The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are very weird. They clip onto your ears rather than sticking in them, a design meant to let in environmental sound. Open earbuds aren’t a new product category, but they are pretty niche, and premium open earbuds more niche still. At $299, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are indeed extremely niche. Before I got my hands on them, I’d already all but dismissed them as a novelty — but a month into using the things, I’m hooked.
An unusual earbud form factor
The best open earbuds?
I’ve never thought of myself as a person with sensitive ears, but the Open Earbuds’ novel design is way more comfortable than any other buds I’ve worn. All ears are different, but for me, there’s no pressure, rubbing, or fatigue to speak of; I’ve worn the Open Earbuds through entire workdays and longer, and when they’re not playing media, it’s genuinely easy to forget they’re there at all.
The difference is in the design. While most buds stick inside your ear canal and stay in place using friction, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds clip onto the outside of your ear. A speaker is positioned near your ear canal but doesn’t actually go in; that’s connected by a flexible silicone arm to a “battery barrel” that rests behind your ear. The tension between the two halves holds the bud in place.
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds review: Niche appeal
These ‘open’ buds are great, but not for every situation
These buds also sound a lot better than I expected them to. There’s not as much bass in the Open Earbuds as in some other earbuds, and less still with the volume turned up too high — but on the whole, in a quiet space, they don’t sound too different from Bose’s other high-end buds: audio is clear and detailed.
My outlook on the Ultra Open Earbuds went from those seem stupid to I don’t want to take these off within a few minutes of wearing them. They’re novel, and I think they’ll be great for an extremely small set of users. In my years reviewing gadgets, I don’t think my expectations have ever been so thoroughly defied so quickly. But as much as I love the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, they’re hard to recommend to most people, for a few reasons.
Honestly, you probably shouldn’t buy these
I love them, but they’re not for everyone
My initial disinterest in the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds was mainly down to one thing: all premium earbuds worth their salt come with a transparency mode that pipes in environmental sound on demand. I’ve had the same problem with cheaper open earbuds like the Pixel Buds A-Series. Other earbuds can do what these do and then some. Why would I want a pair that always lets in sound?
Bose’s super-comfortable form factor and great sound quality are points in the Ultra Open Earbuds’ favor, and even the best transparency mode doesn’t sound nearly as realistic as, well, real live sound. But none of that makes the buds any more practical: at $299, there are a lot of situations the Ultra Open Earbuds just won’t work for. I wear the Open Earbuds around the house and out walking the dog in my neighborhood, but for any noisy environments — gyms, coffee shops, airplanes — I need to break out my Sony WF-1000XM5.
They’re really hard to recommend as anyone’s
only
set of earbuds.
And that’s really the rub here. I want to use the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds as often as I can, but there are times when I simply can’t. Other expensive earbuds can let in sound in a pinch, but Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds can’t ever block it out — and considering they’re priced up there with true wireless heavyweights from the likes of Sony and even Bose itself, they’re really hard to recommend as anyone’s only set of earbuds.
We’re only a couple of months in, but I’d say the Ultra Open Earbuds are my favorite gadget of 2024 so far: they’ve sold me on open earbuds as a concept. But if Bose ever comes calling for the review unit I’ve been using, I don’t think I’ll be able to bring myself to spend the money to get a pair of my own.
If you never need ANC (or multipoint connectivity, or wireless charging), or if you’ve got the cash for a good pair of ANC buds and a good pair of open buds, give the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds a shot. I still think they’re too expensive for what they are, but they’re probably the best open earbuds you can buy right now.
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
They’re expensive and not for everyone, but if they fit into your life, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are pretty fantastic.
