Shokz

Shokz (formerly Aftershokz) is a company founded in 2011 in Syracuse, NY specializing in disrupting the traditional earphone companies space with open-ear listening and patented bone conduction earphone technology. Their lineup of products[1] specializes in sports headphones, but have also been marketed for business as well as elderly or hearing impaired people that can't use traditional headphones.

Chinese based company Voxtech developed the patented bone conduction technology for military and police, and redesigned it for general consumers for sports and outdoor activities. They feature an audio listening style that does not block your ears, which they advertise as an open ear design.[2] The product features a music experience in a safe state without blocking your ears like conventional overhead headphones and canal type earphones.

In the past, they sold a traditional 3.5mm wired headphone, but now specialize in wireless models using Bluetooth with a high durability and high degree of dustproof and waterproof designs. There are also models such as the Xtrainerz and now OpenSwim that can be used underwater, however neither of these devices support Bluetooth and need to have music stored locally. Their products have won various awards such as the Good Design Award, Red Dot Design Award , CES Innovation Awards,[3] and the VGP.[4]

AfterShokz Trekz Air in Canyon Red

Their business grew by about 200% every year from 2015 to 2018, selling 1.5 million wireless headphones in 2018 alone,[5] shipping a cumulative total of 5.3 million as of August 2020,[6] and in 2020 posted a record of 81.2% share of bone conduction headphone sales in Japan.[7] In 2016 they began a partnership with England Athletics because bone conduction headphones were the only headphones that were fully approved for use in all road races under the UK Athletics Rules of Competition.[8] In 2019 they relocated from New York to Texas.

Aftershokz on display at CES 2012

Aftershokz booth at CES 2012

At the end of 2021 with the launch of their new OpenMove device they chose to drop "After" from their name and go just by Shokz to celebrate their 10th anniversary.[9] The goal is to simplify the brand name to create a shorter, more powerful branding that's easier to remember and share.[10]