For the last few months now I’ve been using Apple’s (AirPods 4 (ANC), but alongside those, I’ve been testing another pair of wireless earbuds as well. The Bose Ultra Open earbuds are expensive and weird, and I kinda love them — but you probably shouldn’t buy them.
Testing two pairs of earbuds simultaneously has the benefit of giving you an easy comparison at the end of it all. But for all their similarities — both are open, so you can hear the outside world — they’re also very, very different.
That’s something most easily demonstrated by the price. Even the ANC version of AirPods 4 costs considerably less than Bose’s earbuds — $179 compared to almost $300.
Are the Ultra Open worth $300? That’s a more complicated question than you might think, and it comes with a complicated answer.
As a teaser, I really like these earbuds, especially the stunning new Carbon Blue color Bose sent me to test out. They’re arguably the coolest-looking earbuds on the market today, and the Sunset Iridescent color is just as funky.
All nine available colors look great, and it makes me wish that Apple would offer more than just white AirPods. But as much as these things look nice, and sound pretty good to boot, I’m not sure that most people reading this should buy them.
The reason, I’ll get into. But as a spoiler, I’ll just say that Bose can thank a familiar foe for that — the fabled Apple ecosystem.
Bose Ultra Open review: The good
Before we get into all that, let’s dive into what makes the Ultra Open earbuds some of the best I’ve tested. I’ve already made my thoughts on the color clear, but the beauty is very much more than skin deep here.
The Bose earbuds look great when being worn.
The first thing you notice when opening these earbuds is the way they look like nothing else you’ve seen before. They don’t go into your ear in a way that you’re familiar with, I can promise that much.
Bose’s buds don’t go into your ear at all, really. Instead, they clip around the ear so they sit behind it and sort of throw sound into it from afar.
The weird design is where the “open” part of the name comes from. Bose wants these to be earbuds that you wear when you still want to be able to hear the outside world which just so happens to be the opposite of what most earbuds do.
That is to say, there is no noise isolation here, and definitely no ANC. If you’re working in a noisy office and want to block everything out, these earbuds definitely aren’t for you.
But if you’re someone who wants to be able to stroll around and hear everything, they absolutely are. But what about the sound?
You might be forgiven for thinking that open earbuds mean poor sound, but you’d be wrong. I don’t know what Bose has done but the bass is thumpy and the sound is less tinny than expected.
Admittedly, I’m no audiophile. But I do know when something sounds good and expect you’ll unbox these earbuds and think that they sound good, too.
Can you expect better bass from something like a pair of AirPods Pro 2 or similar earbuds with an in-ear design? Sure, but for what Bose is trying to do here, I’m impressed with what I hear.
Another plus for the design is the way it’s genuinely possible to forget that you’re wearing the Ultra Open earbuds. They just sort of disappear in a way that no other earbuds do, which is incredibly impressive. If normal earbuds irritate you after a while, give these a try instead.
But as glowing as all of this might seem, none of it means that Bose’s Ultra Open earbuds have replaced the AirPods 4 in my ears.
Bose Ultra Open review: The bad
The reason I keep going back to using AirPods 4 all boils down to connectivity. Sure, these earbuds have your standard Bluetooth tech inside and you can connect multiple devices thanks to multipoint connectivity, too. They work with my iPad, iPhone, and Mac.
The Bose earbuds are unlike anything you’ve likely used before.
But they don’t work as well as my AirPods. And it’s a death by a thousand papercuts rather than any big showstopping issues.
A simple example is taking phone calls. If I’m at my desk and using my AirPods when a call comes in, answering it sees the call come through my earbuds as expected. It just happens, and it works each and every time.
But in the same example with the Bose earbuds in my ears, weird issues crop up. Even if I’m listening to audio from my iPhone, getting a call means having to manually select the earbuds most of the time, but seemingly not all of it. It’s so inconsistent.
And then there are the sync issues. Taking the Ultra Open out of their case and putting them into your ears wakes them up, as you’d expect. Audio comes out of them almost as you’d expect.
See, regularly the audio isn’t quite in sync so you hear it through one earbud a fraction of a second earlier than the other. Sometimes it fixes itself after a few seconds, others need me to manually disconnect and reconnect the buds and try again.
Maybe I’ve been ruined by the way AirPods just work the way I expect them to and in a very repeatable way. Maybe none of the problems I’ve experienced would happen if I were using an Android device. Maybe they would.
All I do know is that it’s infuriating, and it’s enough to make me reach for the AirPods instead.
Which is a shame, really, because I do like these things. They sound good and they look great. I just wish they’d behave themselves more.
Bose Ultra Open review: The specs
So all of that said, you should probably know the boring stuff as well. Let’s talk about battery life and whatnot.
The sandstone finish is much more subdued.
Bose says you can expect up to seven hours of play time with that expanding with an extra 19.5 hours when using the charging case. That all sounds about right from what I’ve seen, which is fine.
The charging case is also fine if a little uninspiring. It’s color-matched and uses USB-C, but there’s no wireless charging — a disappointment at almost $300.
While there’s no ANC, that doesn’t mean that Bose hasn’t added any audio modes to the Ultra Open.
There’s Immersive Audio, which is essentially Apple’s spatial audio, and head tracking is also included. An auto-volume feature is present but it takes far too long to react to environmental noise for my liking.
Bose offers a free app for iPhone owners to download which allows for custom EQ features, management of what the on-earbud controls do, and more. Oddly, the app shows the current earbud battery level but not that of the charging case, which is a pain. Especially when you’re used to AirPods.
Bose Ultra Open review: The conclusion
If it isn’t yet clear, I’m very conflicted about my time with the Bose Ultra Open.
The Bose Ultra Open earbuds come in a stunning blue finish.
On the one hand, they fit brilliantly and sound great considering their design. They also come in colors that Apple can only dream of, too.
But as an AirPods owner it’s hard to choose Bose’s earbuds when they don’t quite work the way I expect. They never really feel like I can predict how they’re going to behave at any given moment.
So, should you spend $300 on a pair of these things? As I said earlier, it’s complicated. If you’re a fan of the design and want the ultimate in comfort without compromising quality, you’re going to love them.
But if you’ve owned AirPods or are someone who expects earbuds to just work, it’s hard to look beyond AirPods Pro 2.
If you’re using an Android phone you probably aren’t reading this, but if you are, it’s an easier question to answer. You won’t get all of the benefits Apple’s H2 chip offers in its latest and greatest AirPods anyway, leveling the playing field somewhat.
In that case, the Ultra Open are an easier sell, and I reckon they’re a great one if you can find them on offer. I can personally recommend the Carbon Blue color, too.
Bose Ultra Open review: Pros
- Open-ear design
- Stunning color options
- Great audio with strong bass
- Supreme comfort
- Support for Immersive Audio and head-tracking spatial audio.
Bose Ultra Open review: Cons
- Inconsistent connectivity behavior.
- Weird audio bugs
- No wireless charging case
- $300 is a lot of money without ANC support
Bose Ultra Open Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Where to buy Bose Ultra Open earbuds
You can buy Bose’s earbuds from Amazon for $299. Alternatively, browse the best AirPods deals in our dedicated AirPods Price Guide if you’d prefer to go the Apple route.
