Type Earbuds
Enclosure Open-Back
Wireless Truly Wireless
Transducer Dynamic
Noise Cancelling No
Mic Yes
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Truly Wireless belong to therelatively new category of open-fit headphones meant to tackle the desire of folks who want to experience a natural-sounding environmental awareness while listening to music. While it's pretty clear why you'd want to block out the world in most scenarios, like on the bus, there's good reason to want to hear it sometimes, too. If you're anoutdoor runner, work in collaborative spaces, take night walks, or need music to motivate you at team practice, these all suit open earbuds.Thesecuff-like earbuds represent the next generation of Bose open-fit designsandoffer a novel solution by clipping onto the bottom of your ears while keeping the canals open. Let's see where they shine and if there are any trade-offs to this new style of open-fitting earbuds.
Our Verdict
4.9 Neutral Sound
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds perform poorly for neutral sound. They can't adequately reproduce music with the full spectrum of frequencies captured in a recording, and in particular, they severely roll off bass. Their treble is very bright and piercing, and you can EQ them, but their app's equalizer is limited to three bands. Plus, the bass roll-off can't be fixed through EQ, as it's a limitation of their open-fit. While they have Immersive Audio to simulate surround sound, their lack of noise isolation makes it more difficult to hear your audio perfectly unless you're situated in a quiet space.
Pros
-
Comfortable fit.
Cons
-
Almost zero noise isolation.
-
Poor bass reproduction.
See our Neutral Sound Recommendations
5.9 Commute/Travel
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are middling for commutes and travel. This depends greatly on your main method of commuting. If you catch the bus, their virtually non-existent isolation results in a noisy experience, as you'll listen to not only your audio but every single thing on the bus, from the engine rumble to anything your fellow passengers say or do. On the other hand, if you walk to work, they're very portable, and their stability, combined with a total lack of noise isolation, will keep you aware of the environment. While their battery life is relatively long, and they can make it through most national flights, they can cause some fatigue after an extended session.
Pros
-
Portable design.
Cons
-
Almost zero noise isolation.
-
Poor bass reproduction.
See our Commute/Travel Recommendations
8.5 Sports/Fitness
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are amazing for sports and fitness. Their stability outdoes most conventional earbuds, making them a great companion for runs, jumping jacks, and whatever you want to throw at them. Their comfortable, portable, and unintrusive design doesn't require fit adjustments. You can use the automatic volume adjustment setting to stay aware without manually adjusting the volume each time a truck loudly passes. Their IPX4 rating protects them from light splashes, so they'll survive most workouts, although they're not quite as robust as dust-resistant earbuds. However, if you prefer to work out by blocking out your environment, these aren't designed for that purpose.
Pros
-
Portable design.
-
Open design allows you to hear the environment.
-
Very stable fit.
Cons
-
Poor bass reproduction.
See our Sports/Fitness Recommendations
5.8 Office
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are sub-par for office use. Because of their open fit, you can hear everything occurring in your environment, which many find distracting unless you work in a collaborative workplace. If you take a lot of phone calls, their mic and noise handling aren't impressive. Their controls work fine, but the single-button schema limits their usefulness without resorting to your device. Their design feels quite comfortable, although it can fatigue your ears after a long session. On the upside, for earbuds that don't block the ear canal, surprisingly, they don't leak much audio whatsoever, so you won't bother your coworkers, even if their voices can still bother you.
Pros
-
Comfortable fit.
Cons
-
Almost zero noise isolation.
-
Unimpressive mic quality.
See our Office Recommendations
5.2 Wireless Gaming
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds can't be used for wireless gaming with consoles. While you can connect via Bluetooth to your PC, you can't easily choose the low-latency codec, so your latency with games is hard to control. The earbuds can connect to smartphones over Bluetooth, but even with the aptX Adaptive (Low Latency) codec, you may experience lag, although this is not too bad.
See our Wireless Gaming Recommendations
5.0 Wired Gaming
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds can't be used for wired gaming because they only work wirelessly over Bluetooth.
5.4 Phone Calls
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are disappointing for phone calls. Their mic system's recording quality is mediocre, and their background noise handling is just okay. Outside of quiet spaces, their poor noise isolation makes it more difficult to hear the person on the other end of the line, even if they sound true-to-life when you hear their speech. The call controls are intuitive but lack more precise controls to put the caller on hold, for example.
