There are plenty of truly wireless earbuds on the market, but not many of them can claim to be as unique as the new Bose Sport Open Earbuds. They’re IPX4 rated, can go for 8 hours of battery life on a single charge — and make virtually no skin contact, sitting above the ear and allowing listeners to stay aware of their surroundings in a way that practically no other earbud can do.
According to Bose, the buds gently grip the ear’s outer ridge in order to remain locked in place with no need for an in-ear tip. There’s also no squeezing or vibration since these don’t utilize the same audio-delivery methods as bone conduction earbuds. Instead, each bud uses “a tiny dipole transducer placed and positioned for loud-and-clear personal audio that stays at the ear.” That should make them great for listening to music, podcasts, and more while staying alert during everyday actives and workouts. This idea of piping-in audio a short distance from your ear is also something we saw in the Bose Frames.
The buds open design remind me of an old-school Bluetooth earpiece.
The Bose Sport Open Earbuds have simple button controls that allow for quick access to common tasks like skipping songs or summoning your voice assistant. With an IPX4 water resistance rating, these should be primed to handle sweaty workouts and rainy jogging sessions. And thanks to an etched antenna and Bluetooth 5.1, the connection seems like it should be reliably solid, too. The buds are compatible with both Android and iOS, with an app to control and personalize sound settings.
Bose’s new buds are available for pre-order today at the manufacturer’s website and Best Buy for just about $200. They should start shipping out to consumers later this month.
