Unlike regular earbuds, open-ear headphones don’t block your ear canal and instead sit just outside your ear, allowing you to remain aware of your surroundings.
We’ve compared two sets of open-earbuds, the Bose Ultra Open and the Shokz Openfit, so you can determine which pair is better for you.
Keep reading to learn the differences between the two open-earbuds.
Design
The Shokz Openfit look very different from other Shokz headphones, swapping the usual titanium alloy neckband frame for a pair of earhook earbuds instead. The earhook design, coined as a “Dolphin Arc” by Shokz, wraps a flexible hook over the top of the ear to keep it secure.
Even with the dolphin arc design, it felt as if the earbuds might fall out (although they never did). The weight between the earhook and the main earbud felt unbalanced.
Alternatively, the Bose Ultra Open earbuds feature a cuff design that’s made up of three components. An uncommon design, we found the earbuds don’t pinch or cause irritation and can be shifted easily on your ear to find the perfect position to suit your ear shape.
While the Bose Ultra Opens have dedicated buttons on each earbud for controlling playback, volume and enabling any shortcuts, the Shokz Openfit have touchpad controls instead. Although generally, these touchpads work well, we did find this more difficult to use over physical buttons.
Finally, the Shokz Openfit boasts a higher IP54 rating compared to the Bose Ultra Open’s IPX4.
Features
Both pairs of earbuds are accompanied by a respective app that’s compatible with Android and iPhone. The Bose app allows users to monitor battery life, volume control and switch between Stereo or Immersion modes. Although useful, the Bose app had a tendency to disconnect or become unresponsive.
Otherwise the Shokz app is relatively issue-free with a clean interface, allowing you to pick from preset EQ modes or create your own.
The two pairs of earbuds are fairly matched when it comes to battery life. Although the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds offer 7.5 hours with an extra 19.5 hours from the charging case, the Openfit offers seven hours with an extra 21 hours from the case.
When it comes to call quality, the Openfit take the win, with the earbuds benefiting from Shokz AI noise cancelling to deliver clear call quality. In comparison, we found that the Bose Ultra Open suffers from patchy call quality, even in quiet areas.
Sound Quality
Neither set of open-earbuds would be recommended for use on public transport or particularly busy areas, as you’ll struggle to hear anything.
However, both offer a solid sound performance in the correct environment, with the Bose Ultra Open earbuds being one of the better sounding open earphones we’ve tested, thanks to the crisp and defined midrange.
Where the earbuds do falter is with bass and the lack of noise isolation. Even so, enabling Immersive Audio which turns stereo audio into 3D helps to create a more immersive soundstage around you.
On the other hand, the Shokz Openfit deliver a larger soundscape overall, although at the expense of a more balanced profile. Unlike the Ultra Open earbuds, there’s a dedicated Bass Boost mode which provides a noticeable increase of bass although can cause the track to sound muddy.
Price
The Shokz OpenFit are the older of the two earbuds, having launched back in June 2023, and have an RRP of £179/$180.
The Bose Ultra Open earbuds launched earlier this year and come with a much higher RRP of £299 / $299.
Verdict
Although there are pros and cons to both pairs of earbuds, overall we would recommend the Bose Ultra Open earbuds.
While the Shokz Openfit will be much cheaper and can deliver a larger soundscape with a dedicated Bass Boost, and in spite of the Bose Ultra Open’s lack of bass and noise cancelling, the latter are a more balanced set of buds.
In addition, we found that the Bose Ultra Open were more comfortable to wear and never felt as though they would fall out, which is something the Openfit lacked.
