Bose Ultra Open Earbuds

Chris Welch from The Verge highlights Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds as a bold and unconventional entry in the earbuds market, designed for users who prioritize environmental awareness and comfort over traditional in-ear isolation. He praises their unique open-ear design, secure yet gentle fit, and suitability for active use, noting they allow wearers to stay alert while enjoying music throughout the day. However, Welch points out significant trade-offs, including the lack of noise cancellation, underwhelming bass performance compared to sealed earbuds, and the absence of multipoint connectivity and wireless charging at launch. He also critiques the high $299 price, which feels steep given the audio compromises inherent in the open design. While the earbuds excel in comfort and situational awareness, their niche appeal and premium cost may limit widespread adoption. Welch appreciates Bose’s innovation but suggests the product’s value proposition needs refinement to avoid becoming another niche experiment.

David Carnoy from CNET highlights the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds as a uniquely designed and innovative product that stands out in the open-earbud category. Praising their surprisingly comfortable and secure fit, he notes the earbuds’ lightweight clip-on design and good sound quality, especially for open earbuds, with ample bass and clarity. The review emphasizes Bose’s improvements over earlier models, including a flexible joint and durable build, while acknowledging the earbuds’ limitations in noisy environments and the lack of noise cancellation. Carnoy also points out useful features like customizable controls, immersive audio with head-tracking, and solid voice call performance, though he critiques the absence of multipoint Bluetooth, ear-detection sensors, and some convenience features found in competitors. While the $299 price feels steep, the earbuds’ premium quality and distinctive design offer strong appeal for users wanting open, ambient listening. Overall, the review balances enthusiasm for the product’s innovation with measured reservations about price and missing features.

Dave Carr from SoundGuys highlights the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds as a unique entry in the open-ear category, designed primarily for outdoor cardio enthusiasts who prioritize situational awareness. The earbuds’ innovative clip-on design ensures a secure fit and IPX4 water resistance, making them suitable for active use. However, the review conveys a cautiously negative sentiment regarding sound quality, noting significant compromises due to the open-ear form factor—especially a lack of bass and a thin, treble-heavy audio profile that struggles against ambient noise. The immersive audio feature is described as counterproductive, and the microphone performance is disappointing, particularly in windy outdoor conditions. While the Bose Music app offers basic customization, it does little to overcome the earbuds’ sonic limitations. Ultimately, Carr finds the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds expensive relative to their performance and recommends more affordable alternatives like the Nothing Ear (Open) for better sound quality and value.

What Hi-Fi? highlights the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds as a bold and impressive first step into the open-ear wireless category, delivering a comfortable fit without the need for silicone tips and a distinctive, clip-like design that feels secure once positioned correctly. The earbuds offer a musical and entertaining sound signature with surprisingly solid, weighty bass and good rhythmic timing, maintaining clarity even in noisy environments. While sound leakage exists, it is not excessive at typical listening volumes. The review notes some drawbacks, including the relatively high price point, lack of noise-cancelling, absence of touch controls, and call quality that could be improved. Additionally, the Ultra Open Earbuds don’t quite match the finest traditional wireless earbuds in terms of detail and clarity. Despite these limitations, What Hi-Fi? appreciates Bose’s innovative approach and sees the Ultra Open Earbuds as a promising foundation for future iterations, awarding them four stars for their engaging sound and thoughtful design.

rtings.com highlights the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds as a niche, open-fit design ideal for users who prioritize environmental awareness during activities like running, team practice, or collaborative workspaces. The earbuds deliver a remarkably stable and comfortable fit thanks to their unique clip-on design and flexible silicone housing, making them well-suited for sports and fitness. However, their open-ear style results in poor bass reproduction and almost no noise isolation, limiting their versatility for travel, office use, or immersive listening. While the bright sound signature favors voice clarity, the lack of active noise cancellation and bass depth may disappoint those seeking richer audio or focused listening. The earbuds’ microphone performs adequately for calls, though environmental sounds remain audible. Compared to competitors like the Shokz OpenRun Pro and Sony LinkBuds, the Bose offer better stability and comfort but trade off some durability and advanced features. Overall, these earbuds excel in situational awareness and comfort but are a compromise for users wanting fuller sound or noise isolation.

