The Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless are sports-oriented earbuds. They're the closed-back sibling of the Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless, and although this design choice doesn't do much when it comes to blocking out background noise, their lack of noise isolation allows you to still stay aware of your surroundings without taking them out of your ears. Their stability fins also keep them steady in your ears during tough workouts. Overall, you can expect a versatile sound but not much in the way of customization.
Our Verdict
The Bose Sport Earbuds are decent for neutral sound. These in-ears have a smooth and warm sound profile. Vocals and lead instruments sound present and clear, which is well-suited for content like podcasts or audiobooks. However, sibilants are a bit weak, and mixes lack a thumpy low-bass. Even though they have a companion app, it doesn't offer an EQ or presets to help you customize their sound. On the upside, once you achieve a good fit, they deliver bass and treble very consistently.
- Consistent audio delivery.
- Bad passive soundstage.
The Bose Sport Earbuds are okay for commute and travel. They have a comfortable fit, and their portable design makes it easy to bring them on the go. However, their 4.3-hour continuous battery life won't last through long flights without pausing to recharge them again. Also, they don't block out background noises like bus or plane engines or chatter from other passengers, which can be annoying during noisy trips.
- Comfortable, stable fit.
- Poor noise isolation.
The Bose Sport Earbuds are impressive for sports and fitness. These comfortable headphones have stability fins, which ensures that the buds don't fall out of your ears during runs in the park or sets at the gym. They have a well-built design that's easy to take with you on the move and are certified IPX4 for resistance against water splashes.
- Comfortable, stable fit.
- IPX4 rating.
- Bad passive soundstage.
The Bose Sport Earbuds are acceptable for office use. They're comfortable, and they don't leak a lot of noise, so your music won't bother nearby coworkers. However, they struggle to block out background noises, which can be distracting. Also, their 4.3-hour continuous battery life won't be enough to get you through your workday without a recharge. They don't support multi-device pairing either, so you can only connect to one device at a time.
- Comfortable, stable fit.
- Consistent audio delivery.
- No multi-device pairing.
- Poor noise isolation.
The Bose Sport Earbuds are compatible with Bluetooth-enabled PCs, but their latency is likely too high to be suitable for wireless gaming. They aren't compatible with either PlayStation or Xbox consoles.
The Bose Sport Earbuds are wireless only, so they aren't suitable for wired gaming.
The Bose Sport Earbuds are sub-par for phone calls. Speech recorded from their integrated mic sounds thin, muffled, and lacking in detail. The mic also has a hard time separating your voice from background noise, so you can get drowned out if you're talking while on a busy street. They can't block out much noise around you either, and while you can hear your own voice more clearly, it can also make it more difficult to hear the person on the other end of the line.
- Comfortable, stable fit.
- Poor mic performance.
- Poor noise isolation.
Changelog
- Updated Apr 03, 2023: We've included a comparison to the Sony Float Run Wireless in the Batterybox.
- Updated Feb 15, 2023: We've updated this review to current standards and checked for text accuracy. The scoring of the tests hasn't changed.
- Updated Aug 25, 2021: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
- Updated Jun 29, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Bose Sport Earbuds come in three color variants: 'Triple Black', 'Baltic Blue', and 'Glacier White'. We tested the 'Triple Black' variant, and you can see the label for the model we tested here. We expect the other color variants to perform similarly.
If you come across another variant of these headphones, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Bose Sport Earbuds are sports-oriented truly wireless earbuds with a very comfortable and stable fit. Although they struggle to block out background noise, you may prefer this design choice to improve your spatial awareness when running outdoors. However, they lack sound customization features, like an EQ, and their continuous battery life is shorter than that of the Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless.
You can also see our recommendations for the best truly wireless earbuds, the best wireless earbuds for running and working out, and the best in-ears and earbuds.
The Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless are better in-ears for sports than the Beats Fit Pro True Wireless. The Bose are more comfortable, better built, and have a more stable in-ear fit. If you're an Apple user, you may prefer the Beats as they have an H1 chip for seamless pairing with Apple devices, and they support Spatial Audio on iOS devices for a more immersive audio experience. They also have an ANC system that can block out significantly more background noise.
The Beats Powerbeats Pro Truly Wireless and the Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless are both impressive for sports and fitness, but the Beats are better for mixed usage. The Beats have a longer continuous battery life. However, the Bose are better-built, more stable, and they leak less noise.
The Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless are marginally better headphones for sport and fitness than the Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless. The Sport Earbuds have a more stable fit, so they're better suited for more intense workouts. They're also closed-back headphones, while the SoundSport Free are semi-open. However, the SoundSport Free have a more balanced, neutral sound profile.
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Truly Wireless are better headphones for most uses than the Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless. The QuietComfort Earbuds have a better-balanced sound profile, a great ANC feature, and a better battery performance. However, the Sport are better for physical exercise as they're more comfortable and stable.
Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.
You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
Test Results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
