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Bose Designs New Way to Attach "Open" Earbuds

They "cuff," rather than plug

By Rain Noe - February 21

in Tech | Wearables | Human Factors

These curious objects…

…are Bose's new $299 Ultra Open Earbuds, designed to deliver in-ear sound without blocking out the outside world. "Listen to a podcast as you're walking the dog and want to hear that bicycle about to pass, hear your number called at the deli while watching a video in line, or play your favorite workout music in the background while still catching up with your friend on a run."

Rather than plugging your ear canal, the buds ride on the inside of your ears. As for how they stay there:

"[The] innovative cuff-shaped design [provides] comfort and stability — a special flex arm coated in super-soft silicone connects the speaker to the battery barrel, so it rests gently on your skin for hours, while providing a light-as-air grip to keep the earbuds secure on almost any ear."

When it comes to tech wearables, the ear is the body part that's been the most thoroughly investigated; so it's interesting to see a company as well-established as Bose continuing to experiment with new ways to attach things to our ears. These have only just been announced, but I'll be curious to read long-term reviews in the future detailing just how comfortable the cuff design really is (or isn't).

As for how they sound amidst real-world noise, Bose has a demonstration you can listen to here.

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Bastian Lee

9 months ago

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Yay another open ear plug design that will pollute train compartments with annoying noise affecting everyone but the one person who actually gets the music out of them.

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Anthony Towers

9 months ago

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hmm, they don't look comfortable.

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Michael DiTullo

9 months ago

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super interesting! I wonder how they feel? I need to check these out.

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