Pros
-
The caller's voice sounds natural.
Cons
-
Almost zero noise isolation.
-
Unimpressive mic quality.
- 4.9 Neutral Sound
- 5.9 Commute/Travel
- 8.5 Sports/Fitness
- 5.8 Office
- 5.2 Wireless Gaming
- 5.0 Wired Gaming
- 5.4 Phone Calls
+ Create your own
- Updated Mar 28, 2024: Review published.
- Updated Mar 21, 2024: Early access published.
- Updated Mar 18, 2024: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Feb 22, 2024: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Feb 19, 2024: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds come in two standard colors, 'Black' and 'White Smoke.' Our unit is 'Black,' and you can see their label here. The manufacturer collaborated with Kith, the New York City designer, for a co-branded version.There's alsoa multi-colored limited edition version made inpartnershipwith musician Steve Lacy. If you know of any other variants, please let us knowin the forums.
Compared To Other Headphones
Bose has invested in a few different, open-fit designs predating the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, like the combination sunglasses-headphones Bose OpenAudio Frames line. However, not everyone wants to wear sunglasses to listen to audio. The Ultra Open Earbuds' unusual clip-on style pivots towards open-fits with improved functionality for everyone. Although there have also been conventional open-fits, including the previous generation, Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless, they lack the Ultra Open's virtual surround sound support, and their case also doesn't store any battery charges. Alternatively, bone conduction headsets also offer environmental awareness, like the Shokz OpenRun Pro Bone Conduction. Not everyone will like the bone-conducting sensation, though.
Check out the best wireless earbuds for running and working outand the best wireless Bluetooth earbudsif you need something with different features like noise cancelling. Finally, dive into the best Bose headphones for a fuller picture of their headphones.
Shokz OpenFit True Wireless
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Truly Wireless and Shokz OpenFit True Wireless fit very differently, but both provide unsealed fits for hearing your surroundings. The Bose clip on the bottom of your ears and their fit is a more stable solution. Their sound is brighter and less balanced by default, although you can EQ them somewhat. Their battery life is longer if you don't enable the included virtual surround sound. The Shokz fit with silicone-covered hooks over your ears, which is stable but not as stable as the Bose. Their sound is trebly by default. They also have a greater IP rating than the Bose.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Shokz OpenRun Bone Conduction
The Shokz OpenRun Bone Conduction headset is a different solution toenvironmental awareness than the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Truly Wireless. The Shokz uses a titanium frame covered in silicone that bypasses the ear canal. It has a higher IP rating with more dedicated buttons for each function. Its size is larger, and these headphones use a proprietary charging cable.The sound profile has less low-end and more peaks and dips with a less consistent frequency response. The Bose clip on your ears with a smaller case. They use one button for all the controls on each bud. Their battery life is shorter unless you include the case's recharges. Unlike the Shokz, you get a companion app for virtual surround sound, EQ,and updates. They use a standard USB-C to charge up.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Truly Wireless and Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless are unusual-looking earbuds designed to prioritize environmental awareness. Both have virtual surround sound and IPX4 ratings against water splashes. The Bose headphones have a slightly better low-end response, although neither pair has much bass on tap. They feel more comfortable and stable. Their battery lasts longer, and they leak less audio. The Sony buds have a more balanced treble response but roll off more bass. Their mic system sounds a bit better, but neither is pro quality. They use touch controls and include a Speak-to-Chat function to pause playback automatically if you're engaged in a conversation.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Truly Wireless represent the next generation of the Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless. Both have similarly long-lasting batteries and IPX4 ratings. The Ultra Open Earbuds are a completely different fitting design that clips on the bottom of your ears, which is very stable. They sound brighter by default and have a virtual surround sound function in-app. The Sport Open Earbuds use a less comfortable and not quite as stable over-ear hook design. Their sound isn't as piercing in the highs. They lack high-quality aptX Adaptive codecs and virtual surround sound.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Test Results
Design
Type Earbuds
Enclosure Open-Back
Wireless Truly Wireless
Transducer Dynamic
The manufacturer's take on what open earbuds look like and how they fit is unique. While their previous effort, the Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless, align with the current slew of over-ear hooked unsealed wireless earbuds, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are a completely different take on open fits. Rather than hooking over the top of your ears, they clamp just above your ear lobe around the bottom of the helix, antihelix, and pinna, sort of like an oversized clip-on earring.
