Gone are the days when foreign headphones dominated the Chinese market, and a single "master-tuned" headphone could sell well in China for years. Nowadays, the domestic audio market is evolving rapidly. This is partly because the global audio industry's technology is shifting towards the Chinese market, with over 90% of mainstream audio brands outsourcing their production, R&D, and even final tuning stages to Chinese manufacturers, giving us the advantage of proximity. Additionally, many "veteran audio manufacturers" have transferred their R&D responsibilities to Chinese OEMs, losing their core technologies and becoming mere "integrators of suppliers," which has eroded their competitiveness.
So, are there any headphone brands that have maintained their core technology after 20 years of development and continue to innovate? Indeed, there are.
Source: Ray Technology
On April 12, 2024, Shokz, also known as Shao Yin (hereinafter referred to as Shao Yin), held its 2024 Spring New Product Launch Event in Beijing. During the event, CEO Yang Yun and Product Director Zhang Haofeng officially unveiled two heavyweight new products: OpenSwim Pro and OpenFit Air.
First up is the upgraded version of Shao Yin OpenSwim—OpenSwim Pro. Although the name only adds "Pro" to OpenSwim, the significance of this product for Shao Yin, in my opinion, is no less than that of Shao Yin's "pioneering work"—because this dual-mode earphone marks Shao Yin's first true "triathlon earphone."
Despite launching many outdoor earphones with waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof features before the brand's restructuring, and even becoming a partner of the Tour de France as early as 2019, the inability to be submerged in water has always been a shortcoming of Shao Yin's previous products. By "unable to go underwater," I don't mean that Shao Yin's products are not waterproof, but rather that Shao Yin's earphones cannot play music underwater:
Due to water's extensive absorption spectrum in the microwave region, Bluetooth signals can hardly propagate underwater, leading to Bluetooth earphones "disconnecting as soon as they touch water."
To address the issue of underwater playback, Shao Yin launched its first bone conduction player product in 2019—Xtrainerz (renamed OpenSwim after the upgrade).
Image source: Lei Technology
This player comes with 4GB of internal storage, allowing users to upload songs via a USB cable for music playback while swimming. However, the OpenSwim's single-mode design means it cannot connect to a smartphone to function as Bluetooth headphones—addressing the challenges of listening to music during triathlon swimming but limiting its utility during running and cycling.
Image Source: Lei Technology
Today's release of the OpenSwim Pro finally solves a persistent issue: on land, the OpenSwim Pro serves as a high-quality, comfortable bone conduction sports headphone; in the water, users can manually switch the device to MP3 mode to play pre-loaded audio content, continuing to cheer on their workout with music. Considering the altered auditory experience underwater, OpenSwim Pro also features specialized underwater sound effects.
To ensure the headphones meet the rigorous demands of triathlon swimming, Shaoyin made several adjustments to the OpenSwim Pro. First, the charging points were moved from the inside to the underside of the headphones, not only standardizing the charging experience across the endurance sports series but also avoiding discomfort from contact with the skin. Additionally, OpenSwim Pro incorporates Shaoyin's proprietary technology—PremiumPitch 2.0+—which enhances the bone conduction's impact on sound quality, providing better penetration and stereo effects.
Image source: Lei Technology
The previous version of OpenSwim did not include a Bluetooth headset mode, so there was no need to design a microphone for calls. However, for the OpenSwim Pro, the addition of a call microphone required a more challenging waterproofing solution due to the extra openings involved.
In response, Lei Technology designed a seven-layer laminate structure for the microphone's waterproof breathable membrane, providing multiple layers of protection against water. Considering that this design might affect the call quality in Bluetooth headset mode, Lei Technology equipped the OpenSwim Pro with neural network DNS noise reduction technology, combined with voice enhancement technology to suppress background noise.
Image source: Lei Technology
Moreover, the storage capacity of the OpenSwim Pro has increased significantly from the previous 4GB to 32GB. Coupled with a battery life of 9/6 hours (Bluetooth headset mode/MP3 mode), it ensures that whether you're running a marathon or participating in a triathlon, you won't have to worry about running out of power mid-event.
