Bose has now launched the Ultra Open Earbuds, a pair of earbuds that it previously sold as Kith exclusives. While the Kith for Bose Ultra Open Earbuds appear to have now sold out, the standard Bose versions are now available from third party retailers like Amazon where they sell for $299 in the US. Thus, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds costs as much as its Kith limited edition counterparts.
At any rate, Bose has now confirmed all key hardware specifications, which Kith elected against revealing last month. Specifically, Bose claims that the Ultra Open Earbuds rely upon the same drivers as the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds that it launched in September 2023. Additionally, the Ultra Open Earbuds support Bose Immersive Audio, although this functionality reduces official battery life estimates from 7.5 hours to 4.5 hours when enabled.
Moreover, the earbuds are IPX4 certified, underlying their unsuitability for being used while working out. Also, the Ultra Open Earbuds offer Bluetooth 5.3 and Qualcomm aptX Adaptive connectivity. For some reason, the earbuds lack Bluetooth Multipoint support at launch. However, CNET claims that Bose has confirmed this will eventually arrive through a firmware update, which will also be available for the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. Please see Bose's website for more hardware details.