The open earbuds are made of plastic and silicone and come in two standard colors, 'Black' and 'White Smoke'. In addition, Bose collaborated with the clothing company Kith to create a branded version in black. The Steve Lacy signature model features the boldest color departure. These have green buttons, with one bud in cream and the other in a darker earth tone. These come with a matching two-tone case with dark magenta branding.
—
8.0 Design
Weight 0.03 lbs
Clamping Force
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are impressively comfortable. They feel good thanks to their lightweight, small size, and nearly universal sizing. They take some getting used to, though, and initially, dialing in the placement feels strange, but you can adjust where they sit along your ear, so if you wear earrings, you can work around them. Wearing them for long periods can eventually fatigue the pinna of each ear, and if you exercise, they can heat up slightly.
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LEARN ABOUT COMFORT
6.8 Design
OS Compatibility
Ease Of Use Good
Feedback Good
Call/Music Control Yes
Volume Control Yes
Microphone Control No
Channel Mixing
Noise Cancelling Control No
Talk-Through
Additional Controls Presets
The Bose Ultra Open controls are okay. Essentially, you've got a single, clicky button on each bud for all of your controls, which is intuitive but inherently limited in commands. They emit sounds to signal they're powered on when you take them out of their case, to alert you if you've maxed out or minimized the volume, and there are voice prompts. They don't make sounds when you use playback controls like pause, play, and track skipping. You can assign each earbud one preset function per side through the companion app, called 'shortcuts,' like cycling through Immersive Audio settings and accessing your voice assistant. All the commands work well except for volume adjustments, which have a narrow window of time for getting the level you want without over or under-shooting how long you need to hold the button down.
Multi-function button:
- Press and hold: Power on/off.
- Press and hold from powered off: Turn on and initiate Bluetooth pairing.
- Single press: Pause/play, answer call/answer a new incoming call (while you're already on a call).
- Double press: Skip to next track, end call/decline incoming call
- Double-press-and-hold: Increase volume on the right earbud, decrease volume on the left earbud.
- Hold: One assignable function for each bud.
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LEARN ABOUT CONTROLS
9.5 Design
L 1.4" (3.5 cm)
W 1.1" (2.8 cm)
H 0.7" (1.8 cm)
Volume 1.08 in³ (17.64 cm³)
Transmitter Required No
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are exceptionally portable. You'll still want to use their case to store them, but they take up very little space.
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LEARN ABOUT PORTABILITY
7.5 Design
Type Hard case
L 2.6" (6.5 cm)
W 2.0" (5.0 cm)
H 1.0" (2.6 cm)
Volume 5.16 in³ (84.50 cm³)
Their charging case is good. It's similar in looks and build to other true wireless cases by the brand, with magnets to hold the buds in place to charge. Its materials are semi-matte plastic. The plastic hinge noticeably shifts laterally, which doesn't instill confidence in its long-term durability. For premium earbuds, it's somewhat surprising the case doesn't charge wirelessly. However, it charges via the USB-C port on the rounded bottom of the case.
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LEARN ABOUT CASE
8.0 Design
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds' build quality is good. Their plastic housings and the buttons feel solid. The open-fitting buds have an IPX4 rating to protect against light splashes, but the case doesn't. As with most designs, their potential points of weakness are the hinges. The flexible silicone that loops each cuff-like bud around your ear has the potential to tear or weaken over time, as does the internal cabling that routes through the silicone loop. Similarly, the plastic hinge on the case has a noticeable amount of give, and the lid shifts around somewhat.
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LEARN ABOUT BUILD QUALITY
9.0 Design
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are incredibly stable. They overcome some of the fit-related shortcomings of conventional true wireless designs. For example, by not needing different-sized ear tips to obtain a good fit—and fit still varies from person to person, even when you get a huge selection of ear tips—this wraparound shape is more predictably stable. You can successfully perform jumping jacks, push-ups, or go for runs without needing to adjust them. These are great if you have trouble getting earbuds to stay put.
