A few years ago, Shokz was pushing their innovative design of bone conduction headphones. At the time, these were seen as a safer and more sociable way to listen to music as they enabled the wearer to be more aware of their surroundings while still being immersed in their music. Open-ear headphones, while limiting the ability to shut off the outside world with tools such as Active Noise Cancellation, have found a place in the market since and Shokz’s creative idea has inspired many larger brands to follow suit.

As of this month, Bose made their own entry into the open-ear headphone market with the new Open Ultra earbuds that utilise air conduction as opposed to bone conduction. This means the speakers sit suspended next to the wearer’s ear canal and channel directed audio through to the eardrum. the high directionality of air conduction means that the surrounding public will struggle to hear what you hear. While open-ear headphones are still a unique taste and may not quite have the adoption seen by their predecessor, in-ear TWS earbuds, the adoption of this style of buds from market-leading brands is almost definitely going to be a new burst of energy driving this market over the coming years, especially if rival companies attempt to compete.

While the team at DATAportl does see these achieving some significant adoption over the rest of 2024, The new ear-buds demand a premium, retailing for a huge $299 the new earbuds come with auto volume allowing them to adapt to the wearer’s surroundings ensuring a balanced listening experience even when switching environments. Another feature that impresses the DATAportl team is the inclusion of immersive audio, which is something that rose to prominence in the market a few years ago after its adoption by companies such as Sony and Apple.

The product listing is here.