As part of our review of the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, we wondered what kind of person this $299 earbud is best suited for On the one hand, this earphone style is ideal for people who want to free up their ears to take in their surroundings On the other hand, this earphone is a bit niche and probably not the only earphone the average person would want to own

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are Bose's attempt to rethink how often earbuds are worn Unlike many of the better wireless earbuds, they are marketed as buds that can be worn all day long, thanks to their almost earmuff-like fit that does not block the ear This allows you to listen to music while going about your normal life

In general, open-ear buds tend to suffer in the sound quality department, especially in the bass However, Bose has surprisingly managed to include some of the spatial audio features of mainstream noise-canceling headphones, such as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones

The earbuds proved to provide a satisfying listening experience despite not being truly sealed In other words, if you're going to pay $299 for them, they definitely deserve it So is it worth it to you?

The primary reason I think you should buy the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds is that they are the most comfortable earbuds I have ever worn They have a super flexible, soft silicone exterior that wraps around the top of your earlobe You can slightly adjust the position to best fit your ear

Not only do they look stylish alongside the earrings, but they fit so well that I could wear them for hours at a time without a problem I even slept with them on when I was staying in a hotel room with a friend because I wanted to watch a show or work on my laptop while trying not to be rude

Another reason to buy the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds is that the sound quality is excellent for open-ear earbuds Bose's OpenAudio technology produces articulate bass, and the automatic volume control intelligently adjusts to the ambient sound level

But what's really special is the spatial sound, which I don't think I've ever seen before in earphones in this category There are "still" and "motion" modes, with "still" being best for when you're working at your desk, while "motion" is best for when you're commuting around town or moving around at the gym

The final reason you should buy the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds is battery life The earbuds are designed to be worn all day long, so even when you're running errands and cooking dinner, you can wear them 24/7, just like the earbuds

Battery life is 75 hours of continuous listening, but when there is no playback, the battery does not drain and can be used for up to 27 hours with the charging case I attempted this one-day experience for my review and was able to exceed almost three full days before needing to recharge, but this will depend on how many hours of listening you do on average

If you don't actually encounter situations where open earbuds make sense all day long, you can skip the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Personally, I wanted to switch to noise-canceling earbuds while I was in the office, and if I'm traveling in any form, I definitely need more robust noise-canceling headphones that essentially block out the world

Another weakness was call quality, especially when I was outside on a busy street, and important calls eventually required me to switch to my cell phone as my audio source Before making a purchase, consider what an average day is like

I also think the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are not necessarily the right choice for someone considering spending $300 on earbuds One could argue that this is overpriced, considering that Shokz OpenFit is only $180 and you can still keep your ears open

Even if we are looking at this as a lifestyle product, Meta Rayban's smart glasses also start at $300, and these can do much more than just play music Of course, noise-canceling earbuds with pass-through and awareness modes like the AirPods Pro 2 and Bose's QC Ultra Earbuds are also hard to turn down for the same budget

Finally, those who tend to lose earrings, make a lot of fuss, or touch the ear area often should avoid the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds

While I feel they are secure enough, for example, when I said I slept with these earbuds, they were still not in my ears in the morning Fortunately, I looked for them quickly, but at this small size, I could see them getting lost in the sheets on their way to the laundry I also dropped one when I was fixing my hair and wouldn't be surprised if I didn't notice it before it was too late

If I were to spend $300, I would buy Bose Ultra Open Earbuds But keep in mind that I specialize in wearable tech and have created a full video on why I favor open-ear headphones from a personal safety standpoint But getting open-ear earbuds with more premium spatialized audio features is a game-changer, and I can see people who move around a lot during the day embracing these earbuds

That said, wireless earbuds are not the only way to go, especially if you need to tune out ambient noise Also, if call quality is important to you in any environment, I would not recommend these earbuds If Bose had made them less expensive than the traditional QC Ultra Earbuds, we would have a different story to tell