Type Earbuds
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless Truly Wireless
Transducer Dynamic
Noise Cancelling No
Mic Yes
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
7.3 Neutral Sound
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.
Pros
-
Consistent audio delivery.
Cons
-
Bad passive soundstage.
See our Neutral Sound Recommendations
6.7 Commute/Travel
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.
Pros
-
Comfortable, stable fit.
Cons
-
Poor noise isolation.
See our Commute/Travel Recommendations
8.5 Sports/Fitness
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.
Pros
-
Comfortable, stable fit.
-
IPX4 rating.
Cons
-
Bad passive soundstage.
See our Sports/Fitness Recommendations
6.3 Office
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.
Pros
-
Comfortable, stable fit.
-
Consistent audio delivery.
Cons
-
No multi-device pairing.
-
Poor noise isolation.
See our Office Recommendations
5.6 Wireless Gaming
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.
See our Wireless Gaming Recommendations
5.6 Wired Gaming
The Bose Sport Earbuds are wireless only, so they aren't suitable for wired gaming.
5.4 Phone Calls
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.
Pros
-
Comfortable, stable fit.
Cons
-
Poor mic performance.
-
Poor noise isolation.
- 7.3 Neutral Sound
- 6.7 Commute/Travel
- 8.5 Sports/Fitness
- 6.3 Office
- 5.6 Wireless Gaming
- 5.6 Wired Gaming
- 5.4 Phone Calls
+ Create your own
- 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.
- Updated Mar 05, 2021: We have retested their controls using a new firmware update. The scoring of this test has changed.
- Updated Nov 26, 2020: Review published.
- Updated Nov 19, 2020: Early access published.
- Updated Oct 27, 2020: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Oct 22, 2020: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Oct 01, 2020: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
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.
Compared To Other Headphones
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 yourspatial awarenesswhenrunning 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, thebest wireless earbuds for running and working out, and the best in-ears and earbuds.
Beats Fit Pro True Wireless
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.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Beats Powerbeats Pro Truly Wireless
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 alonger continuous battery life. However, the Bose are better-built, more stable, and they leak less noise.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless
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.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Jabra Elite Active 75t Truly Wireless
The Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless are marginally better headphones for sports and fitness than the Jabra Elite Active 75t Truly Wireless. The Bose have a more stable in-ear fit. However, the Jabra have a more versatile overall performance, as their controls are easier to use and they have a better noise isolation performance. They have an excited sound profile with more bass than the Bose, and they're more customizable thanks to their graphic EQ and presets.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Truly Wireless
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.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Apple AirPods Pro Truly Wireless
The Apple AirPods Pro Truly Wireless and the Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless have different strengths, and you may prefer either. The Bose are better for sports since they come with a few differently-sized stability fins and block out much less ambient sound, which is nice if you want to stay aware of your surroundings while you exercise. On the other hand, the Apple are equipped with a great ANC feature,have a longer continuous battery life, and have a case that holds a greater number ofextra charges. Also, some listeners may prefer their more neutral sound profile.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless
The Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless are more versatile headphones than the Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless. While both headphones are designed for sports, the Sport Earbuds are more comfortable and stable. They have a better-balanced sound profile and their carrying case holds two additional charges, which is nice. However, the Sport Open have a completely open-ear design thatallows you to hear more ambient noise around you, which make them even more suitable for running outdoors.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Jaybird Tarah Pro Wireless
The Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless are marginally better for sports and fitness than the Jaybird Tarah Pro Wireless, however, the Jaybird are better for mixed usage. The Bose are more comfortable and more stable than the Jaybird. However, the Jaybird have a better noise isolation performance, leak less noise, and have a longer continuous battery life. Also, thanks to their parametric EQ and presets, they're more customizable than the Bose.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Jabra Elite 75t Truly Wireless
The Jabra Elite 75t Truly Wireless are better headphones than the Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless. The Jabra havelonger continuous battery life, a better noise isolation performance, and leak less sound. They have a very thumpy andexcited sound profile compared to the more neutral Bose, which some may prefer, but unlike the Bose, you can customize their sound using the parametric EQ and presets in their companion app. However, the Bose are more stable.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Sony Float Run Wireless
The Bose Sport Earbuds Truly Wireless are better headphones than theSony Float Run Wireless. The Bose are more comfortable, have better stability, and have a deeper bass extension than the Sony. However, the Sony have a longer continuous battery life and can better separate your voice from background noise during a call.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
+ Show more
Test Results
Design
Type Earbuds
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless Truly Wireless
Transducer Dynamic
The Bose Sport Earbuds have a simple and basic look with a small Bose logo on each bud. However, the buds stick out of your ears, and overall, they're a bit bulkier than other truly wireless headphones on the market, like the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+ True Wireless. If you're looking for another color scheme to match your style, they come in three color variants: 'Triple Black', 'Baltic Blue', and 'Glacier White'.
