Bose released the Ultra Open Earbuds earlier this year that looked more like futuristic jewelry than earbuds. We liked them for their innovative design, excellent battery life, and excellent sound that doesn’t leak much. And they’re so comfortable—to the point where you won’t even forget you’re wearing them.
The company recently gave one of our favorite open-ear headphones a performance that, if it works as promised, is impressive, but there’s some consideration to it, too.
When you pair the Ultra Open with the Bose Smart Soundbar, the buds will double as surround speakers for a surround sound setup. And since they sport an open-ear design, you’ll still be able to listen to the sound coming from the soundbar. So, the soundbar is still your main speaker in this setup, and the buds will complement the experience by adding some directional sound output.
The good thing about this is that you won’t have to invest in additional speakers or worry about the visual space they will take up in your living room. The downside is that it’s less likely to sound better than a standalone set of rear speakers.
Also, this setup only works if you use the Ultra Open with the $499 Bose Smart Soundbar, not the company’s $279 Bose TV speaker soundbar, and not even its top offering, the $899 Smart Ultra Soundbar. This means you need a minimum investment of $800 (Ultra Open and Smart Soundbar) to enjoy this feature.
The Smart Soundbar is Bose’s update of its existing Smart Soundbar 600 with a new feature, AI Dialogue Mode. Released on the Smart Ultra Soundbar last fall, the mode adjusts the speaker’s audio stream in real time as soon as it detects speech in the content we’re playing. This ensures improved clarity and promises to make sure that the dialogue in your content isn’t drowned out by loud, high-powered background music.
The caveat on Bose’s new surround sound feature reminded me of Sonos limiting its latest Ace audio switching feature to its high-end $899 Arc soundbar which defeats half the purpose of releasing this feature on $450 headphones.
Bose’s new Gen 2 QuietComfort Earbuds join the bar for innovation and surround sound enhancements. Priced at $179, these come with many of the same features that the Gen 1s offer such as ANC and customizable touch, but add one new functionality. With their new Remote Selfie feature, you can make yourself a remote camera trigger by saying “Hey headphones” as soon as you’re done doing something. Your buds will instantly take a picture in your camera app.
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