Product1 publisherNot yet confirmed elsewhere3 min readPublished
Bose's louder second-gen Ultra Open Earbuds win back Gizmodo's top clip-on spot
Bose's second-generation Ultra Open Earbuds retook the top clip-on spot in Gizmodo's review two years after the original, on louder output and a steadier fit. Volume is the upgrade an open design needs most, since it has to compete with the noise it lets in.
The Product Desk
What happened
- After the 2024 original, clip-style rivals from Shokz, Sony, CMF and Samsung were strong enough to knock Bose off the top of the reviewer's list.
- The first-generation pair was often drowned out on the New York subway and noisy streets; the reviewer ranks the new one among the easiest clip-ons to hear on the subway.
- Sound gained nuance across the range, bass included, though the reviewer says it is nowhere near in-ear earbuds or over-ear headphones.
- Bose added a Cinema mode to its Immersive Audio options to widen the soundstage, and the reviewer found it made podcasts sound warped.
Compiled by The Product DeskSomething wrong?How this is made
Why it matters
- decision Anyone who ruled out clip-ons because the 2024 pair faded on trains and busy streets has a reason to retest, since that objection is the one this generation addresses.
- cost Gizmodo still calls the price very high, so the extra volume is worth paying for mainly by people who listen in loud places every week.
- constraint The comparison with Shokz, Sony, CMF and Samsung rests on one reviewer's commute and taste, so a buyer weighing a specific rival still has to test output in their own noisy setting.
On the subway ride home in New York, Gizmodo's reviewer played a podcast through Bose's second-generation Ultra Open Earbuds and heard it comfortably, after turning the volume up a bit [6]. Quiet voices against train noise are a hard test for an earbud that sits outside the ear canal. The reviewer called the result "no small feat" [6].
According to the review, sealed earbuds and over-ear headphones usually have more than enough output for most people, but open designs are different [12]. "Clip-ons are inherently competing with the sound around you, so it's critical that they can get loud enough for situations where you need to overpower ambient noise," the reviewer wrote [7].
Bose's new feature this generation is a listening mode, a Cinema setting added to its Immersive Audio options [8]. The review's cons list calls both Immersive Audio and Cinema "very skippable" [9]. What the reviewer relied on was hardware: more output and a tighter fit [1]. On a train they turned the volume up, and they turned it down again when they wanted to hear the street. "If you want to hear more of your surroundings, all you have to do is turn the volume down a bit," the reviewer wrote [11].
"Bose seems to have identified what people really wanted in a second generation, and then it just gave them that," the reviewer wrote [2]. On this evidence, what people wanted was a fix for a weakness the reviewer had lived with since first trying the originals in 2024, when clip-style earbuds were just reaching the US [3][5].
This is one reviewer's verdict. The ranking against Shokz, Sony, CMF and Samsung is a personal list, built from hands-on listening on a commute and on test tracks such as Steely Dan's "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" and Daft Punk's "Da Funk" [4][13]. I'd treat it as a strong pointer for commuters and a weak one for anyone whose day is quiet.
The first thing to ask is where the loudest place is that the wearer listens in a normal week. The second question is whether they need to hear their surroundings there, the way the reviewer wanted to on bike rides with the first pair [14].
A loud place where the wearer needs to stay aware is the case this generation fixes, and the subway result applies directly [5]. In a quiet place where awareness still matters, the original's shortfall rarely came up, because it showed in loud settings, so the upgrade mostly buys fit and sound [1][5]. For a loud place with no need to hear the street, in-ear buds still beat clip-ons on bass by the reviewer's own account [10]. A quiet place with no need for awareness leaves the open design's main advantage unused, and price is the first con on Gizmodo's list [9].
A buyer who answers "subway" to the first question and "yes" to the second is in the same position the reviewer was in on that ride home [6].
What to watch
- Independent volume measurements in noisy settings comparing the second-gen pair with current Shokz, Sony, CMF and Samsung clip-ons.
- Bose's pricing for the second-gen pair, since price is the first con on Gizmodo's list.
- Whether rivals' next clip-on models answer with higher output, the spec this review weighted most.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence35
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives
- Insufficient
- Confidence40
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Gizmodo's review says the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen) sound better than the original, have higher volume, and have a refined fit that feels more stable; the headline calls Bose the king of clip-ons, re-crowned.
ReportedSupportedSource: Gizmodo review2 sources— create a free account to open themView cited source - [2]
"Bose seems to have identified what people really wanted in a second generation, and then it just gave them that."
ReportedSupportedSource: Gizmodo reviewer2 sources— create a free account to open themView cited source - [3]
Gizmodo's reviewer first tried the original Bose Ultra Open Earbuds in 2024, when clip-style open earbuds were just coming onto the scene in the US; the reviewer wrote that this was two years ago.
- [4]
Since the original Ultra Open Earbuds arrived, there have been many new clip-style earbuds from Shokz, Sony, CMF and Samsung, with competition strong enough to knock Bose's clip-ons off the top of the reviewer's open-earbud pedestal.
- [5]
The first-generation pair was often easily drowned out in loud situations such as riding the New York subway or walking down a noisy street; the reviewer says the second generation is among the easiest clip-ons to listen to on the New York subway of any they have tried.
- [6]
The reviewer was able to comfortably hear a podcast on the subway commute home, calling it no small feat given the ambient noise versus the relatively low voices, though they had to turn the volume up a bit.
- [7]
"Clip-ons are inherently competing with the sound around you, so it's critical that they can get loud enough for situations where you need to overpower ambient noise."
- [8]
Bose added a Cinema mode to its Immersive Audio options, meant to widen the soundstage and give movies and podcasts a theater-like experience; the reviewer said it makes podcasts sound "a little more warped and less enjoyable."
- [9]
The review's cons list: price is still very high (listed first), and Immersive Audio and Cinema modes are "very skippable."
- [10]
The second generation delivers more nuance across the frequency range including bass, but the bass is not anywhere near what in-ear wireless earbuds or over-the-ear headphones deliver, according to the reviewer.
- [11]
"if you want to hear more of your surroundings, all you have to do is turn the volume down a bit."
- [12]
Volume might not matter much for wireless earbuds with tips and wireless headphones, which usually have more than enough output for most people's ears, but open wireless earbuds are different, according to the review.
- [13]
The reviewer's test tracks included Steely Dan's "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" and Daft Punk's "Da Funk".
- [14]
The reviewer wore the first-generation pair on bike rides and felt safer because they could hear their surroundings.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- gizmodo.comBose Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen) Review: The King of Clip-Ons Is Re-Crowned
1 article · October 8, 2026
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