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LEARN ABOUT STABILITY
Design
—
Design
—
Design
—
Design
- Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
- Charging case
- USB-A to USB-C charging cable
- Paper warranty pamphlet
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Sound
Bass Amount
Treble Amount
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds have a very bright default sound. Part of that is attributable to their open fit that sits outside your ear canal. How they sound depends greatly on how much your environment competes with what you're listening to with the buds. Their tuning works for any spoken content like podcasts or classical, folk, and vocal-centric pop music without a lot of bass content. By design, these can't adequately reproduce deep, rumbling low and mid-bass frequencies enough to balance their frequency response.
To compensate for the steep bass roll-off, the high bass is somewhat boosted, so the attack of picked bass guitars has some boom, but they lack weight. Their mid range sounds smooth on lead instruments. Most of the treble range is exaggerated, leading to harsh and piercing sibilants (S and T sounds) that can cause your ears to prematurely fatigue. This would sound like a lot of treble even if more bass were present in the tuning, and without much low-end, it's even more shrill. You can use the in-app EQ to turn down the treble, although it's limited to three band and has imprecise labels like 'treble.'
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LEARN ABOUT SOUND PROFILE
6.7 Sound
Avg. Std. Deviation
Their frequency response consistency depends on your ability to get each to have the same ear placement. Due to their unique fit, you can move them around more than conventional earbuds. If they sit differently on each ear, it'll impact the delivery of consistent treble and bass. Since not everyone has identically shaped ears, you'll want to listen for consistency, too.
While it looks like they're inconsistent in the bass frequencies because they barely reproduce much lower than the high-bass register (which is quite consistent), it doesn't make much difference, effectively. Mids are consistent between wears and wearers. Treble is delivered with inconsistencies between wearers, which is pretty normal.
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LEARN ABOUT FREQUENCY RESPONSE CONSISTENCY
Sound
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LEARN ABOUT RAW FREQUENCY RESPONSE
1.1 Sound
Std. Err.
Low-Frequency Extension
Low-Bass
Mid-Bass
High-Bass
These have awful bass accuracy. Weak bass is one of the disadvantages of this style of open-fitting earbuds. For instance, the Shokz OpenFit True Wireless struggle with the same limitation because they leave your ear canals unsealed, so this isn't unique. These buds slightly boost the high bass, so you'll hear the initial strike of a kick drum and pluck of a bass string in post-punk songs like Transmission by Joy Division, but they lack body.
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LEARN ABOUT BASS ACCURACY
9.2 Sound
Std. Err.
Low-Mid
Mid-Mid
High-Mid
Their mid accuracy is superb. These have a smooth and slightly forward mid range voicing that doesn't significantly exaggerate any ranges. Lead instruments like guitars and keyboards sound clear and natural. Spoken voices in podcasts and audiobooks come through true-to-life.
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LEARN ABOUT MID ACCURACY
5.7 Sound
Std. Err.
Low-Treble
Mid-Treble
High-Treble
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds have sub-par treble accuracy. Compared to the previous open buds by the manufacturer, the Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless, they have very piercing and harsh treble. As a result, the harmonics and top-end airiness of cymbals, vocals, and S and T sounds sound crisp and shrill. It's possible this exaggerated treble attempts to add clarity where it can get veiled by your environmental sounds reaching your ears. Fortunately, you can turn down the 'Treble' slider in the app's equalizer, although it's not a very granular EQ.
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LEARN ABOUT TREBLE ACCURACY
4.7 Sound
Peaks
Dips
These have poor peaks and dips performance. Their largest dip occurs in the bass region because open-fitting buds struggle to reproduce bass. A peak follows it in the mid and high-bass to add low-end emphasis, which is otherwise missing in the frequency response. Kicks come across okay, given the high-bass focus, but they don't have the weight a full low-end extension would ordinarily supply. This peak evens out for most of the midrange with small deviations, and lead parts like synths and guitars sound natural on the whole. A dip in the high-mids into the low-treble slightly impacts presence. The steep peak exaggerates the piercing and shrill harmonics of vocals and cymbals.
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LEARN ABOUT PEAKS/DIPS
3.9 Sound
Weighted Group Delay
Weighted Phase Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
These have poor imaging, which is expected to an extent with these kinds of open earbuds. Their significant group delay is audible as loose-sounding bass, and the buds struggle to reproduce low frequencies. You'll notice it in real-life content because low notes won't sound tight. Our unit also exhibits phase mismatch, notably in the bass range, but this doesn't impact the placement of objects in the stereo image much. Still, because you can easily place these earbuds in slightly different spots along your ears, it's harder to determine in real-world circ*mstances if the discrepancy between the L/R driver results from phase mismatch or a slightly different placement along your ear.