Image Source: Lei Technology
Another new product is the modified version of Shaoyin's star product — the OpenFit Air. Like its flagship counterpart, the OpenFit, the OpenFit Air also features an open-fit, non-in-ear design and uses the same 18x11mm customized racetrack-shaped drivers. Its proprietary DirectPitch directional sound field technology is also retained, preventing it from becoming a mere "speaker by your ear" like some other brands' open-style headphones.
In terms of product details, the OpenFit Air has several improvements. When experiencing the OpenFit, Lei's colleague noted that the ear hooks and headphones were too large, making them unfriendly for users with smaller ears. To address the "one size fits all" issue, Shaoyin approached the solution from two angles.
Firstly, the OpenFit Air features a dual-angle design that allows the body of the headphones to fit more closely to the user's ears, ensuring more stable wear. Additionally, Shaoyin designed a 2mm indentation in the ear hooks, allowing them to secure behind the ear like an "airbag" while also preventing any additional pressure.
Image Source: Ray Technology
Possibly due to cost considerations, the OpenFit Air does not use the same material combination of carbon fiber, silicone, and titanium alloy as the OpenFit model. Instead, it employs stainless steel, titanium alloy, and silicone. Nevertheless, the weight of a single OpenFit Air earbud is still only 8.3g, making it incredibly lightweight.
In terms of pricing, the Shao Yin OpenSwim Pro comes in Coral Sea and Shale Peak color options, priced at 1298 CNY; while the OpenFit Air is available in three colors: Obsidian Black, Sakura Pink, and Glacier White, priced at 798 CNY. Except for the Sakura Pink variant of the OpenFit Air, which will be available next month, all other styles were released on April 12th at 4:00 p.m.
Image Source: Lei Technology
From Shokz's recent launch event, one conclusion is clear: today's sports headphone market has evolved beyond simply adding an ear hook to signify a product's suitability for sports. The growing public interest in health has given rise to a new consumer scenario—the casual sport.
Traditionally, the distinction between "serious sports" and "casual sports" was straightforward: frequency of activity. Many sports equipment companies, including the well-known brand Decathlon, used activity frequency as the criterion to differentiate between "high-end gear" and "beginner gear."
This method used to work well, but since the fitness economy boom in 2020, it has become apparent that basing decisions solely on frequency is not the most scientific approach. Instead, sports equipment like headphones should be categorized based on the specific functional demands during physical activities.
This explains why Shokz mentioned its new product matrix multiple times during the launch event. After transitioning from "AfterShokz" to Shokz, the company has reorganized its product line into four major categories: the Swimming Triathlon series, the Endurance Sports series, the Fitness Commuting series, and the Communication Meeting series.
Image source: Ray Technology
Headphones designed for marathons, triathlons, and speed cycling have very demanding functional requirements and naturally belong to the endurance sports series. Meanwhile, products like OpenFit and OpenFit Air, aimed at everyday fitness and light cycling, naturally fall into the fitness and travel series.
Image Source: Lei Technology
A more scientific product classification means that ShaoYin can "accurately target" user pain points: According to data from Qualcomm's "2023 Audio Product Usage Survey Report," headphone comfort has surpassed price, battery life, and sound quality to become the primary consideration when purchasing headphones. This implies that sports headphone brands must actively adapt to market trends, with understanding user needs and addressing user pain points as the core principles of product design.
Image source: Lei Technology
Introducing a new product category presents a significant challenge for sports headphone brands: to succeed in this new arena, brands must possess strong technological development capabilities and the determination to let go of past achievements. They need to start from scratch and create a milestone product tailored for this new sports category.
Source: Lei Jun Technology
In terms of sales, it's evident that ShaoYin, which topped the charts as the best-selling open-fit ear-hook earphone in 2023, has succeeded. At the launch event, ShaoYin also expressed its commitment to further popularizing sports earphone technology in the future, ensuring that every consumer can experience the comfort and beauty of open-fit earphones.
To sum it up in the words of Chen Hao, the founder of ShaoYin Technology:
