Review: Bose Sport Open wireless open headphones

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I love testing out really new and unconventional technology. In this case, something called open ear headphones. Bose has launched Bose Sport Open earbuds and I had the chance to try them out for myself. I’ll tell you what they are exactly, what they can do, what they work well for and any downsides or limitations

What are Bose Sport Open headphones?
The Cliffs Notes or Coles Notes here is that Bose Sport Open-ear wireless headphones are headphones that don’t block or cover your ear holes and the goal is to let you hear your music and your surroundings at the same time.
These come with both separate charging cradle and travel case, and I think it’s too bad that it’s not just one unit. The cradle won’t fit in the case so you’ve got two parts to keep tabs on… and more if you count the earbuds.

So how has Bose said it’s doing this differently? In essence it’s sending sound out as if it were a tiny speaker parked outside your head.
Instead of sending sound waves through your bones, Bose Sport Open sends sound waves through the air for what it says is a “more natural listening experience”.
The next question is, can’t everyone hear your music then? Bose’s sales pitch is that the Sport Open ‘minimizes what others can hear’ and reduces sound bleed from the headphones dual 16mm drivers. I’ll get to how well I think that works in a sec.
Why get open earbuds?

Set up: so-so
I found these headphones were easy to set up initially. They went into pairing automatically and I was connected quickly.
Reconnecting was a bit of an issue; I’d go to put the buds on, and they wouldn’t connect using Bluetooth via my Bluetooth menu on my phone. Using the Bose app, I’d tap the Connect button and it would go back into initial pairing mode, asking me to push and hold the pairing button… except nothing would happen.
The first time, I figured the battery was dead, but it kept happening. I’d get a push notification from my iPhone saying the headphones were connected, but nothing would play and the app would prompt me to reconnect.

Sound quality
Time to talk sound. I was really, really impressed with these headphones for a couple reasons; the audio quality is outstanding, the bass is great and the Bose Sport Open also have a neat effect whereby it feels like you‘re wearing over-ear headphones, not earbuds.
Unlike a lot of earbuds, with the Bose Sport Open the soundstage feels big and round outside your ears; imagine if you cupped a mixing bowl around your ear and had the music rolling around in there; the sound feels bigger than it is, and it’s a cool, cool effect. Definitely feels more like you’re wearing big over ear cans, not tiny earbuds.
The sound is outstanding: the bass is actually killer, and despite the fact these don’t have contact with your ear canals, nor an enclosed space around them, the bass resonates really well.

Voices on podcasts sounded great, and phone calls were clear; I’d call phone call quality about average.
Overall the audio is clear, crisp and very well balanced and I’d say these are some of the best sounding headphones I’ve had a chance to review lately.

Battery Life:

The battery life on these is pretty good I suppose. You get 8 hours of playtime on a single charge, but since there’s no charging case, there’s no option to extend your listening time while on the go; you’d need to get the cradle plugged in somewhere.

Overall review Bose Sport Open

Overall, there’s a certain kind of person these earbuds will appeal to: you have to want the feel of an over-ear headphone, but not want the bulk, you have to like the size and portability of an earbud, but not want anything in your ear canal.

On the pro side the sound quality is amazing and checks all the boxes. Bose has also done an amazing job at keeping the sound directed only into your ears with almost no noise bleed, while still making it feel like you’re listening to a larger soundstage.

On the con side, I had some finicky issues when connecting and reconnecting, and I think some folks would really find the V-hook & hover design painful on long listening sessions. It may depend entirely on your ear size and shape. I also wish there was a portable charging case for these.

I also think Bose’s promise about being able to talk to someone while listening isn’t quite as cut and dried as that; you need to have the music on quite low to be able to hear outside conversations clearly, and that may be fine, but you won’t be rocking out to loud tunes and chitchatting to Steve, your spotter while you’re benching.

Overall I can recommend Bose Sport Open earbuds if you’re looking for great sound quality and an alternate fit and don’t mind potentially finicky connections and no charging on the go.

Bose Sport Open earbuds sell for about $199USD/$249CAD