Earbuds aren’t for everyone and earphones can feel weird, even if you use our little finger-in-ear approach to seeing how they feel, so fortunately there are other options to decide how you’re going to listen.
Headphones are clearly the larger option, while bone conduction buds that wrap around the head are another, albeit one that doesn’t match everyone.
However, one style getting more attention because seemingly every manufacturer is doing it is the jewellery clip-on style. We’ve seen them from Shokz and Sennheiser and Sony, and the company that kicked it all off two years ago was actually Bose, and it is back for another round.
Two years on from the surprising Bose Ultra Open, two models are set to arrive, updating the line-up and splitting the focus, covering premium everyday sound, and then sport.
In the former, the Bose Ultra Open 2nd-gen acts as the high-end offering, providing a pair of earbuds with a compact architecture designed for open listening with little in the way of leakage, while AI is used for talking on the phone and isolating voice.
Like other clip-on buds, these clip and don’t need to stick close to the head, delivering more bass and volume than the previous generation, while also bringing Spatial Audio to the cinema mode.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound is onboard, much like it was in other earbuds, and there’s support for up to nine hours of playback before needing a charge, with roughly two more charges in the case resulting in a total of nearly 30 hours all up.
Priced at $449.95, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds 2nd-gen definitely sound more premium than others, and will forgo the noise cancelling you can find on other second-gen Bose buds, be it the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd-gen or the Bose QuietComfort standard equivalent.
However, they’re also not the only open buds Bose is introducing, and that’s possibly because the Ultra Open is missing something you might want: water resistance.
The lack of an IP rating on the Bose Ultra Open second-gen has led to the design and launch of the Bose Sport Open, a first-gen pair made for activity by bringing a similar open architecture and design to a clip designed to hold that little bit more.
As you listen, the custom drivers work with a feature to automatically adjust the volume based on changes around you, while the IP54 rating means there’s resistance to sweat, splashes, rain, and possibly dumping a bottle of water over your head in a fit of exhaustion.
Priced at $349.95, they have a bit of an edge over their Ultra Open 2nd-gen sibling just because they’re less expensive.
That said, there is enormous competition in this space, and so won’t be alone. Even TV maker Hisense has gotten involved in recent months.
As for Bose, both open models are heading to stores in October, priced at $350 for the Sport Open and $450 for the Ultra Open.
