Bose Ultra Open (881046-0200)

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds deliver sound quality at the 87th percentile, which is exceptional for an open-ear design. But call quality scores just 51.5 out of 100, and battery life is only middle of the pack. Shop carefully because prices range from USD 199 to USD 299 for the same product.

Sound quality is where these earbuds earn their keep. At the 87th percentile, the audio performance is a standout, especially when you consider the open-ear form factor. The single dynamic driver pushes out punchy, detailed sound that most open-ear buds simply can't match. Bose's OpenAudio tech does the heavy lifting here, keeping the audio surprisingly private while maintaining spatial awareness. The Immersive Spatial Audio feature adds another layer, though it's more of a nice-to-have than a reason to buy.

Connectivity is also strong at the 84th percentile, with Bluetooth 5.3 keeping things stable and responsive. The 4-mic setup sounds good on paper, but the mic performance only reaches the 61st percentile, which explains why calls score just 51.5 out of 100. If you're planning to take a lot of calls on these, you'll want to temper expectations. The quick charge feature is genuinely useful though, giving you 2 hours of playback from a 10-minute charge.

Stacked against the competition, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds occupy a specific niche. The Technics EAH-AZ100 and Sony WF-1000XM6 both offer active noise cancellation and better overall performance, but they're traditional in-ear designs. If you want that open-ear awareness, Bose is competing more directly with the Soundcore P31i, which undercuts it significantly on price. The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Apple AirPods Pro 3 both beat the Bose on call quality and ANC, but again, they seal off your ear canal. The Bose sound quality at the 87th percentile is genuinely competitive with these heavy hitters, which is impressive for an open design. But the 51.5 call score is a glaring weakness that none of the top competitors share.

Value is tricky here because the price spread is genuinely wild. In the US, you'll find these anywhere from USD 199 to USD 299 across three listings. That's a USD 100 gap for the exact same product, which is the kind of thing that should make you pause before clicking buy. Amazon has the best deal at USD 199, and at that price the value proposition starts to make sense. In Europe, the spread is EUR 51, ranging from EUR 199 to EUR 250 across four listings. The budget score of 82.4 out of 100 suggests these are a reasonable buy, but only if you shop around. Paying anywhere near the top of that range is a mistake when the same buds are sitting at the bottom end elsewhere.

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds land in our database with a total score of 76.9 out of 100, which puts them in solid but not spectacular territory. The sound quality is the headline here at the 87th percentile, which is genuinely impressive for an open-ear design. You're getting Bose's OpenAudio tech that manages to deliver rich, private audio while still letting you hear the world around you. The clip-on design is different from anything else in this category, and it works better than you'd expect for keeping the buds secure without jamming anything into your ear canal.

But the numbers tell a more complicated story. Battery life sits at 7.5 hours from the buds and 19.5 hours from the case, which lands at the 74th percentile. That's fine, not great. The weak spot is calls at 51.5 out of 100, which is rough for a pair of earbuds at this price point. With a 4.2-star rating from nearly 17,000 reviews, people generally like these, but the social proof ranking at the 73rd percentile suggests the enthusiasm isn't quite as strong as Bose would hope.

Skip these if you take a lot of phone calls. The 51.5 call score is one of the weakest we've seen in this price bracket, and the mic performance at the 61st percentile won't do you any favors in noisy environments. Also skip if you want active noise cancellation, since these only offer transparency mode. And if you're a battery maximizer, the 7.5-hour earbud life is just average at the 74th percentile. There are cheaper open-ear options that sacrifice some sound quality but deliver better call performance and longer battery life.

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are a niche product that nails their niche. If you want open-ear awareness without sacrificing sound quality, these are one of the best options on the market right now. The 87th percentile sound performance is the reason to buy, and the clip-on design is genuinely comfortable for all-day wear. But the call quality is a real letdown at 51.5 out of 100, and the battery life won't blow anyone away. At USD 199 from Amazon, these are worth considering. At USD 299, you're overpaying for a product with a glaring weakness. Know what you're getting into, and these could be your favorite earbuds.