Comparing the Sony LinkBuds Clip to Bose Ultra Open Earbuds: Which open earbud is for you?

Sony LinkBuds Clip vs. Bose Ultra Open earbuds | Mashable

Sony LinkBuds Clip Bottom Line Though not quite as loud or elegantly designed as the Bose buds, the Sony LinkBuds Clip stand on their own as cuff-style open earbuds with truly impressive sound quality, battery life, and a much more palatable price point. $228.00 Amazon

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Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Bottom Line The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds offer some of the best sound you can buy, but the brand certainly makes you shell out for it. These earbuds cost more than most premium ANC options, but offer a fraction of the flexibility. $229.00 Walmart

Table of Contents Open earbuds are becoming increasingly common, yet with all the releases from brands like Shokz, Soundcore, and JBL, it's a 2024 release that has reigned supreme: the Bose Ultra Open. Chances are, if you're interested in buying open earbuds, these are the ones that piqued that interest. And especially in the category of premium cuff-style open earbuds, they've remained virtually unchallenged. That is, until Sony released the LinkBuds Clip earlier this year, giving a much-needed alternative to the LinkBuds Open.Mashable rates the Bose Ultra Open earbuds as one of the best open earbuds options available — and having tested them myself, I can personally attest to their impressive sound quality. But their price point is nothing to scoff at, so I decided to put them to the test against the (slightly more affordable) Sony LinkBuds Clip.

The battle of the premium open earbuds begins. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable Sony LinkBuds Clip vs. Bose Ultra Open: Pricing and specsThe Sony LinkBuds Clip earbuds cost $229.99 and come with the following specs: Microphones: 2Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3 (AAC/SBC codecs) with multipointBattery: 9 hours per charge (37 hours with case)Quick charge: One hour of extra play time after three minutes of chargingCharging: USB-C only (cable not included)IP rating: IPX4Spatial audio: N/AColors: Lavender, black, green, and greigeMaterials: PlasticThe Bose Ultra Open earbuds, on the other hand, cost $299 and come with the following specs: Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3 (AAC/SBC codecs) with multipoint Battery: 7 hours per charge, 4.5 hours with immersive audio (19.5 hours with case)Quick charge: Two hours of extra play time after 10 minutes of charging Charging: USB-CIP rating: IPX4Spatial audio: Immersive audio Colors: Black, white smoke, moonstone blue, midnight violet, lunar blue, driftwood sand, desert gold, moonlight greyMaterials: Plastic, metal, and siliconeSony LinkBuds Clip vs. Bose Ultra Open: Sound qualityWhen I first tried the Sony LinkBuds Clip, I knew they would pose a real threat to Bose's audio supremacy. Testing them head-to-head with the Ultra Opens revealed some less-than-ideal aspects of the soundscape, however. The Bose Ultra Open buds can undeniably reach louder temperatures. Mashable Contributor Simon Cohen pointed to the LinkBuds being rather quiet in his review of the earbuds, needing to put them up to 80 percent battery at most times. I had the same experience, even just sitting in my home office. SEE ALSO: The 11 best wireless earbuds we've ever tested Some songs do reveal this difference less — Chappell Roan's "My Kink is Karma" sounded noticeably louder on the Bose buds, but Japanese Breakfast's "Kokomo, IN" (a less instrumentally dense and overall quieter song) sounded roughly the same. In fact, that latter song revealed where Sony's strength did lie: the details. Where Bose is loud, Sony is precise, giving a sound profile that features each component of a song — from a softer string accent to punchy percussion — while never sacrificing the overall blend. Picking out these individual elements wasn't quite as easy on the Bose buds. Sony LinkBuds Clip vs. Bose Ultra Open: Listening modes The Sony earbuds come packed with plenty of ways to customize your listening experience. There are four listening modes you can select through the companion app: standard, voice boost, sound leakage reduction, and background music. While I mostly stuck to the standard mode, I appreciated modes like the sound leakage reduction when I worked in quieter spaces like a library, where open earbuds can legitimately show one of their biggest flaws in leaking a minor amount of sound.

Left: How the Sony LinkBuds Clip look on. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable Right: Versus how the Bose Ultra Open look. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable Sony also featured a custom equalizer with 10 bands in its companion app, plus four presets and three spots for personal settings. Bose, on the other hand, has four presets and a three-band custom equalizer. Where it does have Sony beat is in the presence of an immersive (or spatial) audio feature that can be adjusted for motion and still modes. While neat to have, open earbuds by nature aren't the most sound-first way to listen to music, so I didn't find myself using this mode too often. Sony LinkBuds Clip vs. Bose Ultra Open: DesignLet's talk cuff design. One of the major benefits is that, done right, it can be a great way to have as unobtrusive an open earbud as possible while still being secure enough to stay in place for activities like running or bike rides without giving you too much to worry about.Thankfully, both Sony and Bose do this design right, and while your stance on their aesthetics may just boil down to a matter of preference, I did find Bose to have a slightly more elegant version of the cuff. Two styles of cuffs: Sony Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable Two styles of cuffs: Bose Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable

Both earbuds are incredibly comfortable and easy to wear for hours on end. Earring wearers or folks used to having any accessories on their ears may find that they altogether forget they're wearing the earbuds. Though the shape is similar, Sony's speaker component is slightly more bulbous, which makes it ever so much more present on the ear. While I couldn't tell for sure, I also felt the flat, paddle shape of the Bose speaker brought it closer to my ear canal, which could certainly account for the better volume read from those earbuds. As a note: Cuff-style earbuds can take some adjusting to find just the right spot where their sound quality really shines. Luckily, both of these were easy to move around the ear, but it's worth playing with when trying them out.In terms of aesthetics, the Sony buds have more of a cute, retro look, while Bose leans into the stylish, futuristic design. Sony has four colorways: lavender, greige, green, and black, with colorful case covers available for purchase for $12.49. Bose, on the other hand, has double the amount of colors: black, white smoke, moonstone blue, midnight violet, lunar blue, driftwood sand, desert gold, and moonlight grey.Both are IPX4 rated, so they're both safe to sweat in during exercise.Sony LinkBuds Clip vs. Bose Ultra Open: On-ear controlsWhile never really the make-or-break feature of any pair of earbuds, the on-ear controls are an important part of the design, especially for earbuds you plan to use during exercise. If you're dead set on touch controls, you may prefer Sony's, but as a tactile control freak, I love Bose's design here. Let's