—
7.5 Design
Weight 0.03 lbs
Clamping Force 0 lbs
These buds have a comfortable fit. They don't weigh very much, and the ear tips don't enter your ear canal very deeply. Thanks to their stability fin design, they'll also stay put while you're moving. Unfortunately, the buds are a little bit bulky and stick out from your ear, which can be a bit annoying.
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LEARN ABOUT COMFORT
6.8 Design
OS Compatibility
Ease Of Use Great
Feedback Decent
Call/Music Control Yes
Volume Control Yes
Microphone Control No
Channel Mixing
Noise Cancelling Control No
Talk-Through
Additional Controls Mappable Button
They have alright touch-sensitive controls. The right earbud handles everything call and music related, while the left earbud has no commands by default, but you can remap them via the companion app. While you get some audio feedback when connected, the touch-sensitive buttons aren't very clicky, so you can accidentally change a setting while adjusting them in your ear. If you're looking for sports earbuds with a better control scheme, take a look at the Jabra Elite 7 Active True Wireless.
On the left earbud:
- Double tap: Nothing by default, but you can customize this control via the companion app to hear the battery level or skip a track.
On the right earbud:
- Double tap: Plays and pauses audio. Also answers and ends calls.
- Swipe up: Increases the volume of your audio.
- Swipe down: Decreases the volume of your audio.
- Touch and hold: Accesses your mobile device via voice control. To exit this mode, double-tap the right earbud. This command also declines a call.
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LEARN ABOUT CONTROLS
9.2 Design
Avg.Temp.Difference 0.8 °C
These buds have fantastic breathability, which is normal from in-ear headphones. They don't cover your outer ear or trap much heat. You won't notice a temperature difference, even if you're wearing them during long workouts.
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LEARN ABOUT BREATHABILITY
9.5 Design
L 1.0" (2.5 cm)
W 1.5" (3.8 cm)
H 0.9" (2.3 cm)
Volume 1.40 in³ (22.94 cm³)
Transmitter Required No
They're outstandingly portable. Like most truly wireless earbuds, they're small and can easily fit in most pockets. Their portable charging case is a bit bulky, but it can still fit easily in your bag.
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LEARN ABOUT PORTABILITY
7.0 Design
Type Hard case
L 3.6" (9.1 cm)
W 1.7" (4.3 cm)
H 1.2" (3.0 cm)
Volume 7.10 in³ (116.35 cm³)
The charging case is decent. It's made of hard plastic and locks and unlocks to help keep the buds secure. There are also magnets inside the case to hold the earbuds in place while they charge and a 5-light LED battery indicator to keep track of their battery level.
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LEARN ABOUT CASE
8.0 Design
The Bose Sport Earbuds have impressive build quality. They're mostly made of plastic, which feels solid and durable, and their silicone ear tips are flexible. They're also rated IPX4 for resistance against splashes of water. Overall, they feel sturdy enough to survive accidental damage without too much of an issue.
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LEARN ABOUT BUILD QUALITY
8.5 Design
These earbuds are amazingly stable. They feel more stable than the Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless, thanks to their stability fin design, which helps keep them in place in your ear. They won't fall out of your ears during casual listening sessions or while working out at the gym.
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LEARN ABOUT STABILITY
Design
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Design
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Design
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Design
- Bose Sport Earbuds headphones
- 3x Stability fins/earbud tips
- USB-C to USB-A charging cable
- Carrying case
- Manual
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Sound
Bass Amount
Treble Amount
These buds have a smooth and warm sound profile. While they're lacking a touch of low-bass, which can be disappointing for fans of bass-heavy music genres like EDM, their neutral, balanced mid-range makes them suitable for lots of audio content, especially vocal-centric content like podcasts or audiobooks. However, they lack sound customization features to help you adjust their sound to your liking.
