: Weak ANC and below-par battery
It’s a shame that one of the real selling points – open ear buds that you can transform for ANC – is one of its big weaknesses.
Without a snug fit and a full seal around your ear, background noise is bound to seep through. The ANC definitely blocks some noise but it’s weaker than almost any dedicated in-ear bud I’ve tested. It faltered on the three tests I always use: at the gym I could still hear the public music as well as my own, in a cafe I could still hear background conversations, and on the London Underground the rumble of the tube made it difficult to hear podcasts.
Whether it’s sufficient for you depends on what sort of noise you’ll need to block out. If you just want to filter out day-to-day sounds, they’re fine, but if you work in a particularly noisy environment, I’d look elsewhere.
ANC, as I’ve mentioned, washes out the audio a bit, and it also cuts battery life from about seven hours to five. Seven hours without ANC is perfectly fine, but five hours with ANC is lower than I’d hope for at this price. They do, thankfully, charge quickly and wirelessly and the case holds a lot of charge, so you should get around 30 hours in total before you need to plug them in. That’s not bad at all.
Samuel is a freelance reporter and editor specializing in longform journalism and hardware reviews. You can read his work at his website.
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