The Ultra Open Earbuds deliver a breakthrough audio experience that brings together Bose OpenAudio and Immersive Audio technology.
The earbuds hook inside your ear, and then a flexible rubber band gets pulled to the back.
I was immediately struck by the comfort of this design.
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
There have been multiple times I forgot I was wearing them after music or podcasts finished playing.
Plus, theres nothing stuck down into your ears to plug them up.
As good as theBose QuietComfort Ultra Earbudsfit my ears, the Open Earbuds still feel better.
The Ultra Open Earbuds deliver a breakthrough audio experience that brings together Bose OpenAudio and Immersive Audio technology. OpenAudio lets you enjoy your music and life with almost no sound leaks to the world around you, creating a private soundtrack for your life.
High-end premium earbuds that can make travel less noisy and distracting.
Thats where these earbuds get a little existential.
Bose has seemed to solve a lot of the problems that come along with earbuds being open.
The Ultra Open Earbuds deliver a breakthrough audio experience that brings together Bose OpenAudio and Immersive Audio technology. OpenAudio lets you enjoy your music and life with almost no sound leaks to the world around you, creating a private soundtrack for your life.
There’s almost no leaking sound to whatever room you’re in.
Bose’s OpenAudio technology somehow creates a personal bubble so only you could hear what’s playing.
Its an actual clicky button, too, not a touch-sensitive one.
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
The primary single and double click controls are setpause or play and skip, respectively.
But you might configure the long-press shortcut in the Bose Music app, available foriPhoneandAndroid.
I had no problem pressing the button to skip tracks while running.
The solution for this is an auto-volume setting in Boses Music app.
I turned this on and it worked surprisingly well.
I noticed the volume rise when I was making noise with dishes in the sink.
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
This is a great feature.
Boses Music app has a standard feel no matter which of its products youre using it with.
The app is fairly well-designed and generally easy to navigate.
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
I encountered some Bluetooth interruptions from pre-release software that needed to be updated.
More surrounding noise can affect how audio products sound.
For example, these probably wont be the best option for commuting on a train in a busy city.
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
When I listened to music in a quiet room, songs were full and detailed.
I didnt feel like I was missing out on much, if any, fidelity.
I had zero issues discerning instrumentation on various songs.
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
Acoustic guitars were plucky and had resonance.
Electronic songs were immersive and authentically digital.
I was thrilled with all the music I listened to on the default EQ controls.
There are no isolation prefs, but there is Boses Immersive Audio, which spatializes audio.
That setting sounded fine, but it just wasn’t worth the significant hit to battery life.
Music still sounded fantastic.
There was still a full range that provided plenty of bass and mid-range.
The single biggest disappointment of the Ultra Open Earbuds was their microphone performance.
Using these for calls wasnt great.
They’re usable, barely, but they sound like earbuds from 2014. you’re able to hear two examples for yourself.
Officially, Bose states a 7.5-hour battery life, plus 19 hours from the charging case.
The real trick here is that the Ultra Open Earbuds have a standby life of 48 hours.
Price and Availability
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds retail for $299.
They come in two colors at launch, black and white.
Should You Buy the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds?
For any circumstance where you know you want a lot of transparency, theBose Ultra Open Earbudsare phenomenal.
Their performance has blown me away.
You get nearly the best of both worlds: audio quality and unfettered awareness.
The flip side is that if you do need isolation for travel or focus, these wont do that.
Call quality is pretty poor, too.
But possibly one of the biggest hurdles might be their premium price point.
That’s more than fair.
The value isn’t there for that use case.
Even though these are open, I do think they perform closer to standard earbuds.
If they do fit your budget, you’ll love them.
