Shokz OpenMeet UC review

Shokz is the preeminent brand when it comes to bone conduction headphones, acting as the defacto pick for outdoor athletes. The company expanded into office headsets and furthers its foray with the Shokz OpenMeet UC. This bone conduction headset for work boasts a powerful boom mic, top-notch build quality, and a comfortable fit. Let’s find out if the OpenMeet UC will take over your office.

Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

What’s it like to use Shokz OpenMeet UC?

The Shokz OpenMeet UC is a premium bone conduction headset. Unlike standard bone conduction headphones, you wear the OpenMeet UC on top of your head rather than behind it. Shokz’ five-point pressure relief design keeps the weight distributed across my head. Adjustable headband rails extend from the titanium headband, allowing for a custom fit. You can swap out the pressure relief cushions (small, medium, large) to increase comfort.

Shokz put a ton of consideration into the comfort of this headset. It worked. This is the most comfortable bone conduction headset I’ve worn, with one caveat: the OpenMeet slides off my head when I look down. This isn’t a dealbreaker as I normally stare straight into the void, er, my laptop screen while working, but it’s not ideal.

One of the biggest selling points of the OpenMeet UC is that you may actively listen to online meetings while passively hearing your office environment. This is a great idea. Being connected to your physical space as you work is becoming rarer with the unending rise of virtual meetings. However, in practice, I find it less appealing than I had hoped.

When using the OpenMeet UC to take meetings from various coffee shops, I can’t fully acclimate to having one foot in the virtual world and another in the real world. I become distracted by others’ conversations or baristas calling out orders. This is to my dismay. I’m a huge fan of bone conduction headphones for exercising and walking around. The OpenMeet just doesn’t fare well with me when I have to pay attention to an important meeting.

A couple of times, I felt distracted enough by others’ conversations that I swapped the OpenMeet UC out for wired earbuds. This makes me wonder how office workers will fare if their cubicle neighbors are taking calls at the same time as them. To Shokz’ credit, it wants you to use the headset in an office, not a cafe, but I work remotely. This was the best I could do. Perhaps others are less distractable, so you may love this open-ear design for work.

In fairness, I like using the OpenMeet UC when working from home. The lightweight fit means I can wear the headset for a full eight hours without fatigue or pain. The cheekbone pads prevent any pressure points from forming as well.

Shokz doesn’t skimp on the accessories. The OpenMeet UC comes with a zippered hard shell carrying case, USB-C wireless adapter, three sizes of pressure relief cushions, and a USB-C to USB-C charging cable. The OpenMeet comes in three varieties: OpenMeet, OpenMeet UC with a USB-C adapter, and OpenMeet UC with a USB-A adapter. The OpenMeet is the most affordable at $219.95, and the UC models are $249.95.

Should you use the Shokz and Shokz Connect apps for the Shokz OpenMeet UC?

The Shokz app is available from the Google Play and Apple App Store. From the app, you can choose between two EQ modes (Standard, Vocal). The app offers quite a bit of customization given its barebones appearance. You may toggle multipoint connectivity on or off, adjust the notification settings, and tweak the call settings. Within the Call Settings menu, you may toggle the following features on or off: busy LED indicator, focus mode, and mute reminder tone. Most importantly, you’ll need the app to update the OpenMeet UC firmware.

Alternatively, you may download the Shokz Connect app for your PC or Mac to receive firmware updates and change the notification language.

How does the Shokz OpenMeet UC connect?

The Shokz OpenMeet UC operates via Bluetooth 5.4 and supports the SBC Bluetooth codec. True, SBC is the lowest common denominator of Bluetooth codecs, but you won’t perceive any of the audio quality benefits of high-quality codecs with bone conduction headsets anyway. For that, you’ll need a headset that isolates you from your environment.

Whether connected to my Macbook Air, iPhone 15 Pro, or Google Pixel 6, the OpenMeet maintained a strong connection without hiccups or dropouts. As an office headset, Shokz included multipoint connectivity with the OpenMeet. You can connect the headset to two devices at once. I love this productivity feature as it allows me to be present in a work meeting, while keeping an ear on my phone.

Our testing unit came with a USB-C Loop120 wireless adapter that is compatible with Windows 8+ and macOS 10.15+ for a hassle-free Bluetooth 5.4 connection (30-meter range). With the adapter, you don’t need to enter your device’s Bluetooth menu to initiate a connection. It does not use a 2.4GHz connection like gaming headset adapters.

As a Zoom-certified headset, the OpenMeet UC works smoothly with Zoom’s meeting software. While the OpenMeet UC lacks a Microsoft Teams certification, I had no issue using the headset on Teams.

How long does the Shokz OpenMeet UC battery last?

The Shokz OpenMeet has an extended battery life of up to 14 hours of talk time and 15 hours of listening time. This reflects my usage. I can use the headset for nearly a full workweek before recharging it via USB-C. During my workday, I am not always talking or listening to music. For hours at a time, the OpenMeet is rather idly connected to my laptop. Due to its bone conduction design, we were unable to test this headset with our usual testing methodology, so our battery life reports are subjective.