In all, these results indicate their ergonomics are not perfect, specifically in the bass region. It's hard to directly compare our unit (because of open earbuds' inherent design limitations) with other conventional headphones by the manufacturer, which otherwise has good quality control. Imaging varies from unit to unit, so these results are only valid for our unit.
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LEARN ABOUT IMAGING
2.5 Sound
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
PRTF Size (Avg.)
PRTF Distance
Openness 9.8
Acoustic Space Excitation 1.7
Their passive soundstage is bad. Because the drivers sit outside your ears towards the bottom of your ear, they don't interact with your ear's pinna for an immersive listening experience. However, they're open-fitting, so they have an unnaturally open quality but aren't immersive.
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LEARN ABOUT PASSIVE SOUNDSTAGE
2.9 Sound
Head Modeling
Speaker Modeling
Room Ambience
Head Tracking
Virtual Surround
Their virtual soundstage is accessible through the companion app. The manufacturer calls the surround sound mode 'Immersive Audio.' This essentially applies digital signal processing (DSP) to force conventional stereo mixes into a simulated virtual surround sound. It's similar to Apple's Spatialize function (not to be confused with Spatial Audio). Unlike other surround sound implementations, like Sony 360 Reality Audio and Apple Spatial Audio, this effect doesn't require your audio to be specifically mixed by an engineer or producer in surround sound formats like Dolby Atmos.
You get two basic modes: one that applies the algorithm to force your audio into Immersive Audio, which holds the center of the surround sound effect in a static position. The other mode adjusts the surround effect with head-tracking relative to where you are and the virtual 'center' of the audio. The effect works pretty well and is immersive for content like live concert recordings, and it's fun to try on old mono recordings. Still, it's DSP, so it works better on some songs than others because a producer isn't making the final mixing decisions. However, since not all of your favorite tunes will receive a dedicated Dolby Atmos mixing treatment, the DSP effect of Immersive Audio is a close approximation.
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LEARN ABOUT VIRTUAL SOUNDSTAGE
6.4 Sound
WHD @ 90
WHD @ 100
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds' weighted harmonic distortion is passable. They exhibit distortion in the mid-bass, where the bass tapers off in the frequency response, and a fairly even amount of distortion in the mids through the low treble. As a result, your audio won't sound totally clean and pure. Because most people wear these to stay aware, it's unlikely that you'll notice the distortion, as it's comparatively subtle in the context of going about your day while the wider world's noises reach your ears.
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LEARN ABOUT WEIGHTED HARMONIC DISTORTION
Sound
Firmware
Power
Connection
Codec
EQ
ANC
Tip/Pad
Microphone
These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when using them in this configuration.
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LEARN ABOUT TEST SETTINGS
0.5 Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
Noise Cancelling No
Bass
Mid
Treble
The noise isolation of these open-fit earbuds is awful, which is a feature and not a bug. Their goal is to leave your ears open so that you can stay aware of your environment while still listening to your audio. As a result, virtually anything you can hear normally can still be heard with these on, so rumbling bus engines, traffic, chatter, and café clatter all reach your ears. If you're out running or working in a collaborative office space, you can seamlessly hear what's important without pausing your music.
In the app's settings, you can also select that the volume you listen at automatically adjusts to your surroundings' noise level. This feature isn't unique to open-fit earbuds, and you can find it in products like the Google Pixel Buds A-Series True Wireless. Still, it offers more utility with earbuds that totally lack isolation because your audio contends with even more external sounds.
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LEARN ABOUT NOISE ISOLATION
8.5 Isolation
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds have amazing leakage performance. Surprisingly for buds that use directional speakers that aren't placed inside your ear canal, not much audio escapes, even at high volumes. What does leak is a trebly version of your music that's slightly audible at an average office workplace's ambient noise level, so you're not entirely stealthy. However, this is a marked improvement over the previous Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless.
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LEARN ABOUT LEAKAGE
Microphone
Integrated
In-Line
Boom
Detachable Boom
Mic Yes
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LEARN ABOUT MICROPHONE STYLE
6.0 Microphone
Recorded Speech
LFE
FR Std. Dev.
