Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Review: The Best Open Earbuds for Running

Introduction

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are a fresh take on open-ear headphones from Bose, released in February this year. Unlike anything the company has offered in the UK before, they use an all-new design that clasps onto the ear rather than hooking over the top of it. That unique approach, combined with what is easily the best sound quality we have encountered in an open-ear design, makes them one of the most impressive running headphones on the market.

The catch is the price: £299.95 in the UK and $299 in the US. That is the same as Bose’s top in-ear earbuds, more than the Apple AirPods Pro 2 or the Jabra Elite 8 Active, and roughly £100 or $100 more than other leading open-ear options like the Shokz OpenFit and Cleer Arc 2. Everything in this review needs to be read against that very high price tag.

Design and Fit: A Clasp That Actually Works

The defining feature is the clasp itself. A slim hook and a small barrel roll around the ear, holding the earbud at a slight angle so the speaker sits close to your ear canal while leaving the canal completely open. The barrel rests on the back of the ear without pinching, which means no unwelcome pressure on any part of the ear.

In testing, the fit was exceptional. It is comfortable for hours on end, including a two-and-a-half hour run, and it works easily with glasses and hats. Because the clasp flexes naturally around individual ears, there are no different-sized ear tips to worry about. The speaker also rests naturally in the right place, so you get clear sound without fiddling with the fit mid-run. Compared with other open headphones that sometimes clasp the ear too tightly, this is the best fit we have come across in the category.

On durability, the earbuds are not fully waterproof but carry an IPX4 rating for sweat and water resistance. Sports headphones exist with higher ratings, but IPX4 has proven more than adequate for years of running in hot, sweaty and rainy conditions. They come in two colors, black and a whitish silvery shade, with a reasonably small, pocket-sized carry case included.

Controls are handled by a physical button on the barrel of each earbud. Presses handle play, pause and track skipping; volume uses press-and-hold, raising volume on the right and lowering on the left. Bose’s immersive audio can be activated by hold commands, with settings customizable in the app. We much prefer buttons over touch controls for running: you click, you know it registered.

Sound Quality on the Run and at the Desk

Open headphones generally give up some sound quality by design, since an open ear lets in ambient noise and loses both passive and active noise cancellation, along with bass punch. The Ultra Open Earbuds are the counter-example. In quiet environments, working at a desk for instance, they are the match of in-ear earbuds, with real depth and clarity in the upper ranges and a warm sound profile that suits alternative, singer-songwriter and classical music especially well.

There is enough punch for pop, rock and dance tracks, and bass can be boosted with a three-bar EQ in the app. On the run they hold up remarkably well: on a very windy track session they never got drowned out, and music and podcasts both stayed audible alongside busy roads, where bone conduction headphones often struggle. Even at lower volumes you retain good awareness of your surroundings.

Bose’s immersive audio, a spatial audio feature with Still and Motion modes, tries to position the music in front of you for a more natural presentation. It occasionally shines on big, soaring atmospheric tracks, but often it goes unnoticed, sometimes makes certain music sound a little odd, and it costs three hours of battery life. For most use we left it off.

The remaining weakness is typical of the category: on planes, trains or the London Underground they cannot match the noise blocking of in-ear earbuds. Loud, noisy environments are where this open design runs out of road.

Battery Life and Charging

Bose rates the earbuds at up to 7.5 hours per charge, dropping to 4.5 hours with immersive audio on. The case adds 19.5 hours for a total of 27, or 16.5 hours total if immersive audio is always on. A quick charge feature delivers two hours of playback from a 10-minute stint in the case.

Across long runs and long desk sessions, the earbuds lived up to the claimed numbers, even at high volume on the run. The quick charge genuinely helps when you are caught short. It is not class-leading, some smaller in-ear earbuds such as the Jabra Elite 8 Active offer more, but 7.5 hours will see you through most runs, and the pocket-sized case is easy to slip into a running belt or backpack for anything longer.

Who Should Buy Them

These are comfortably the best open-ear headphones we have tried and our favorite running headphones. The fit is the best in the category, secure through sweat and hours of use, and the sound quality beats every other open-ear option we have tested. But the price forces a real decision.

If you travel often or spend time in noisy environments, in-ear earbuds with noise cancellation, like the Apple AirPods Pro 2 or Jabra Elite 8 Active, offer beefier bass and better value, often for less money. If you simply want open earbuds, cheaper alternatives like the Nothing Fit SE-style S30 open earbuds at around £70 or $70, or the Shokz OpenFit and Cleer Arc 2, get you most of the way there. The Ultra Open Earbuds are better than all of them, but better value is available unless your use case matches theirs: someone who wants awareness and comfort on runs and great sound at home, and who rarely needs to block out a train or a plane.

Conclusion

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds live up to their billing. The clasp design delivers an exceptional, pressure-free fit, the sound quality is the best we have heard from any open-ear headphone, and the battery life comfortably covers long runs. At £299.95 or $299 they are expensive for an open-ear design, and frequent commuters will get better value from noise-cancelling in-ear earbuds. But if awareness, all-day comfort and open-ear sound are what you are after, and the budget stretches, these are the ones to buy.