Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2020
I have had the Aeropex headphones for just under a month, and what follows is my standalone and comparison views between these and the older Aftershokz Titanium set.
The Aeropex are a bone-conducting headphones set, which is an interesting concept, for headphones to both play music and allow you to follow a conversation around you, virtually with no loss from either sources. Amazon asked me to rate "noise cancellation" as a feature, and honestly, I rate it at a "1" because that's not what these headphones are meant for. They excel at allowing you to enjoy music while not compromising your ability to react to the world around you. If noise cancellation is your thing, Amazon probably has a lot of recommendations on this page to get your fix.
They sit comfortably above your ears and sit directly on the space under your temples, in front of your ears. The Titanium set, sits the same way, but were noticeably heavier. Granted, this is a minor to insignificant distinction in my eyes, I don't find the weight of either to be intrusive in any way, and I have never had a issue with either slipping from their place, or digging in to my ears.
A quick word on the old Titanium set, since I will be using it heavily to contrast features. What ultimately did them in was a crack that formed in the plastic, on the right side, ultimately breaking. They lasted me nearly two years of near-daily service, 6-8 hours a day. So, needless to say, the Aeropex have large shoes to fill. Both fit nearly the same profiles, but the Aeropex are noticeably thinner, and the buttons are in the same place.
One thing that struck me right away upon receiving the new Aeropex was their slimmer profile. They are much more 'stringy' than the titanium. But as I noted above, the ultimate downfall of the Titanium was a crack in a rigid plastic section, something that the Aeropex does not have. The frame is now much more flexible, resistance to said cracking, the old rigid parts are the ones that contain, for lack of a better term, the speakers, and the parts that contain the batteries and electronics. Thus, I believe the Aeropex would not be likely to suffer this same fatal flaw.
The buttons have my opinion a bit mixed. On the old Titanium set the volume buttons were on the right side, behind the charging port, behind your right ear. They are the same way on the Aeropex, but the with the charging port set behind the buttons instead of in front. It made things a little awkward for me as I adapted to the change. The multi-purpose button is still on the left side speaker, but is now much smaller. I have been finding that, due to the smaller, rounder shape of the left speaker, that it is slightly awkward to double-tap the button in order to skip to the next song; I find my finger slipping and ending up only pausing the music instead. If I could redesign it, I'd likely move this button towards the back of the left speaker, where the force I put on it goes more into the bone; or simply making the speaker pods flat on the outside, like the titanium were.
One other minor detail, tangentially related to the buttons, is the pairing mode. Most devices have it set up where you hold the power button for some odd seconds after the device powers up to enable it, as these do too. But I found it slightly more cumbersome, and there's no tone (on the Titanium the voice said "pairing") which leaves visual confirmation as the only way to tell. Sometimes, my bluetooth connection drops out, and the easiest way to repair it is to delete the relationship on the phone, and repair. On the old set, I could turn them off, and listen for the "pairing" when it started up to tell when I could let go of the button; a minor complaint, but worth noting for hands-free resolution.
I am happy to say that the slight vibration that Titanium sometimes had at max volume is no longer an issue here. I won't dawdle on the sound quality of both the headphones, mainly because I'm not that much of an audiophile. But as far as I can tell, it's small improvement with the Aeropex. The Aeropex apparently has different sound profiles you can swap through, but it's not that much of a draw for me. They have noted that the Aeropex are supposed to be louder, but I honestly think they are the slightest bit quieter. When I was buying the headphones, others were having issues with the loud system beeps the headphones make, but honestly I haven't found them obtrusive. If anything, I'd say some things, like the voice cut-in to tell you when the battery is running low, are almost too quiet, and my only indication that they'd happen is that my music will suddenly take a volume dip for a second.
The major issue I've had with the Aeropex, is the battery life.
First, the charge port is different on this model. On the Titanium they were a USB micro; on the new one they are a proprietary contact type. I like this change, because, while it isn't as universal as a USB-c connection every other one of my devices uses, it is an improvement over the last. USB micro, I've found has problems with longevity, becoming worn over time. With the new contact type charger, the only thing that is going to affect charge-ability is going to be dirt over the contacts, which would be easy to clean. I imagine that this type of connection is also much easier to waterproof.
This was a factor I liked about the new Aeropex. While the old Titanium are no strangers to moisture, and will generally handle sweat and light rain, it is nice to know that a prompt afternoon shower will not end the life my Aeropex. This makes all of the electronic devices I use good for use in the rain.
The model I got came with the sport belt, and while I don't have much use for that, I do love the packing I got the Aeropex in, a very professional, sturdy, quality box that reminds me of the kind of case you get for a $1000 smartphone. And unlike so many other companies they INCLUDE 2 CHARGING CABLES. Seriously, I wish Amazon would let me highlight that part. The inclusion of an extra charging cable is such a Quality of Life feature, because it allows me to keep one at home, and toss the other into my bag to grab whenever I'm running out the door; for headphones made for people constantly on the go, this is an amazing thing.
But, the battery life. This is one of the reasons I've waited a month to review, because my work day is highly variable. Right now, for this last month I've been restricted to 4 hour work days, whereas I normally work for 8 or more hours at a time. The old titanium set was rated for 6 hours of continuous playback, which I was happy to see completely exceeded for all but a few days of their life. They were absolute tanks, and only really had problems reliably when I went over 9 hours, and had a long day of listening at max volume.
The Aeropex have had problems keeping up with my 4 hour workday. I can't get them hold that charge for longer. My listening habits haven't changed since I've swapped, but these have a hard time keeping up. I often listen at max volume, or a few bumps below it, especially as my workplace cranks up the fans to keep up with the summer heat. Granted, that's at max volume, but in my workplace I can't even hear them below 50%. Understandably, I know the battery life is supposed to be reduced when use high volumes, but it's worth noting that this set is supposed to be rated for 8 hours, where the old ones were rated for 6, and I blasted music on the old Titaniums too. What worries me, though it is a non-issue in the short-term, is when I go back to working 8+ hour shifts.
I did test them a couple of days ago, after having them on full power for a about 2.5 hours, the headphones were asking to be charged. I turned down the volume, which had seemed to help before, and lasted until about the 3-1/4 mark.
Which, to be frank is disappointing, to the point where they may have an actual manufactured issue, I might suspect.
