Product test

Bose Sport Earbuds: the continuation of a success story

19.11.2020

Translation: machine translated

Three years ago, Bose launched its first completely wireless in-ear headphones on the market with the SoundSport Free. Now comes the successor model. The Sport Earbuds impressed in the test - with one exception.

I was happy back in spring 2018 when I had just bought the new, completely wireless in-ear headphones from Bose. The SoundSport Free were perfect for my ears. Since then, I've tested various sports headphones for Galaxus. But whether Sony, Beats or Philips: at the end of the day, I remained loyal to the SoundSport Free. If it fits, then it fits.

The only downside of the SoundSport Free is the look: with these things in your ears, you either look like Shrek or Lt Uhura from Star Trek.

Bose Sport Earbuds

Now from the Americans comes the second generation of their true wireless sports headphones:

Headphones

Bose Sport Earbuds

5 h, Wireless

Headphones

Bose Sport Earbuds

5 h, Wireless

Headphones

Bose Sport Earbuds

5 h, Wireless

Headphones

Bose Sport Earbuds

Headphones

Bose Sport Earbuds

Headphones

Bose Sport Earbuds

The first thing I notice here is the size. Or rather, that the earbuds are smaller than their predecessors. According to Bose, it's around a third. You can see that and that's a good thing. The scope of delivery includes ear inserts in three different sizes: small, medium and large. All components that come into contact with the ear are made of soft silicone - Bose does not use hard plastic. I am very satisfied with the wearing comfort. No pressure points and the earbuds sit firmly in the ear.

At least the headphones no longer remind me of Shrek.

The Sport Earbuds don't have active noise cancellation (ANC), but I still only pick up the ambient noise very faintly. According to Bose, this is due to their slightly oval ear tips, which form an airtight seal in the ear canal - in other words, passive noise cancelling. Very useful when the "colleague" next door in the gym needs to let everyone know acoustically that he's lifting an incredible amount of weight.

In general, I'm impressed by the sound. It's a matter of taste. The Sport Earbuds definitely suit mine. I like the rich sound with decent bass. The active equaliser automatically boosts the treble and bass and ensures a balanced sound. No matter how loud I listen to music, the treble doesn't overpower and the bass is present.

Scope of delivery of the Bose Sport Earbuds.

Specs: Battery life

Battery life: up to 5 hours, with fully charged case another 10 hours
Battery charging time of the earbuds: 2 hours
Battery life of the carrying case: 3 hours
Quick charge time: 15 minutes for 2 hours
Charging method: USB-C
Battery type (Earbud): Lithium-ion rechargeable battery (button cell in metal housing)
Battery type (carrying case): Lithium-ion rechargeable battery (pouch cell)
Automatic on/off switch to protect the battery

The Bose Sport Earbuds have protection class IPX4. This means that the electronics inside are protected against splashing water from all directions. Instead of buttons, the earbuds are equipped with a touch sensor control. The right earbud controls music playback and takes calls. On the left earbud, you can double-tap to use individual shortcut functions of your choice, for example to check the charging status. You can set the respective function using the Bose Music app. The sensors work flawlessly, which is not always the case with competitive products.

Specs: Dimension/weight

Earbuds: 1.87 cm x 2.66 cm x 2.1 cm (HxWxD) (6.75 g each)
Carrying case with charging function:8.9 cm x 5.1 cm x 3.2 cm (LxWxD)
USB cable: 30.5 cm

The deal breaker?

Here comes the exception mentioned at the beginning, which could become a dealbreaker. You can't adjust the volume using either the left or right earbud. You can't do anything without reaching for your smartphone. That's weak, even stupidly weak. Dear Bose team, surely you can do better. We're all glued to our phones enough as it is. I don't want to have to fiddle with it when I want to change the volume during sport. Please make sure you adapt the next software update. Thank you!

Update from 10.12.2020: The Bose team can do better! And has upgraded here: see video below. You can now adjust the volume on the right earbud by swiping up or down. You can also double-tap to start or pause music playback and answer calls. Well, that works.

Specs: Bluetooth/material

Bluetooth range: up to 9 metres
Bluetooth version: 5.1
Codec: SBC and AAC
Earbuds: plastic/gold plating/polymer coating
Ear tips: silicone
Transport case: hard plastic

When the going gets tough: music motivates me when I'm jogging.

Conclusion

Yes, I'm a friend of Bose. So are you, otherwise you would probably have left the text further up. Or you're a Sony disciple and want to get really annoyed about another product. Then finish reading quickly. Either way, the Sport Earbuds are good. They fit, look better than their predecessors, the sound is great, and the operation with the updated volume control is now also great. I bought the new true wireless sports headphones from Bose. And I don't regret it.

Further information on the new Sport Earbuds and the Quiet Comfort Earbuds from Bose can be found here:

And here you can find all other Bose products in our range.

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Patrick Bardelli

Senior Editor

Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.ch

From radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.

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