HFE
Weighted THD
Gain
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds' microphone recording quality is unremarkable. Your voice sounds understandable but thin and missing body due to the steep roll-off through the low-mids. In addition, speech sounds somewhat distant and slightly sibilant on S and T sounds.
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LEARN ABOUT RECORDING QUALITY
6.5 Microphone
SpNR
Noise Gate
Speech + Pink Noise Handling 6.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling 6.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
The microphone system's noise handling is fair. With constant background noise, the mic prioritizes your voice and doesn't dramatically impact the clarity of your speech, but the noise is still quite loud and unpleasant for the person on the other end of a call. In situations where people are talking in the background and sudden bursts of loud noises, the mic slightly filters out voices, but not much. It suppresses the sudden loud noise well but also obscures your voice for the duration of the noisy background sound.
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LEARN ABOUT NOISE HANDLING
7.9 Active Features
Battery Type
Continuous Battery Life
Additional Charges
Total Battery Life
Charge Time
Power-Saving Feature
Audio While Charging
Passive Playback
Charging Port USB-C
These have a very good battery performance. The manufacturer states that they have a 7.5-hour battery life, and our unit lasts for 9.5 hours of continuous audio on a single charge. Your results may vary based on factors like how loud you listen to your music, and similarly, the manufacturer states these will last 4.5 hours when you listen using Immersive Audio mode. Their charging case holds just under three extra charges, and they take less than an hour to charge up fully. Interestingly, the case doesn't have wireless charging compatibility and only uses USB-C. To help conserve battery life, they also feature an auto-off timer.
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LEARN ABOUT BATTERY
8.0 Active Features
App Name Bose Music
iOS Yes
Android Yes
macOS No
Windows No
Equalizer
ANC Control
Mic Control No
Room Effects
Playback Control
Button Mapping Yes
Surround Support
The Bose Music app is great. Its interface is clean and easy to navigate with solid features, have a look at it here. There's Immersive Audio, a DSP-based virtual surround sound effect with head-tracking. You can control the somewhat limited three-band equalizer with presets and playback and volume controls. You get 'shortcuts,' which are assignable commands for the press-and-hold command on the buds. In the app, you can monitor battery levels and access firmware updates. The manufacturer typically rolls out new features to existing products through these firmware updates.
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LEARN ABOUT APP SUPPORT
0 Connectivity
Analog Audio
USB Audio
Detachable
Length
Connector
Latency - Analog
Latency - USB
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection No Wired Audio
These headphones have a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging their case's battery. You can't listen to these with a wired connection.
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LEARN ABOUT WIRED CONNECTION
6.9 Connectivity
Bluetooth Version
Multi-Device Pairing
Quick Pair (Android)
Quick Pair (iOS)
Line Of Sight Range
Latency - SBC
Latency - aptX
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
Latency - LDAC
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
AAC Support
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds have alright Bluetooth connectivity. They use Bluetooth 5.3 with a good selection of codecs, including aptX Adaptive (High Quality and Low Latency). AptX Adaptive (Low Latency) can still cause a bit of lag to audio when watching videos, but not a huge amount. Latency varies from device to device, and some apps compensate for that. aptX Adaptive (High Quality) offers high-quality audio, although whether you can truly detect the quality difference depends on how noisy your environment is. They don't have quick pairing, and at launch, they don't come with multi-pair capabilities, although Bose indicates that will change in a later firmware update.
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LEARN ABOUT BLUETOOTH CONNECTION
0 Connectivity
Line Of Sight Range
Latency - Dongle
Recorded Latency
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LEARN ABOUT WIRELESS CONNECTION (DONGLE)
Connectivity
Analog
Wired USB
Non-BT Wireless
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds can connect to computers that have Bluetooth compatibility. Full audio and microphone support is available.
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Connectivity
PS4 Analog
PS4 Wired USB
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
PS5 Analog
PS5 Wired USB
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
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LEARN ABOUT PLAYSTATION COMPATIBILITY
Connectivity
Xbox One Analog
Xbox One Wired USB
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
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LEARN ABOUT XBOX COMPATIBILITY
2.2 Connectivity
Type
USB Input
Line In
Line Out
Optical Input
RCA Input
Dock Charging
Power Supply
The earbuds come with a charging case with a USB-C port for charging.
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LEARN ABOUT BASE/DOCK