44

Bose Sport Earbuds Review

True Score

76
76
10

Experts

85
39.5k

Consumers

Expert Rankings

Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless offers a comfortable, stable fit and great call quality, perfect for sports and workouts. And the sound quality, while good, lacks customization options. Overall, they perform well but may not be worth the higher price.

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$179.00
$167.75

Overview

The Bose Sport Earbuds were announced in late 2020 as a mid tier pick that have an IPX4 water-resistance rating. This rating plus their stability fins makes them ideal for sports enthusiasts, and despite their lack of support for Active Noise Cancellation, the earbuds still have a companion app that works on both iOS and Android devices.

The app unfortunately doesn’t allow for sound customization, which comes as a standard offering among the best headphones on the market. The Bose earbuds offer five hours of battery life on a single charge, which extends to 15 hours courtesy of the two additional charges offered by its charging case.

Unfortunately, they don’t support NFC or multi-device pairing, but they have elaborate touch controls for volume adjustment and call/music playback management. There aren’t any mute/unmute controls for the microphone, but these are more common with other highly-rated wireless earbuds.

What Is Not on the Box

What the brand doesn’t always tell you…

our Verdict

With a warm, balanced sound quality and comfortable, stable fit, the Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless is great for sports and fitness. They excel in call quality and are resistant to sweat, making them reliable workout companions.

The sound profile is warm, which doesn’t work well for bass-heavy music. However, they have a good mid-range, although they lack customizable features like EQ presets. The earbuds run on a Bluetooth 5.0 connection, which is consistent and works well for taking calls.

The bad passive soundstage affects overall sound quality, and the touch-sensitive controls can be finicky, leading to accidental changes. The earbuds also lack ANC, making them unideal for commuting or travel. Additionally, battery life is below average, as the earbuds only give 4.3 hours of continuous playback time.

True Score

76

Reasons to Buy

  • Comfortable, stable fit for sports and fitness
  • Certified IPX4 water resistance
  • Smooth and warm sound profile
  • Consistent audio delivery
  • Active EQ adjusts bass and treble based on volume

Reasons to Avoid

  • Bad passive soundstage affecting sound quality
  • Poor 4.3-hour battery life
  • Lack of sound customization features like EQ presets
  • Touch-sensitive buttons can be accidentally activated
  • Bulky charging case with modest extra battery life

Specifications

Battery Charge Time
Battery Life5 hrs
Built In MicrophoneYes
Ear Tip Sizes Included
Max Wireless RangeYes
True Wireless
Water ResistantYes
Works With

All Specs

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Product Comparison

True Score

76
NR
NR
NR

Ranking

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44

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106

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Market Context

The Bose Sport Earbuds were announced in late 2020 as a mid tier pick that have an IPX4 water-resistance rating. This rating plus their stability…

The Bose Sport Earbuds were announced in late 2020 as a mid tier pick that have an IPX4 water-resistance rating. This rating plus their stability fins makes them ideal for sports enthusiasts, and despite their lack of support for Active Noise Cancellation, the earbuds still have a companion app that works on both iOS and Android devices.

The app unfortunately doesn’t allow for sound customization, which comes as a standard offering among the best headphones on the market. The Bose earbuds offer five hours of battery life on a single charge, which extends to 15 hours courtesy of the two additional charges offered by its charging case.

Unfortunately, they don’t support NFC or multi-device pairing, but they have elaborate touch controls for volume adjustment and call/music playback management. There aren’t any mute/unmute controls for the microphone, but these are more common with other highly-rated wireless earbuds.

The Bose Sport Earbuds look very similar to the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Truly Wireless, but the QuietComfort earbuds have an Active Noise Cancelling feature that…

The Bose Sport Earbuds look very similar to the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Truly Wireless, but the QuietComfort earbuds have an Active Noise Cancelling feature that is not present on the Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless. Also worth noting is that the QuietComfort earbuds have much better sound leakage performance and can also be used while charging (mono listening). Lastly, unlike the Bose Sport Earbuds, the QuietComfort earbuds can be configured through a graphic equalizer. We’ve covered them in our Bose QuietComfort Earbuds review if you’re interested.

At 0.03 pounds, the Bose Sport Earbuds are slightly lighter than the Beats Powerbeats Pro Truly Wireless earbuds, which weigh 0.05 pounds. The Bose earbuds…

At 0.03 pounds, the Bose Sport Earbuds are slightly lighter than the Beats Powerbeats Pro Truly Wireless earbuds, which weigh 0.05 pounds. The Bose earbuds are also smaller in size, but they cannot be used while charging. This is, however, possible with the Beats Powerbeats Pro earbuds, which we’ve delved deeper into in our Beats Powerbeats Pro review.

As mentioned before, the Bose Sport Earbuds miss out on Active Noise Cancelling, and this might be one of the reasons why some may opt…

As mentioned before, the Bose Sport Earbuds miss out on Active Noise Cancelling, and this might be one of the reasons why some may opt for the Apple AirPods Pro Truly Wireless earbuds, as they offer this feature. Still, sports enthusiasts may prefer the Bose earbuds because they ship with stability fins for a more stable in-ear fit, but in contrast, the AirPods offer support for virtual surround sound.

Battery Charge Time

Battery Life

5 hrs

Built In Microphone

Yes

Ear Tip Sizes Included

Max Wireless Range

Yes

True Wireless

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Score Card

E

Expert Score

76

*.75

We place a 75% weighted value on Expert Test Scores

C

Customer Score

85

*.25

We place a 25% weighted value on Customer Scores

True Score

76

Any product with a True Score above 70 is a Mixed Reviews

Expert Score Breakdown

  • Rtings
    A

    Trust Score

    70
    The Bose Sport Earbuds are decent for neutral sound. These in-ears have a smooth and… read more

    By:

    Dagobiet Morales Alfaro
  • Sound Guys
    C

    Trust Score

    75
    The Bose Sport Earbuds is the most comfortable set of workout earbuds around, and makes… read more

    By:

    Lily Katz
  • Headphones Addict
    C

    Trust Score

    74
    “No bottom line found for this product” read more

    By:

    Peter Susic
  • Tom’s Guide
    C

    Trust Score

    70
    The Bose Sport Earbuds is a step forward, but still requires more improvement. Bose certainly… read more

    By:

    Alex Bracetti
  • PC Mag
    D

    Trust Score

    60
    The true wireless Bose Sport Earbuds deliver solid audio performance, but the rest of their… read more

    By:

    Tim Gideon
  • Trusted Reviews
    D

    Trust Score

    80
    The Bose Sport Earbuds offer an excellent fit, with great comfort levels and a design… read more

    By:

    Kob Monney

Customer Score Breakdown

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