A few years ago, Bose released its Sport Open Earbuds, which were among the first ear-hook style true wireless buds to feature an open design with micro speakers that fired sound into your ears. Those buds were discontinued last year, but now Bose is back with a completely new set of open earbuds. They’re called the Kith for Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, and they’re set to be released on Jan. 22 for $300 in “extremely limited quantities” as part of a design collaboration with the fashion and lifestyle brand Kith.
According to Kith and Bose, this is Bose’s first lifestyle partnership and the first time a Bose product features a collaborative logo. What’s interesting about the buds is that they appear to have a clip-on design, or as Bose says, “The Ultra Open Earbuds have a light-as-air grip with a flexible joint for easy on and off, making for effortless all-day wear. They don’t block your ears but rather attach to the side, making them appear more like a fashion accessory than a traditional audio wearable.”
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The buds have a clip-on design. It’s unclear whether they have physical or touch controls.
BoseThese are not noise-canceling earbuds, but they do feature Bose’s Immersive Audio for music spatialization, which is a feature found in its latest QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and QuietComfort Ultra Headphones that were released late last year (those models have arguably have the best noise canceling on the market right now). Battery life for the Ultra Open Earbuds is rated at up to 7.5 hours and they have “advanced Bluetooth,” according to Bose.
Bose’s earlier Sport Open Earbuds sounded quite good for open earbuds, which typically face challenges with bass performance due to their open design. This model also features Bose’s OpenAudio technology, and I suspect their sound will be pretty impressive for this style of earbud (they better sound good for $300, right?). Hopefully, the Ultra Open Earbuds will be more comfortable than the Sport Open Earbuds, which just didn’t feature the same comfort level as most Bose earbuds and headphones.
The case appears to be the same size as the case for the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. It likely does not have wireless charging capabilities.
Screenshot by David Carnoy/CNETThe partnership with Kith marks a new product strategy for Bose as it possibly tries to become a bit hipper and appeal to a new audience. I could personally do without the Kith branding and would prefer some different color options (for now, they only come in a “sleek black matte hue”), but the Ultra Open Earbuds should eventually come out in a standard version that perhaps will cost a little less.
I’ll let you know how the Kith for Bose Ultra Open Earbuds sound and feel on my ears as soon as I get a review sample.