How well does the Shokz OpenMeet UC block out noise?

The Shokz OpenMeet doesn’t block out noise, but that’s the main draw of the headset. Rather than keep you isolated from your surroundings, the OpenMeet invites you to hear your world while you work. A benefit of the OpenMeet UC is hearing your officemate as they approach you for a question. A drawback is that you’ll hear your office mate as they take a Zoom call right next to you.

Suffice it to say, your mileage may vary when using this headset in a shared office space. That said, I like this unoccluded fit when working remotely because my ears don’t get sweaty like they do with conventional office headsets.

How does the Shokz OpenMeet UC sound?

First thing is first: no one buys bone conduction headphones for audiophile quality. Since the design of the OpenMeet UC leaves your ears completely open to your surroundings, you’re going to encounter auditory masking. You won’t hear the same skull-shaking bass from the OpenMeet UC as you would from a pair of closed-back headphones.

With that out of the way, the Shokz OpenMeet UC has excellent sound quality for a bone conduction headset. Shokz’ large cheekbone pads and PremiumPitch 3.0 tech are a mighty combination. You’ll hear more consistent audio reproduction when speaking, eating, or drinking than other bone conduction headphones. The OpenMeet isn’t impervious to audio inconsistencies though. When I open my mouth wide to eat or yawn, I hear audio quality degradation. The movement causes the headset to shift off my head for a moment. Displacement inhibits the headset’s ability to transmit audio through my skull optimally, and this effect will forever plague bone conduction headphones.

When listening, you may choose between two EQ presets with the OpenMeet UC. For music, I heed Shokz’ advice and select the Standard option. The Vocal preset cuts the sub-bass frequencies and boosts the frequencies where speech lies. I generally prefer the Vocal preset for the OpenMeet UC when using it for phone calls as it improves others’ poor microphone clarity though.

When playing Dive by Olivia Dean, I appreciate the bass underscoring the first verse as Dean croons, “It isn’t working.” This bass reproduction is impressive within the context of bone conduction headphones. When I play the same song through the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, the bass is less prominent. I can feel a very subtle “thud” from the drums with the OpenMeet UC which isn’t the case with the more pedestrian OpenRun Pro 2. You will not find this bass impressive if your only points of reference are earbuds and closed-back headphones. Dean’s vocals come through clearly even as the triangle hits enter with the bridge at 1:51.

Can you use the Shokz OpenMeet UC for phone calls?

The microphone on the Shokz OpenMeet UC is among its greatest strengths. This dual-mic system uses Qualcomm’s Clear Voice Capture (cVc) algorithm to ensure clear voice transmission from any environment. I am impressed by how well the OpenMeet UC microphone isolates my voice from my surroundings in the demos below.

Take a listen to our microphone demos below and let us know your thoughts.

Shokz OpenMeet UC non-standardized microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Should you buy the Shokz OpenMeet UC?

The Shokz OpenMeet UC is a great office headset worth buying if you know what you’re getting into. Equipped with capable microphone system, the OpenMeet UC ensures clear voice transmission from even the nosiest office environments. I find the OpenMeet UC comfortable to wear for hours at a time, which is a rarity as a bespectacled listener. Though, I wish I could look down for longer than a second before the OpenMeet began sliding off my noggin. Comfortable but fickle fit aside, if you want a bone conduction headset with stellar sound and mic quality, the OpenMeet is worth saving for.

However, I prefer a closed-back set of headphones if speaking in a noisy environment. I find it too jarring to hear all the environmental noise while on a call. At the end of the day, it’s easier for me to focus when isolated from my surroundings in shared spaces.

What should you get instead of the Shokz OpenMeet UC?

Listeners who want to hear their surroundings while working but want a slightly more affordable option can consider the Shokz OpenComm2 UC. This currently costs $199.95 at Amazon, and we’ve seen it on sale for as low as $169. The OpenComm2 UC fits like standard bone conduction headphones with the headband wrapping around the back of your head. The sound quality isn’t quite as good as the OpenMeet UC though.

For similarly good microphone quality with the ability to reject background noise, invest in the Sony WH-1000XM5 ($387 at Amazon). These active noise canceling (ANC) headphones are comfortable, keep your ears blocked off from your surroundings, and have a mobile app rife with customization options. While Sony’s flagship headphones are more expensive than the OpenMeet UC, they’re also more versatile. Sony’s ANC means you can use the WH-1000XM5 just as well in the office as you can on the plane.

For a great boom mic with extended battery life, we recommend the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro (2023) ($199.99 at Amazon). The 2.4GHz USB dongle is excellent for gamers who demand low-latency wireless connectivity. In our testing, the battery lasted 55 hours and three minutes on a single charge, which is more than three times the battery life of the OpenMeet UC.

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