Bose

Bose Ultra Open Earbuds

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are a premium open-ear Bluetooth earbud with a distinctive cuff-style fit designed to sit outside the ear canal rather than in it.

### Overview Bose's proprietary OpenAudio technology projects audio directly into your ear canal via a powerful transducer and a tightly controlled acoustic structure, with minimal leakage — so sound stays private even though your ears remain completely open. The earbuds wrap around the ear like a cuff, without sealing or even touching the ear canal, letting you hear both your surroundings and your music simultaneously. Priced at $299 (MSRP), they launched in February 2024, though they are frequently found discounted.

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### Pros - **All-day comfort:** Designed to rest gently on the outer ear with minimal pressure, reviewers frequently report forgetting they're wearing them after hours of use — a meaningful advantage over in-ear designs that cause fatigue during long work or travel days. - **Secure, activity-ready fit:** The soft section is spring-loaded, ensuring a secure fit regardless of ear shape or size, making these a reliable choice for runners and commuters who've had other open-ear styles slip out. - **Solid real-world battery life:** In standardized real-world tests, battery life exceeded Bose's 7.5-hour advertised figure, reaching nearly 9 hours, and the case provides two full charges and a partial third, allowing the earbuds to last nearly a full work week without recharging the case. - **Minimal sound leakage:** Unlike most open-ear competitors, reviewers were particularly impressed by the "immersive audio capabilities" and the fact that there was "very little sound leakage," so you won't disturb people nearby.

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### Cons - **Battery drops sharply with Immersive Audio:** Battery life falls from up to 7 hours down to just 4 hours when Immersive Audio or Auto Volume is enabled — a significant cut if you rely on the spatial sound mode throughout the day. - **Premium price with capable competition:** At this price point, the earbuds are hard to recommend outright, as cheaper open-ear alternatives exist for buyers primarily focused on situational awareness. - **Call quality is merely adequate:** Call quality could be better for the price, which matters if you take frequent work calls on the go. - **Charging case lacks wireless charging by default:** Wireless charging is not standard — it requires purchasing an additional wireless charging case cover separately.

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### Who It's For This style is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys walking, hiking, running, or simply listening to music or podcasts while still needing to hear friends, coworkers, or traffic for safety or personal interaction. With battery life that can last nearly a week for typical office users, they also suit style-conscious professionals who want situational awareness without sacrificing audio quality.

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### Not Right For Buyers who need active noise cancellation for focus in loud environments, or who want the flexibility of both ANC and transparency modes — at a similar price point, options like the AirPods Pro 2 provide both transparency and noise-cancelling in one package.

Researched across 8 sources: m.gsmarena.com, ecoustics.com, tomsguide.com, techgearlab.com, soundguys.com, techradar.com, bose.com.

Key features

• Open-ear design
• IPX4
• stability band
• clear calls
• multipoint Bluetooth

Seen at 2 retailers from $199.00 to $349.99 as of 2026-06-21. Prices change — check the retailer for the current price.

Listing details checked 2026-07-19.

A rare open-ear design that doesn't force a choice between audio awareness and sound quality.