Table of contents
🤖
AI-generated summary
Still in my series searching for earbuds to replace my late AirPods , here’s my take on the Bose SoundSport Free after my brief test of the Jabra 65t Elite Active .
As a reminder, I’m looking for versatile earbuds that let me work out, take a phone call, and listen to music at the office. I’m not specifically looking for noise isolation since I need to hear what’s going on around me.
The case
At first glance, the Bose ooze quality. The case is exceptionally well finished, unlike the Jabra ’s. It is however twice the size of the AirPods case.
It has a charge indicator! Five LEDs that tell you whether it needs charging or not. Worth knowing that the
(which changes color), and on AirPods the charge level is visible on an iOS device.
The case opens one-handed and the earbuds are held magnetically 🧲
This case lets you recharge the earbuds twice in theory, for a total of 15 hours of listening. I haven’t tested this claim but I’ll admit I never worried about charging during my use.
On the other hand, I noticed significant discharge when the earbuds aren’t being used. For example, if you leave them for a week without using them, the case battery drops from 5 LEDs to 1 LED…
All I can say is that these earbuds seem to drain faster than my AirPods. So if you’re often away from a power source, that’ll quickly become a problem.
Audio quality
The audio quality I’m talking about here is subjective — it’s based on my own impressions. Whereas with the Jabra I was genuinely unimpressed, the Bose are truly different. I really love the sound. I compared them to the AirPods, since the near-non-existent isolation puts them in a similar listening category. In comparison the sound is much better in the lows, with great spatial imaging — I encourage you to listen to “So What” by Miles Davis to understand what I mean. Another song I truly love and encourage you to try: “Brothers in Arms” by Dire Straits. The sound is clear, the bass and drums come through beautifully. In short, music through these earbuds is intoxicating.
You get it — I love them on this point. As for isolation, it’s closer to the AirPods than the Jabra , since they’re semi-open in-ears that don’t fully block the ear canal. That’s nice in some situations, but for those looking for earbuds to block out a packed, noisy gym 🏋️♂️ I’d recommend the Jabra instead.
Personally, I prefer this type of earbud that doesn’t completely isolate me, and I keep real noise-canceling headphones for focused, disconnected listening.
Ergonomics
Aesthetically they’re clearly uglier in the ear than the Jabra, which are nearly invisible. With the Bose , you’re going to stand out since they stick out quite a bit from your ears. Honestly, I prefer this weird look over the Q-tip vibe of the AirPods.
Looks clearly aren’t essential to me — everyone will have their own take.
Like the Jabra, there are real physical buttons for volume up, pause, pairing — and that’s an absolute joy. It’s the weak point of the AirPods, especially for volume. Without an Apple Watch, adjusting volume on AirPods requires Siri or going directly to your phone, and during a workout that’s infuriating.
These earbuds are compatible with voice assistants — I only tested Siri, which you trigger by holding the play button.
Comfort is up to the brand’s reputation — the earbuds don’t move and you don’t feel any pain wearing them for extended listening sessions.
These earbuds are sport-ready — you can even rinse them under water, which is handy.
Connectivity
The earbuds aren’t Bluetooth 5, so moving between rooms will cause dropouts. On the other hand, the connection is extremely stable — I had zero cuts between the two earbuds, despite some reviews complaining about this.
The fact that you can’t stray too far from your phone is worth keeping in mind depending on what sport you do.
You can’t connect these earbuds to multiple sources at the same time, unlike the Jabra which can be connected to two sources simultaneously. You’ll have to go through Bluetooth settings to switch devices.
For me this is a real dealbreaker because when I grab my earbuds quickly, I want to be listening immediately. Switching from iPhone to iPad is annoying — that’s the word for it. I use the Bose Connect app to speed up the connection, but that’s yet another app to launch before you can use them. And it’s not iPad-compatible so it always launches in portrait mode.
I think this is what makes me love the AirPods or my Beats Studio 3 — I can start music and select the earbuds directly from the device. And once you’ve experienced that, it’s very hard to go back.
Conclusion
Are these earbuds for you? You don’t need much external noise isolation? You want great audio quality at a reasonable price? Then yes, go for these earbuds, especially at the current price of €150.
I don’t think I’ll keep them, because I love the portability of the AirPods and their seamless connectivity with iOS devices — those two points are essential to my use. But for someone without an Apple ecosystem, I think the best alternative to AirPods is these Bose — you also get better sound, top-notch build quality, and easy cleaning 🧼 simply under running water.
Happy listening and happy training 🏋️♀️