Tim Gideon from PCMag highlights Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds as a distinctive take on open-ear audio, designed to keep users aware of their surroundings while delivering a transparent, natural sound. He praises their comfortable, secure fit and futuristic cuff-like design that avoids ear fatigue common with traditional earbuds. The earbuds offer a wide stereo field and clean vocals, though bass response is modest and less impactful than competitors like Apple’s third-gen AirPods, which cost significantly less. The review notes the earbuds’ solid codec support, intuitive controls, and a well-designed app with customizable EQ and immersive audio modes, though spatial effects feel more gimmicky than essential. Criticisms include the premium $299 price tag, lack of wireless charging in the standard case, and some challenges in achieving consistent stereo balance due to adjustable fit. Overall, Gideon regards the Ultra Open Earbuds as a compelling option for those prioritizing situational awareness and comfort, but less so for bass lovers or budget-conscious buyers.

Billy Steele from Engadget highlights Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds as a bold and comfortable take on open-fit audio, designed for all-day wear with a unique, fashion-forward aesthetic. The earbuds’ innovative two-piece design and soft silicon grip deliver exceptional comfort without the typical ear hooks, making them suitable even during workouts. However, the open-ear style necessitates trade-offs: sound quality varies significantly depending on fit, with subdued bass and a somewhat compressed audio profile compared to traditional in-ear models. The spatial Immersive Audio feature offers subtle enhancements but impacts battery life and can cause an echo effect on podcasts unless disabled. Controls are reliable but limited, and the lack of multipoint Bluetooth connectivity may frustrate some users. While the earbuds excel in comfort and style, their polarizing look and audio compromises mean they’re best suited for those prioritizing openness and wearability over pristine sound. Priced at $299, they offer a distinctive option in a niche market segment.

Kate Kozuch from Tom’s Guide highlights the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds as a stylish and innovative open-ear option that delivers surprisingly satisfying sound quality without isolating the listener from their surroundings. Praising their barely-there comfort, spatialized audio technology, and minimal sound leakage, she finds them well-suited for active, on-the-go users who want to stay aware of their environment. However, she notes notable drawbacks, including mediocre call quality, the earbuds’ tendency to be easy to lose due to their design, and the lack of wireless charging support for the case—features that may deter some buyers at the $299 price point. While not a replacement for traditional noise-canceling earbuds, these buds carve out a unique niche for those prioritizing style and situational awareness. Kozuch’s detailed real-world testing and balanced perspective provide valuable insights into the earbuds’ strengths and limitations, making them a compelling but somewhat niche lifestyle product.

Matt Evans from TechRadar highlights the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds as a standout in the open-ear headphone category, praising their exceptional sound quality—arguably the best he’s experienced in this form factor—thanks to Bose’s Immersive Audio technology and dual-driver design. He appreciates their comfortable, intuitive fit and the earbuds’ ability to stay secure during moderate jogging, though he notes a slight wobbliness due to uneven weight distribution that can feel precarious during intense activity. The earbuds excel in lifestyle versatility, allowing users to stay aware of surroundings while enjoying immersive sound, making them suitable for work, commuting, and exercise. However, Evans points out the premium price as a significant barrier, especially given the lack of noise-cancelling features and the open-ear design’s inherent limitations. He also cautions that the fit may not be ideal for all workout types, particularly cycling with helmets. Overall, the review conveys measured enthusiasm, emphasizing impressive audio performance balanced with practical trade-offs.

Samuel Gibbs from The Guardian highlights the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds as a distinctive and innovative take on open-ear audio, emphasizing their unique behind-the-ear fit that stays secure even during intense activity and does not interfere with glasses or headwear. He praises their sound quality as the best among open-fit earbuds, delivering full, rich audio with solid bass and spatial audio features, while maintaining environmental awareness by allowing outside noise in. The earbuds also impress with long battery life and effective sound leakage reduction. However, Gibbs notes some drawbacks, including the high price—roughly double that of comparable models—the lack of sound isolation, somewhat bulky design, and non-replaceable, non-repairable batteries, which raise sustainability concerns. Controls are generally solid but volume adjustment can be awkward, and advanced audio codecs are limited to certain Android devices. Overall, Gibbs regards the Ultra Open as the top choice for those seeking comfortable, all-day wear open earbuds with excellent sound, but acknowledges they won’t suit every budget or preference.