In addition, these buds have an always-on 'Active EQ'. This EQ is designed to boost bass and treble based on volume to mitigate the effects of equal-loudness contours. When listening to audio at high volumes, you'll perceive more bass and treble than mid. Conversely, at low listening volumes, you'll perceive less bass and treble. Keep in mind that this effect is perception-based, and not created by the headphones. The Active EQ effectively counters this issue by adjusting the bass and treble of the frequency response according to the volume you're using.
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LEARN ABOUT SOUND PROFILE
8.0 Sound
Avg. Std. Deviation
These buds have great frequency response consistency. Although they're slightly prone to inconsistencies in treble delivery, once you achieve a proper fit and air-tight seal, you'll experience more consistent audio delivery each time you use them.
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LEARN ABOUT FREQUENCY RESPONSE CONSISTENCY
Sound
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LEARN ABOUT RAW FREQUENCY RESPONSE
8.2 Sound
Std. Err.
Low-Frequency Extension
Low-Bass
Mid-Bass
High-Bass
These buds have great bass accuracy. While they're lacking a thumpy low-bass, the rest of the range is slightly overemphasized, resulting in a bit more punch and boom in your mixes.
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LEARN ABOUT BASS ACCURACY
8.4 Sound
Std. Err.
Low-Mid
Mid-Mid
High-Mid
These headphones have impressive mid accuracy. Most of the range is quite balanced and neutral, so vocals and lead instruments are clear and present. However, the overemphasized high-mid makes them harsh. In songs like Britney Spears' Oops!...I Did It Again, female vocals at the beginning of the second verse sound bright and a bit honky.
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LEARN ABOUT MID ACCURACY
7.4 Sound
Std. Err.
Low-Treble
Mid-Treble
High-Treble
These headphones have decent treble accuracy. Low-treble is overemphasized, so vocals and lead instruments are a little harsh or piercing. The underemphasized mid-treble makes sibilants like cymbals slightly weak and distant too.
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LEARN ABOUT TREBLE ACCURACY
7.1 Sound
Peaks
Dips
These earbuds have decent peaks and dips performance. While they're missing a touch of low-bass, the peak across the bass range adds punch and boom to the mix. The dip in the mid-mids nudges vocals and lead instruments toward the back of the mix, while the peak in the high-mids and low-treble can make those same instruments sound honky or harsh. The mid-treble is uneven, resulting in sibilants that are both piercing and lispy.
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LEARN ABOUT PEAKS/DIPS
8.8 Sound
Weighted Group Delay
Weighted Phase Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
They have excellent imaging. Bose generally has good quality control and ergonomics when it comes to imaging. Most of their traditionally designed headphones have well-matched drivers, ensuring that the stereo image is stable and balanced. Our unit's L/R drivers are also very well-matched, so sounds like footsteps or voices are accurately placed.
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LEARN ABOUT IMAGING
2.5 Sound
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
PRTF Size (Avg.)
PRTF Distance
Openness 9.0
Acoustic Space Excitation 2.4
The Bose Sport Earbuds have a terrible passive soundstage performance, which is normal from in-ear headphones. By design, they don't interact with the outer ear, which is one of the key components in creating a speaker-like and out-of-body soundstage. As a result, audio seems like it's coming from inside your head rather than from speakers placed all around you. Also, they have a closed-back enclosure, so their soundstage doesn't sound as spacious as open-back headphones.
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LEARN ABOUT PASSIVE SOUNDSTAGE
0 Sound
Head Modeling
Speaker Modeling
Room Ambience
Head Tracking
Virtual Surround
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LEARN ABOUT VIRTUAL SOUNDSTAGE
8.0 Sound
WHD @ 90
WHD @ 100
These headphones have an impressive weighted harmonic distortion performance. Aside from a small peak in the high-treble, which is difficult to notice with real-life content, most of the ranges fall within good limits, resulting in clean and pure audio reproduction.
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LEARN ABOUT WEIGHTED HARMONIC DISTORTION
Sound
Firmware
Power
Connection
Codec
EQ
ANC
Tip/Pad
Microphone
These are the settings we used to test the Bose Sport Earbuds. Our results are only valid when using these settings.
While Bose advertises an 'Active EQ' feature, we don't consider this an EQ because you can't turn it off.
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LEARN ABOUT TEST SETTINGS
2.7 Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
Noise Cancelling No
Bass
Mid
Treble
These buds have poor noise isolation performance. Unlike the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Truly Wireless, they're not designed to isolate you against bass-heavy noises like bus or plane engines. They also struggle to block background voices or the hum from nearby AC units. However, you still may prefer this, as you can stay aware of your surroundings when running outdoors.
