Bose Bose Ultra Open True Wireless Earbuds (Moonstone Review

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are a clever, comfortable solution for staying aware of your surroundings while listening. They sound surprisingly good for an open-ear design, but at $299, they're a niche luxury. Buy them if you hate in-ear buds and want to hear the world, not if you need noise cancellation or top-tier sound.

Bose's Ultra Open Earbuds are a different kind of wireless bud. They don't go in your ear. Instead, they clip onto the outside of your ear canal, letting you hear your music and the world around you at the same time. It's a clever idea for runners, office workers, or anyone who needs to stay aware.

They're built for situational awareness, not isolation. The open-ear design means you'll hear traffic, conversations, and everything else. Bose says its OpenAudio tech keeps your music private to you, and our testing shows it works decently well for an open design. Just don't expect a silent, immersive bubble.

Sound quality lands in the 41st percentile in our database, which is about what you'd expect. For an open-ear design, they sound surprisingly full and rich. Bass is present, not overpowering, and the Bose Immersive Audio does add a nice sense of space. But let's be real: physics is against them. You'll never get the deep, punchy bass or crystal-clear isolation of a good in-ear model. The microphone is also a weak spot, ranking in the 38th percentile, so calls can sound a bit thin in noisy environments.

At $299, the value proposition is tough. You're paying a premium for a specific experience—comfort and awareness—over raw audio performance. If you absolutely cannot stand anything in your ears, these are a well-engineered solution. For everyone else, you can get better sound, better noise cancellation, and better battery life from traditional earbuds at this price, or even for less.

Compared to top competitors like the Sony WF-1000XM5 or the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, the Ultra Opens live in a different universe. The Sonys will demolish them on sound quality and ANC, but they seal you off from the world. The Nothing Ear (a) offers a fun, tuned sound for a fraction of the price, but it's an in-ear design. The closest competitor in concept might be bone conduction headphones, but the Bose Ultras offer much better sound quality. It's less of a head-to-head and more of a 'choose your adventure.'

Skip these if you need noise cancellation for travel or focus, or if your main goal is the absolute best sound quality for your money. Also, avoid them if you work in a very quiet, shared office where even minimal sound leakage would annoy colleagues. There are better, cheaper tools for those jobs.

Buy the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds if you prioritize comfort and environmental awareness above all else, and you have the budget for a luxury item. They're perfect for runners, cyclists, office workers who need to hear colleagues, or anyone with ear canal sensitivity. Think of them as high-end audio sunglasses for your ears.