The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are the best-sounding open-ear buds the major outlets had tried, with comfort you can forget about and battery life that beat Bose's own claim in SoundGuys' testing — but the bass depends on fit, calls are mediocre outdoors, and there is no noise isolation at all. They are a strong buy for runners, cyclists, and all-day office wear where awareness matters; as your only earbuds for flights and loud commutes, they are the wrong tool. Check the current price on Amazon and confirm the model — the 2nd Gen changes the battery and charging story.
— THE VERDICT · JUDGEANY EDITORSA cuff, not a bud
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds launched on February 15, 2024, at $299 — the same launch price as Bose's flagship QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. They are not in-ear buds at all. Each earpiece is a cuff: a 12mm driver housing sits just outside the ear canal, joined by a flexible silicone arm to a battery barrel that rests behind the ear. Nothing enters the ear canal, so the world stays audible at all times. Bose calls the approach OpenAudio — a transducer fires sound toward the ear canal from a short distance away, and the company says the result stays private at normal volumes. The buds weigh 6.4 g each, carry an IPX4 rating for sweat and splashes, and offer no active noise cancelling, because the design leaves the ear open on purpose. This review is built from published reviews and owner feedback. JudgeAny does not run a test lab, so every measurement below is credited to the outlet that reported it, and the scores are editorial judgments on that evidence.
Sound: the best open ears, and the measurement that disagrees
TechRadar called these the best-sounding open-ear buds it had tried, and What Hi-Fi? praised a surprisingly solid, weighty bass with a musical, entertaining sound. Tom's Guide found the sound more full-bodied than expected, with Immersive Audio making a clear difference. Most reviewers who listened in quiet rooms came away with the same impression. The measurements tell a different story. RTINGS' frequency-response tests put bass at a very underemphasized -18 dB against its target, with a bright overall signature, and SoundGuys' measurements agree: bass depth is largely absent, the upper midrange carries a sharp emphasis, and treble is pushed hard enough to turn fatiguing over long sessions. In the same comparison, SoundGuys' listening panel scored the Bose well below the Sony LinkBuds Clip on timbre, while matching it on immersiveness. Consumer Reports supplies the detail that reconciles the two sides: with the buds optimally positioned, it rated the sound very good, with bass that had good impact but ran a little prominent and boomy — and it warned that users with larger outer ears may not reach that position, in which case the bass sounds subdued. Fit decides the sound here more than on any sealed earbud. In a quiet room, with the cuff seated right, the Ultra Open Earbuds sound fuller than any open-ear rival the major outlets had tried. In a noisy street or a busy gym, the same earbuds sound thin, because the open design lets the world in and there is no seal to hold the low end together.
Immersive Audio and Auto Volume
Bose Immersive Audio is the feature that separates these from cheaper open ears. It spatializes stereo into a wider soundstage, with a Still mode that pins the music in front of you and a Motion mode that moves the sound with you as you walk. Tom's Guide called it the most impressive spatial audio it had seen in the category, and Expert Reviews found the effect engaging. The cost is battery life: Bose rates the buds at 7.5 hours in stereo and 4.5 hours with Immersive Audio on. Auto Volume, which raises the volume as your surroundings get louder, is the quieter of the two tricks — Tom's Guide found it adjusted sensibly in a noisy cafe and past passing sirens. Both features are toggled in the Bose Music app, which also holds a 3-band EQ and shortcut assignments for the physical buttons on each bud.
Battery: better than the spec sheet
Bose claims 7.5 hours per charge, 19.5 more from the case, and 27 hours total — plus up to 48 hours of standby. SoundGuys' standardized battery test beat the claim, measuring 8 hours 53 minutes on a single charge, and Trusted Reviews' own drain test landed around the 7-hour mark, in line with Bose's figures. A 10-minute charge in the case adds up to 2 hours of playback. The gap is wireless charging: the included case charges over USB-C only, and Tom's Guide flagged that as a miss at this price — Bose sold a separate wireless charging case for $49. Note that the 2nd-generation model, launched October 1, 2026, fixes this with a wireless charging case in the box and 9-hour battery life; this review covers the first generation only.
Calls are the weak link
Every major outlet that tested calls came back with the same complaint. Tom's Guide found call volume limited, with the person on the other end struggling to hear whenever there was wind or people talking nearby. Expert Reviews described call quality as rough in wind, with noise flooding in as soon as the reviewer spoke. Trusted Reviews called it indifferent. For earbuds built to be worn all day, that is the clearest functional gap — these are music-first earbuds, and anyone who takes long calls outside should weigh that before buying.
Who should buy it
Buy the Ultra Open Earbuds if you want music and awareness at the same time — running, cycling, working in an office where you need to hear your name called — and you are willing to trade bass depth, isolation, and call quality for comfort you can forget about. Tom's Guide's verdict captures the tension: these are far from perfect, with the kind of shortcomings that would sink a normal pair of earbuds, but they are not normal earbuds. Do not buy them as your only earbuds if you fly often or commute on loud trains; sealed earbuds with noise cancelling serve that job better. And check the model before you buy: the 2nd Gen, launched October 1, 2026, has longer battery life and a wireless charging case at the same $299 launch price, so check the current price on Amazon and confirm the ASIN — B0CPFV77W4 is the first-generation black model reviewed here.