Audio company Bose has teamed up with fashion brand Kith to produce a pair of unique-looking headphones known as Ultra Open Earbuds.
Most open-back headphones you see on Amazon or Google have some sort of arm that wraps around the back of your ear. However, these go directly to the outer ear via a clip. Despite the unconventional design, Bose's product retains the main purpose of open headphones: enabling environmental awareness and allowing users to hear the world around them. On the outside of the earbuds and charging case is the Kith name printed in Bose's signature font.
This isn't the first time a company has created open-back headphones with a unique twist. Sony's LinkBuds, for example, have an additional ring connected to the main bud that lets in outside noise.
Oddly enough, there is very little information about the specifications of the Ultra Open Earbuds. It's unknown what type of speakers the pair houses inside its small frame or if there are any special features like a high water resistance rating. The only thing Kith claims regarding the latter is that there will be a “state-of-the-art suite of technologies” on board.
Characteristics
What is known is that the devices will support Bose's OpenAudio software to directly send the audio output to the ear canal and minimize sound leakage. Battery life is set for “7.5 hours of playback” on a single charge. Of course, without the charging case. The total duration of the case is unknown.
Kith's announcement post goes on to reveal that the Ultra Open Earbuds will have Bose Immersive Audio, which is the brand's version of spatial audio. The inclusion of this feature is particularly notable because the recently released QuietComfort Ultra headphones have the same capability. With that in mind, we may see other similarities between the two models, such as Wind Block to reduce wind noise and support for Bluetooth 5.4. The post mentions “Advanced Bluetooth” as one of the features of the Ultra Open headphones, so it could refer to the latest version.
Limited quantities
Everything will be revealed very soon.
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds will launch on Monday, January 22 for $300 per pair. They will be sold exclusively at Kith physical stores as well as the Kith website in the US, Canada and Europe. Pre-orders are not available, so curious buyers will have to wait a bit. What's interesting is that the devices will be in “extremely limited quantities,” according to Bose. It is unknown how many will be available at launch. So if you're interested in getting them, it looks like you'll have to act fast.
We reached out to Bose with several questions asking for information on the exact number of headphones at launch, if there are plans to continue selling them after this drop, and if they could provide us with any details on their specifications. This story will be updated later.
Until then, be sure to check out TechRadar's list of the best headphones for 2024.
Update 01-18-2024: A company representative came back and told us that the only thing that will be sold is the limited quantity of Ultra Open headphones. Once it runs out, there will be no more. That said, they did state that the company has plans to release a “Bose-exclusive version” of the headphones. It is unknown when it will be released.
