Going against the noise-cancelling grain, Bose announces new Sport Open Earbuds, ideal for runners and cyclists. Get the details here!

Normally, the number one goal for earbuds and headphones is to block out the din of the outside world. But the latest tech reveal from Bose takes a totally different tack. Wireless earbuds sit outside the ear, rather than blocking the ear canal. This might sound like a strange design feature, as surely the noise from traffic and ambient noise would spoil the listener’s experience? Well, there are a few scenarios where being able to clearly hear your surroundings is preferable and vital for ensuring safety. For instance, running or cycling in the dark. You could absolutely stick with your wired in-ear buds and just wear one and let the other hang loose. But have you ever been jogging along and the loose bud flicks up and clocks you right in the eye (it hurts).

The Sport Open Earbuds eliminate this problem, gently gripping the ear above the canal with minimal skin contact. Many other earbud designs work to include ambient sound in the mix. AirPods, for example, use microphones to take surrounding noise and mix it into the music. Whereas other designs centre around bone conduction, with vibrations allowing the wearer to hear music without covering the ears. The Sport Open Earbuds are said to avoid leakage, with only the wearer being able to hear music even at high volumes. You can blast Synchedin‘s fitness playlist to your heart’s content and not worry about not hearing a cyclist sneaking up behind you!

These buds boast 8 hours of battery life from one full charge, so that’s a few good running sessions. You don’t need to worry about dust or rain either, as these earphones hold a dust and water resistance rating of IPX4. You can control what you hear with on-bud controls. This includes volume control, phone voice assistance activation, song skips and call functions. The Sport Open Earbuds are available for pre-order for $199 in the US, with UK and Europe availability to be confirmed.