Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
Published date: 25/Sept/2026
Published date: 25/Sept/2026
Colour
Currently unavailable
Key Features
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
Key Features
Colour
Currently unavailable
What Customers Say
Reviewers and owners consistently describe these as among the most comfortable earbuds they have worn, with a clip-on fit that stayed secure through runs, gym sessions and bike rides. Most rated the sound as the best of any open-ear design they had tried, sound leakage stayed low at moderate volume, and the simple physical buttons were welcomed. Battery life generally met the quoted figure, and the open design keeps you naturally aware of your surroundings.
The recurring complaints are call quality that suffers in wind and noise, music that is hard to hear on trains and in heavy traffic, and a case that needs an extra accessory for wireless charging.
For open-ear earbuds, reviewers agree they are a comfortable, great-sounding choice for awareness-first listening, but not a replacement for noise-cancelling earbuds.
Who Should Buy This
- Runners and walkers who need to hear traffic while they listen,
- Office workers who want to hear colleagues without removing earbuds,
- Listeners who find in-ear tips uncomfortable over long sessions,
- Home workers who need multipoint for a phone and a laptop at once,
- Buyers who prefer physical buttons to touch controls on the earbuds.
Who Should Skip It
- Commuters and frequent flyers who need active noise cancellation,
- Owners of Qi chargers who want to drop the case on a wireless pad,
- Swimmers who need earbuds rated for submersion rather than splashes.
What Experts Says
Overall Assessment and Positioning
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are premium open-ear earbuds with a cuff-style clip-on design, made for listeners who want to keep hearing the world around them. They compete with open-ear and clip-on earbuds from the other major brands by pairing that design with Bose's spatial audio, multipoint and Snapdragon Sound, rather than with noise cancelling.
Key Strengths and Standout Features
Because the earbuds rest outside the ear canal, traffic, announcements and colleagues stay audible without a transparency mode, and there are no ear tips to press into the ear. At 6.4 g per earbud, the clip-on fit is designed to stay put during runs and gym sessions, and the IPX4 rating copes with sweat and rain. Bose quotes 7 hours of playback per charge, enough for a working day at a desk, with the case listed as taking the total to 27 hours, and a 10-minute charge adds 2 hours. Multipoint keeps a phone and a laptop connected at once, physical buttons avoid accidental touches, and the Bose app adds an adjustable EQ and spatial audio.
Value Proposition and Who It's Best Suited For
These suit runners, walkers and office workers who want music, podcasts and calls without shutting out their surroundings, and anyone who finds in-ear tips uncomfortable. Commuters on loud trains, frequent flyers and anyone who wants noise cancelling or a sealed fit should choose in-ear noise-cancelling earbuds instead.
Video Reviews
ChoiceWise Scores: 64 Out Of 100
The ChoiceWise Score is calculated using a defined methodology based on the features and factors that matter most in this category. Read our full scoring methodology: choicewise.app/methodology#score
Frequently Asked Questions
Bose quotes 7 hours of playback from the earbuds, and the charging case is listed as taking that to 27 hours in total.
Bose quotes 2 hours of playback from a 10-minute charge.
The case charges over USB-C, and a 30 cm USB-C (A to C) cable is included in the box.
No, it has no active noise cancellation. The open-ear design leaves your ear canal free, so you can hear traffic, announcements and conversations while you listen.
The earbuds are rated IPX4, which means resistance to sweat and splashes. They are fine for workouts and light rain, but they are not built to be submerged.
They use a cuff-style clip-on design that rests on the outside of the ear rather than in the ear canal, so there are no ear tips to fit. Each earbud weighs 6.4 g.
Yes, multipoint lets the earbuds stay connected to more than one device at a time, such as a phone and a laptop.
It supports the SBC and AAC codecs over Bluetooth 5.3, along with Snapdragon Sound.
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ChoiceWise does not perform hands-on product testing for this page. The expert opinion and recommendations are based on third-party reviews and sources, which we analyze and summarize using our editorial process.
ChoiceWise does not perform hands-on product testing for this page. The expert opinion and recommendations are based on third-party reviews and sources, which we analyze and summarize using our editorial process.