Bose Ultra Open-Earbuds 881046-0020

The most comfortable open-ear buds we've ever tested, with sound so good you'll forget they're open. A recent price drop sweetens the deal, but they absolutely fumble calls, so keep your phone handy.

The sound quality genuinely surprised me. I expected thin, leaky audio. Instead, Bose's OpenAudio tech delivers a full, clear presentation that sits in the top 15% of true wireless earbuds we've tested. Bass is present and punchy enough for an open design, and the spatial audio feature adds a fun, cinematic layer when watching videos. Comfort is best-in-class. The flexible joint grip is like a gentle hug for your ear, and after hours of wear, I forgot they were there. The letdown? Calls. With a mic score barely scraping average and a raw calls rating of 47.8 out of 100, your voice often sounds distant and compressed. Battery life is solid but unremarkable at 7.5 hours per charge, plus quick charging that nets 2 hours from 10 minutes.

Don't cross-shop these with the Sony WF-1000XM6 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra. Those are sealed, ANC-heavy buds meant to block the world out. The Bose are for letting it in. If you need a direct open-ear rival, something like the Sony LinkBuds (open ring design) comes closer, but the Bose sound fuller. The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Apple AirPods Pro 3 offer a better middle ground with excellent ambient modes, but they seal the ear and are less comfortable over long stretches. Ultimately, if situational awareness is your number one priority, no closed bud can match the Bose.

The price drop to as low as $199 changes the math significantly. You're still paying a premium for the open-ear form factor, not for best-in-class audio or features, but the gap has narrowed. If you need environmental awareness and really value all-day comfort, this is now a much easier recommendation. But if you can live with a transparency mode on a great set of noise-canceling earbuds, you'll still get better sound, calls, and isolation for less money.

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are the closest thing to wearing nothing while still getting surprisingly rich, private sound. They're not trying to beat noise-canceling in-ears at their own game. Instead, they let the world in, and they do it better than almost anything else out there. The killer feature here is that you can hear a car coming, a colleague calling your name, or your coffee order being announced, all while a podcast or playlist plays in the background. For a subset of users, that awareness is worth every penny.

But these are not for everyone. At $199 to $380, the price has come down enough to make them a more realistic option, though they're still a niche product. Call quality is a real weak point, and you're giving up any sense of isolation. If your priority is drowning out a noisy commute or taking important calls, look elsewhere. If you want something that disappears on your ears and keeps you connected to your surroundings, you've found it.

If you need clear, professional-sounding calls or any kind of noise cancellation, these aren't for you. Go grab the Sony WF-1000XM5 instead. You'll get excellent voice pickup and class-leading ANC at a lower price, and you can just use ambient mode when you need awareness.

Buy the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds if you want the most comfortable, secure way to stay tethered to your environment without sacrificing music quality. The recent price drop makes them a much stronger value. They're ideal for runners, office multi-taskers, or anyone who hates the plugged-ear feeling. Just don't buy them expecting to take a single important phone call. Your caller will notice.