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LEARN ABOUT NOISE ISOLATION
7.9 Isolation
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
These headphones have a very good leakage performance. They leak a bit of audio, but it's mostly thin-sounding. If you want to crank up your audio to a high volume, people around you can hear a small part of it, even in a moderately noisy environment like an office.
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LEARN ABOUT LEAKAGE
Microphone
Integrated
In-Line
Boom
Detachable Boom
Mic Yes
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LEARN ABOUT MICROPHONE STYLE
6.2 Microphone
Recorded Speech
LFE
FR Std. Dev.
HFE
Weighted THD
Gain
The microphone has mediocre recording quality. Your voice sounds thin, muffled, and lacking in detail. However, the person on the other end of the line can still understand you.
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LEARN ABOUT RECORDING QUALITY
4.3 Microphone
SpNR
Noise Gate
Speech + Pink Noise Handling 4.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling 4.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
The integrated microphone has poor noise handling performance. The microphone struggles to separate your voice from moderate background noise like a busy street. If you need to take an important call, it's best to do so from a quieter environment to be heard clearly.
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LEARN ABOUT NOISE HANDLING
6.2 Active Features
Battery Type
Continuous Battery Life
Additional Charges
Total Battery Life
Charge Time
Power-Saving Feature
Audio While Charging
Passive Playback
Charging Port USB-C
These buds have a mediocre battery performance. The manufacturer advertises them to last five hours continuously, but we measured just over four, which won't be enough to get you through long days on the go. On the upside, their carrying case holds an extra two charges, which is handy in a pinch. If you forget to turn them off, they also have an auto-off timer to conserve battery life when not in use. If you're looking for wireless sports headphones with longer battery life, check out the Sony Float Run Wireless.
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LEARN ABOUT BATTERY
7.0 Active Features
App Name Bose Music
iOS Yes
Android Yes
macOS No
Windows No
Equalizer
ANC Control
Mic Control No
Room Effects
Playback Control
Button Mapping Yes
Surround Support
The Bose Music app is decent. It lets you remap the controls on the left earbud to hear the battery level or skip to the next track. You can also turn on or off the volume touch controls as well as the 'In-ear Detection' feature, which automatically answers your calls when you insert the right bud, and automatically plays/pauses your music when your insert/remove the right bud. However, even though the buds have an 'Active EQ' feature, you can't turn off this feature, and app itself lacks a true equalizer, so you can't customize the buds' sound.
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LEARN ABOUT APP SUPPORT
6.6 Connectivity
Bluetooth Version
Multi-Device Pairing
NFC Pairing
Line Of Sight Range
PC Latency (SBC)
PC Latency (aptX)
PC Latency (aptX HD)
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
iOS Latency
Android Latency
The Bose Sport Earbuds have a fair Bluetooth performance. Unfortunately, they don't support multi-device or NFC pairing. Their latency on PCs is also high, which can cause lip sync issues when streaming video. That said, their latency is a lot lower on iOS and Android devices, ensuring that your audio and visuals stay in sync. Keep in mind that some apps and devices compensate for latency differently.
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LEARN ABOUT BLUETOOTH
0 Connectivity
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
Non-BT Latency
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LEARN ABOUT NON-BLUETOOTH WIRELESS
0 Connectivity
Analog Audio
USB Audio
Detachable No
Length N/A
Connection
Analog/USB Audio Latency
They can't be used with a wired connection. They come with a USB-C to USB-A charging cable for their charging case.
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LEARN ABOUT WIRED
Connectivity
Analog
Wired USB
Non-BT Wireless
You can use these headphones wirelessly with full audio and mic compatibility via Bluetooth-enabled PCs. However, they aren't compatible with PCs using any other connection.
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Connectivity
PS4 Analog
PS4 Wired USB
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
PS5 Analog
PS5 Wired USB
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
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LEARN ABOUT PLAYSTATION COMPATIBILITY
Connectivity
Xbox One Analog
Xbox One Wired USB
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
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LEARN ABOUT XBOX COMPATIBILITY
2.2 Connectivity
Type
USB Input
Line In
Line Out
Optical Input
RCA Input
Dock Charging
Power Supply
These buds come with a portable charging case that holds two additional charges. It has only one input, which is a USB-C port, so you can charge the case. Unfortunately, it doesn't support Qi Wireless charging.
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LEARN ABOUT BASE/DOCK
