Hi all, looking at purchasing some open ear buds and I’ve come across the Bose Ultra Open ones.

Seen varying reviews online across YouTube, here, tech reviews and articles. I currently own AirPods Max 2/Pro Max, looking for something that doesn’t feel stuffy in my ear, isn’t heavy on my head for summer and can be used for: boxing workouts, HIIT, Pilates, yoga, weight lifting, so doesn’t fall out/off, which I’ve found with both Apple headphones, especially at certain angles with lifting and/or boxing etc.

I also weight lift 5 x a week in a gym which has very loud speakers. I know these ear buds focus more on Spatial Audio than Noise cancelling, which is fine, just wanna understand whether people would recommend even within a loud gym environment.

Also heard varying things about microphone/call quality so any thoughts would be really appreciated given the price!

So, like the title says, this will be a review of the Bose QC Ultra Open earbuds.

Sound -

As a fanatic of openears, the sound in this is obviously not as good as ones that go into your ear canal. However, I am someone who needs the open experience as I just do not like in ears. That being said, the sound on these is fantastic. There is a clarity here that I find tough to find even in in-ears. These are truly top tier in the sound department.

Comfort -

A lot of people rave about the comfort of these, however BE AWARE if you have bigger ears, you will feel a pinching sensation on your ear that got quite uncomfortable after about 2.5 hours of listening. If you can make the fit work, I am sure they're comfortable however I frankly hated that pinching sensation. The style is neat and more low-key, but on my end, I just couldn't get to liking these in the comfort area.

Connection -

This area is a weird one. They were very tough to connect, and took some troubleshooting. Luckily I only had issues the first time, and no static noise like on the normal Bose Ultra in-ears. One area that annoyed me was there is a white hissing noise that occurs every now and again, that almost kinda sounds like they are trying to find a signal. Switching from music to youtube also for whatever reason would cause an audio glitch. Connection wise, not great.

Case -

No issues, honestly felt better built than the Ultra in-ears. However I did notice I dont believe there is a way to see your battery percentage for the case. Not a huge issue but one to note.

Features -

They don't leak sound much at all, and that is literally about it. You do not get multi-pairing (this is subject to change as Bose says it is coming soon). You also get immersive audio which is good with some songs, however undeniably gimmicky. It really drowns out certain songs. It also drains the battery like 30% faster. Personally didn't find any use in it except for action movies maybe. No wireless charge, instead you have to buy a specific case from Bose for wireless charging if you want that feature.

Price -

Boy, this is a doozy. This can be summed up in one sentence. These are not, by any means worth $300 + tax. They just aren't. Some people will buy these and love them, however if you are considering, PLEASE note that there are much better options that are cheaper. The fact that these are the same price as their flagship is kind of insane and honestly a terrible marketing strategy. These should be $150-$200 openears. In their current state without wireless charging and multi-point, you could realistically drop $50 off that price. As a fan of openears, these are frankly a cash grab by Bose.

Rating -

3/10, simply due to the sound.

EDIT: Forgot to add, they have snapdragon sound. You need to have a specific phone that supports it, but if you do, then that is something to consider as well.