Open-ear earbuds were always a niche market but not any more.  We reviewed Sennheiser’s newest open-ear earbuds a few days ago and were impressed by what a traditionally premium audio manufacturer brought to the open-ear table.  

Now it’s Bose’s turn.  It recently released its two new open-ear earbud models, the Bose Sport Open Earbuds and the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, and beyond the adventurous colourways, it has introduced new features that should improve sound quality.

Bose sent me a set of the Sport Open Earbuds to review and after using them for a couple of weeks, I’ve been impressed with them.

Priced at RRP AU$349.95, the earbuds sit among the premium open-ear earbud options, and with premium features such as Bose SpeechClarity, Bose Digital Sound, and Bose SoundDesign technology, they are right where they belong.

Design and fit

The Bose Sport Open Earbuds sit comfortably on the ear, although, most likely due to the slightly sturdier connecting arm from the back to the front section of the earbud, as not as comfortable as the Shokz OpenDots 2.  They are more comfortable than the Sennheiser open-ear earbuds, though, likely because the Sennheiser connecting arm is even thicker and sturdier.

Sitting on the ear, you can easily forget they are still there, and with the comfort and design, you will still be able to hear your environment easily.

The size of the Bose earbuds sits somewhere between the Shokz and the Sennheisers, with the rear section slightly bigger than that on the Shokz OpenDots 2 – this likely accounts for the improved audio quality.

The designs of all three of the aforementioned open-ear earbuds though is extremely consistent with nothing truly groundbreaking.

As with the other offerings, the Bose are also IP54 rated, making them safe for nearly all types of workouts and conditions. 

App and touch controls

Once again, the app is fairly basic with a basic EQ, basic touch control customisation (most of the touch controls are set and cannot be changed – see image below), and battery life.  There really isn’t much you need them to do though, so the app does what it needs to do.

Audio quality

Firstly, let’s compare the audio quality to that on the Shokz OpenDots 2 – it is a lot better, across the entire register.  While the Bose earbuds lack bass, the mids and uppers are precise and accurate, offering a much better sound from an open-ear earbud than I had heard before these last few weeks.

The sound is not quite up to the standard of that from the Sennheiser earbuds though, with them delivering much better bass and a tighter, albeit less bright mid and upper sound.  The Bose sound was distinctive, though, offering a happy, bright sound across the upper end, with crispness that exceeded Shokz.

I have to come back to the trade-offs with comfort once again – the Bose are not as comfortable as the Shokz but sound better, but they are more comfortable than the Sennheisers but more comfortable – it must be the connecting ribbon (whatever they want ot officially call it – Shokz call it the JointArc.

Battery life and charging

The Bose Sport Open Earbuds case is similar in size to the Sennheisers, but it holds less charge.  The Sennheiser earbuds and case offer up to 36 hours of battery life, but the Bose only 22 hours.  I’m not sure why you would need more than 22 hours in an open-ear earbud though, so that should suffice for most people.

The Bose does offer Qi Wireless charging for its case, unlike Sennheiser – I dare say that is what the extra space is used for, as it isn’t used for more battery life.  I like this trade-off from Bose: 22 hours is enough, and the option to charge the case wirelessly is handy.

What about the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds?

Now, the Sport Open Earbuds aren’t Bose’s most premium open-ear earbuds; that would be the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds.  This might be where the difference in sound is alleviated and possibly reversed.

The Ultra Open Earbuds feature a “newly engineered driver,” promising deeper and louder bass with a new Cinema Mode adding depth to all audio content for a theatre-like experience. The Ultra earbuds also look sturdier and less comfortable, and according to my inverse law of comfort and audio quality, they *should* sound great given how they look. I might have to try and get my hands on some just to be sure either way.

Final thoughts

The Bose Sport Open Earbuds offer a relatively comfortable design with the option of fun colourways to keep the style fresh. They sit comfortably on your ears and can be easily forgotten that they are even on your ears.

They produce a decent quality sound but still lack some deep bass that you hear in more traditional earbuds and headphones. They offer better sound quality than most open-ear earbuds, and while they are relatively comfortable, they are not the most comfortable to wear.

The Bose Sport Open Earbuds are available now at select retailers for RRP AU$349.95.