Great for workouts-Bose Sport Open Earbuds

I think most of people have ever heard the brand-Bose. Actually, the Bose is no stranger to sports earbuds. The company has made a number of them over the years, including multiple pairs of true wireless buds. However, for its most recent option, Bose is taking a different approach.

As the name suggests, they have an “open” design that sits outside of your ear. Not only does this increase comfort, but it also allows you to hear what’s going on around you at all times — a key safety feature for runners. Add a sporty over-the-ear hook design and water resistance and you’ve got earbuds prepped for the gym or trail. The only question is whether you’re willing to make some sacrifices for the sake of staying in tune with your surrounding environments.

Something about the design of the Bose Sport Open Earbuds
As a lot of sports buds, both wired and wireless, the Bose Sport Open Earbuds have a hook that goes over the top of your ear and down behind it. This, of course, keeps them in place while you’re moving around on a run or in the gym. And that’s even more essential with these since there’s nothing going inside your ear that would otherwise keep them from falling out.

The hook design keeps things stationary, but they’re made of hard plastic. They don’t offer as much comfort as a soft-touch or flexible material would. Plus, they don’t bend to adjust to the contours of your ears. You’re stuck with the exact shape Bose’s designers selected, which isn’t uncomfortable per se, but it also isn’t as comfy as it could be.

Due to the Sport Open Earbuds design, the actual “earbud” component sits at the top of your ear rather than just outside of your canal. This allows for the “open” design that keeps your ears free to hear what’s going on around you while you listen to music or podcasts. Bose has created what it calls OpenAudio technology that beams “rich, full-range sound” into your ears while reducing what others nearby might pick up. It’s a similar concept to the Bose Frames, though these earbuds position the sound source much closer to your ear. So instead of using bone conduction, the Sport Open Earbuds employ specifically placed acoustic ports that channel music to its intended destination, powered by two 16mm drivers. It sounds good on paper, but in practice, my family could easily hear noise from these even at medium volumes.

Bose didn’t totally nix on-board controls for the Sport Open Earbuds. There are two tiny physical buttons — one on each side — that offer a few options. On the right side, a single press will play/pause, a double press will skip to the next track and a triple press would return to the previous track. That same button is used to power on the earbuds and answer/end calls. The control on the left earbud activates your voice helper of choice when you hold it down, and you can set it to announce the battery level with a single press. Due to a post-launch update, you can adjust volume with a tap on the outside of the earbuds. Use the right to increase volume and the left to turn it down. Bose also offers you the ability to disable volume control entirely inside of its application.

Something about the sound quality of Sport Open Earbuds

Bose has achieved a lot of what it intended: primarily, keeping your ears unobstructed when you’re exercising. There’s no denying this has massive implications for safety, especially for runners. But, I could overhear plenty at home while testing these. And, if your gym is anything like the one I went to pre-pandemic, it blasts a variety of pop music at an unreasonable volume. The main reason I wore headphones was to block that out, and these Bose earbuds won’t help you much there.

For example, the drum machines and percussion on Com Truise’s synth-heavy instrumentals retain detail, but the songs just don’t have the depth and droning bass lines that make them so atmospheric. The discrepancy is even more noticeable with hip-hop tracks like Lil Baby’s “Heatin Up.” The beat that’s the backbone of the track fades into the background.

Review on the battery life
Bose claims up to eight hours of battery life on the Sport Open Earbuds. During my tests, I actually managed slightly better, stretching them about 30 minutes longer than the stated figure. This listening time is slightly above average for true wireless earbuds these days, but there’s a catch: these buds don’t come with a charging case. You don’t have a place to constantly top off the battery in your pocket when you’re taking a break from tunes. It also means there are separate accessories for charging and for storage.

Bose includes a magnetic charging base with a USB cable that connects to either your computer or a plug you likely already have. The Sport Open Earbuds fully charge in two hours, and 30 minutes will give you three hours of playback. Lights on the outside of the earbuds pulse white during charging and remain solid when done. The company also put a hard shell carrying case in the box. It’s not the fanciest thing, but it gets the job done. And a magnetic closure should keep them from falling out if the case gets jostled around in your bag.

Thus, I highly recommend this great item-Bose Sport Open Earbuds