06 Apr Open-Ear Earbuds: Bose, Nothing, and Shokz Go Head-to-Head

▶ 5:33 min read

Noise cancelling is yesterday’s news. The biggest headphone trend of 2026 does the exact opposite: open-ear earbuds let the world in instead of shutting it out. Bose, Nothing and Shokz are racing to build the best open headphones – and you have to decide whether you want to spend 100 or 300 euros.

Why everyone suddenly wants to listen open-ear

For three years, the headphone industry told us that total silence was the goal. Better ANC, more isolation, perfect noise cancelling. And then millions of people realized: if you can no longer hear anything in everyday life, it gets dangerous. Bose was the first to recognize this and launched the Ultra Open Earbuds – headphones that deliberately let ambient sound through.

The idea is simple: you want to listen to music, but you also want to hear the bicycle bell behind you, catch the conversation at the next table, and not miss the announcement on the platform. Open-ear solves exactly that problem. No passthrough mode that sounds artificial. No constant in-and-out. Just: music plus the world.

The three contenders compared

Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (299 euros): The premium model. A clip design that wraps around the outer ear, surprisingly comfortable, with Bose’s typically balanced sound and defined mids. Weakness: less bass than Nothing, significantly more expensive. Strength: hours of wearing comfort, best fit for sports. 7.5-hour battery life.

Nothing Ear (Open) (149 euros): The value-for-money champion. SoundGuys rates the sound better than Bose – more bass, a more balanced frequency profile. Transparent design in Nothing’s signature style. Weakness: less secure fit than Bose, slightly more sound leakage.

Mood image. The open-ear models sit as a clip around the outer ear – not in the ear canal.

Shokz OpenFit Pro (250 euros): The innovator. The first open-ear model with rudimentary noise cancelling – it sounds contradictory, but works through targeted counter-frequencies for low-frequency noise. Good for the office and train. Solid sound, though not quite at Bose level.

Which headphones for which situation?

• Commuting + office: Nothing Ear Open. Best price, good sound, enough for everyday use.
• Sports + running: Bose Ultra Open. Best fit, no slipping during movement, sweat-resistant.
• Lots of calls + trains: Shokz OpenFit Pro. The basic ANC helps with train noise, and microphone quality is strong.
• Audiophile + budget: Nothing Ear Open. More bass and a wider soundstage than the Bose, despite costing twice as much.

Title image: Pexels / Karolina Grabowska (px:3394666)