Technologies

Are Shokz’ New OpenDots One Better Than Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds?

With the proliferation of clip-on earbuds, Shokz is getting in the game with its premium priced $200 OpenDots One buds. I went hands-on with them to see how they stack up against Bose’s top-rated Ultra Open Earbuds.

While clip-on earbuds were kicking around the Asian markets well before Bose released its $300 Ultra Open Earbuds last year, it was Bose’s innovative design and marketing that brought this new style of earrings-like open earbuds to a worldwide audience and spurred others to release clip-on designs to the U.S market. Now Shokz, known for its bone-conduction headphones, has joined the growing clip-on crowd with its OpenDots One ($200), a more premium model that looks and feels similar to the Ultra Open Earbuds but lists for $100 less.

I’ve been testing the OpenDots One for a couple of days, comparing them to the Ultra Open Earbuds along with some budget clip-on buds that cost as low as $50. Here are my initial thoughts on the OpenDots One. Note that they do not use bone-conduction technology.

Read more: Best clip-on earbuds of 2025

Design

From a design standpoint, the Shokz OpenDots One measure up quite well to the Bose Ultra Earbuds. They fit my ears as well and maybe even slightly better than the Bose buds, which are quite comfortable. Like the Bose, they have a flexible connector that Shokz refers to as a JointArc and says “provides a gentle yet secure grip on various ear shapes” while noting that “soft silicone strategically placed on the exterior of the speaker further minimizes pressure, even during extended wear.”

As with all clip-on buds, the OpenDots One, as their name implies, feature an open design. That means the bud and driver sit over your ear canal and aren’t jammed in it like noise-isolating ear buds with silicone or foam tips. Open buds allow for sound to leak into your ears and are good for those who don’t like having ear tips jammed in their ears or want to hear the outside world around them for safety reasons. Shokz specializes in headphones and earbuds that are well suited for sporting activities and like its bone-conduction headphones, the OpenDots One offer a secure fit and work well for runners. They have an IP54 rating, which means they’ll provide protection from “light rain and sweat” and are also dust-resistant.

The touch controls take some trial and error to get used to. You can either tap the battery compartment or JointArc or “pinch” the battery with two fingers to control playback and answer/end calls. You can set the long tap and hold gesture to either adjust volume, activate your voice assistant or advance tracks forward and back. I prefer the Bose’s physical control button on its battery, which is also shaped like a barrel, but the OpenDots touch controls were fine.

Shokz OpenDots One Sound Quality

Shokz says the OpenDots One feature its Bassphere technology that “combines dual 11.8 mm drivers in a spherical module to replicate the performance of a 16mm driver.” They also feature Dolby Audio and Shokz’ DirectPitch technology, which minimizes sound leakage so people near you can’t hear what you’re listening to (or hear it very faintly anyway). You have to engage Dolby Audio in the Shokz App for iOS and Android and it does open the sound a bit and everything sound a tad fuller. It’s simply some form of digital processing and it’s unclear whether it impacts battery life but you can hear a difference when engaging it.

The sound of all clip-on buds changes slightly with how you position the buds on your ears (you can slide the bud up or down a bit to find the most comfortable fit but the positioning may impact sound quality). They also face some bass challenges because of their open design and tend to not sound as good as noise-isolating earbuds.

That’s the case here as well, although the OpenDots are among the best-sounding clip-on buds I’ve tested, which should be expected given their high price. That said, their sound falls a little short of the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds’ sound quality, even with Dolby Audio engaged. The Bose buds sound a little more open with a tad more bass and their tonal balance is slightly better (they sound more natural and accurate overall). It’s a relatively subtle difference but it is noticeable.

The main issue with cheaper clip-on earbuds is that they tend to distort a bit at higher volumes. The OpenDots One mainly manage to avoid distorting when you push up the volume. They play loud but not super-loud.

Shokz OpenDots One Voice-calling performance

Shokz headphones and earbuds tend to have good voice-calling performance and while the OpenDots One aren’t bad in the voice-calling department, callers did say they heard a fair amount of background noise when I used them on the noisy streets of New York.

At launch, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds also weren’t great performers for voice calling with similar issues with background noise reduction. But Bose has subsequently improved the noise reduction with a firmware update (Bose also added multipoint Bluetooth pairing with the same firmware update). And while the Ultra Open Earbuds still aren’t top-notch for voice-calling, they’re now above average.

Shokz OpenDots One extra features and battery life

The OpenDots One have “Dynamic Ear Detection” that allows the earbuds to automatically recognize which bud is in which ear, so no left or right markers are needed. But otherwise their feature set is fairly basic. They do link with the Shokz App for iOS and Android, which “enables multipoint pairing between two devices, 4 pre-set EQ modes plus two personalized EQ, Find My Earbuds and more.”

The Bose Ultra Open feature Bose’s Immersive Audio for music spatialization. That’s the same feature found in the QC Ultra Earbuds and QC Ultra Headphones. As with those models, these buds have head-tracking, so you can set the Immersive Audio for Still mode that fixes the sound or Motion Mode that follows your head movements. Engaging it does enhance the sound a bit from standard stereo mode but I think it makes a more pronounced difference with the QuietComfort models. Also, engaging it does reduce battery life.

The Ultra Open Earbuds are rated for up to 7.5 hours at moderate volume levels but that number drops to about 4.5 hours with Immersive Audio on. The charging case provides an additional 19.5 hours of battery and has a quick-charge feature but no wireless charging option.

In contrast, the OpenDots One are rated for up to 10 hours of use on on a single charge, with an additional 30 hours of battery in the charging case, which does feature wireless charging. So the Shokz definitely have an advantage there.

Shokz OpenDots One final initial thoughts

The well-designed OpenDots One are among the best open earbuds out there right now and certainly have a place on our list of best clip-on earbuds. While they don’t sound quite as good as the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, they’re pretty close and fit my ears slightly better and have better battery life. Like the Ultra Open Earbuds, which list for $299 but are currently on sale for $249, they’re overpriced, but at least they cost less than the Bose and their case does have wireless charging.

More affordable clip-on earbuds like the Baseus Bowie MC1 (about $50) or Tozo OpenEarRing ($30), don’t sound as good or feature as premium a design. But because these types of clip-on open buds are more for casual listening, not critical listening and just don’t produce the greatest sound, it’s harder to justify spending big bucks on them. In other words, the OpenDots are clearly superior to those budget models but not $150 better.

Shokz OpenDots One key specs:

Weight: 6.5 grams per bud
IP54 splash-proof and dust-resistant
11.8 mm drivers
Bluetooth: 5.4
Dolby Audio
Touch controls
Battery life: Up to 10 hours on a single charge and up to 40 hours with the charging case
10-minute quick charge provides 2 hours of playtime
Multipoint Bluetooth pairing
Wireless charging supported
Customize EQ modes and touch controls in Shokz App for iOS and Android
Locate your earbuds feature
Colors: Black or gray
Price: $200

Technologies

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”