Design

• Cuff design
• IPX4 rating
• Physical controls

Bose’s approach to Ultra Open Earbuds’ aesthetics is more in line with fashion accessory than true wireless earbuds.

The brushed metallic finish is distinct, and more colours have launched since the original choice of black and white, with – take a deep breath – Colour Sunset Iridescent (the sample you see here): Violet, Plum, Gold, Lilac, Grey, Blue, Driftwood Sand, and Moonstone Blue.

I always moan about headphone brands never taking advantage of colours and bringing some personality to its headphones, but that’s not a complaint I can level at Bose here.

Comfort and a secure fit are the priorities, with the earphones fastening around the earlobe in a “cuff design”.

There are three parts: the driver section along with the battery barrel, which connect via a silicon coated flex arm. Unlike a traditional wireless earbud, these buds don’t block the ear canal but allow sounds to pass through.

On top of the battery barrel is a physical button which when it’s depressed emits a helpful click. I tend to hold the top and bottom in a pincer, that way the earbuds don’t move. You can control playback, volume, the Immersive Audio feature, as well as any shortcuts through the buttons on each earphone.

After a while it becomes incredibly easy to clip them on, even with my predominantly weaker hand. And once they’re attached they don’t pinch or cause irritation. They’re very comfortable to wear and after a few minutes I forget that they’re even there.

The weigh little, and you can shift them up and down your ear for the best comfort or position to play audio – it’s a rather clever design. Wearing the earbuds with music playing, there’s little audio leakage even at high volumes.

If you’re someone who dislikes the presence of true wireless earbuds, you’ll appreciate the lengths Bose has gone to here.

They’re rated IPX4 to guard against water and moisture. The charging case is compact, and the earbuds magnetically fasten. There’s a Bluetooth pairing button on the case with a USB-C port for charging on the underside.

Features

• aptX Adaptive Bluetooth
• Bose Immersive Audio
• Bose app

Bluetooth support equals v5.3 with support for SBC, AAC, and aptX Adaptive (for Android devices). There’s also Snapdragon Sound support for those who want a higher quality sound and lower latency Bluetooth performance with compatible devices. That seems like overkill for a pair of headphones like these, but does help with maintaining a secure connection.

There’s Google Fast Pair for Android devices, while Bluetooth multipoint was added in an update back in 2024. Wireless connectivity has been solid – weak connections have been few and far between.

The Bose app is where you can monitor battery life, volume control, adjust EQ settings and switch modes – Stereo or Immersion. The app has a tendency to be flaky with connection issues or unresponsiveness par for the course. Sometimes I’ve had to restart my smartphone or put the earbuds in the case to get the app working again.

Immersive Audio turns stereo audio into 3D. It requires (a very brief) calibration to set up. If you find that Immersive Audio doesn’t sound right, it can always be re-calibrated.

There’s a choice of modes in Still and Motion. The former keeps 3D audio fixed, so if you move your head to the right, music doesn’t travel with you. With Motion, music travels as you move your head, keeping the listener in that immersive space as you walk about.

The buds have been updated with the Auto Volume feature that adapts the volume in accordance with how loud the environment is; while voice pickup has been tweaked though it doesn’t seem to have yielded a positive effect.

The call quality of these earphones is still rough. They have a trend of not picking up noise when I’m not speaking, but as soon as I open my mouth allowing a cascade of noise to flood in. While voice pickup seems reliable enough when it’s quiet, the person on the other end found it hard to hear what I was saying and divorce it from the loud environments or blustery conditions.

On my side I found it hard to hear what they were saying even with the volume turned up to the max. Any continuous loud sound (basically being outside) made it difficult to have a conversation. If you’re going to use these earphones for calls, make sure you’re in a very quiet place.

Battery Life

• 28 hours battery total
• Optional wireless charging case

In general Bose expects 7.5 hours from the Ultra Open Earbuds, which is more than the Sony LinkBuds 5.5 hours but less than the Shokz OpenFit Pro’s 10. With Immersive Audio that figure drops to 4.5 hours.

There’s another 19.5 hours from the charging case (12 with Immersive Audio on), which makes for about 28 hours in total. In the battery drains I carried out, the Open Ultra lost 30% battery in two hours, which puts them around the 7+ hour mark, in line with Bose’s claims.

Fast charging is supported with two minutes providing two hours, and there is wireless charging support though it requires a slip-on accessory. For a £299 pair of headphones, it’s odd it’s not included as standard. Even £70 wireless earbuds are know to include the feature.

Sound Quality

• Clear audio
• Lacks bass extension

Wireless earphones such as these live or die on sound quality. There are obvious compromises due to the form factor, and as these headphones lack any form of noise reduction that Apple and Shokz pairs have included, I would not recommend them on public transport or anywhere else loud as you’ll struggle to hear anything.

But in the right environment, these are one of the better-sounding open earphones I’ve tested, even in 2026. They sound better than Sony’s original LinkBuds, and where they edge those earphones is in the clarity they afford mids and highs; and they’re better than the warm sound of the Shokz OpenFit Pro, though where the Bose are found wanting is in the bass department.

A listen to Esperanza Spalding’s I Know You Know sees the Bose offer a crisper, more defined midrange to the Sony’s smoother and warmer performance. The LinkBuds don’t carry as much detail, and sound softer as a result.

With Bill Evans’ All Of You, the Bose are clearer and brighter in describing the tinkling of the ivories. The Ultra Open Earbuds show a more capable and assured hand as far as reproducing high frequencies are concerned.

They’re also capable of going louder than the Sony, useful enough in loud environments but just better in terms of the default volume. Ultimately though, the louder they are, the thinner and more hollow they sound.

Where the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds most obviously falter is in the bass. While there’s some bass presence, there’s a flatness with tracks such as Katy B’s Katy on a Mission where the Shokz finds more warmth and presence with the lows. The Bose aren’t the most energetic sounding pair of open-ear headphones I’ve tested.

The soundstage is not the widest but the Immersive Audio works does open the sound up not just in front of you and to the sides as well. Having tested all the Bose headphones over the past four years, the Open Ultra Earbuds struggle to convey Immersive Audio at its best.

Turning on Immersive Audio on thins out music and makes it sound softer. Worse is the lack of noise isolation. When I used them on a train, they sounded so faint against the noise of the carriage that I wasn’t even sure I could hear anything. If there’s a second version on the way, they’d benefit from having some form of noise reduction, if the design allows for it.

Should you buy it?