Just as importantly I had no trouble pairing and repairing the headphone with my iPhone 6S and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (the Bose features near-field communication tap-to-pair technology for devices like the Samsung that support this feature). I also simultaneously paired it with my iPhone 6S and MacBook Air and had no trouble switching between the two when a call came in as I was watching a video on the computer.

The sound quality is very good for an in-ear sports Bluetooth headphone. There've been some complaints about it not playing loud enough, but I didn't have that issue with the iPhone 6S or Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge I tested it with. (Bluetooth performance on computers tends to be a little dodgy and perhaps some of the volume complaints are related to computer connectivity.) The Bose Connect app—free for Android and iOS devices—allows you to control just about any current Bose wireless product, including the SoundSport. The settings available are few, but quite useful. You can adjust the length of time it takes the earphones to automatically power down (increments vary from five or 20 minutes, to the not-recommended three hours or Never options), or you can disable the robotic voice prompts you hear when powering up or down, for instance. However, the app is not essential to the operation of the earphones. When you want to listen to music, you need good headphones for music that allow you to get lost in your own world of good sound. An over-ear pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones can provide that needed escape with the premium comfort, sound quality, and noise reduction you need to tune out your surroundings. Our headphones offer listening mode options like Quiet Mode (maximum active noise cancelling) and Aware Mode (maximum transparency while still listening to your content), that can be easily toggled between. You can also create custom listening modes in the Bose Music app to fit the mood and moment. See individual product information for details and find your perfect pair of headphones.The right pair of wireless headphones can provide the ideal blend of sound or silence for any activity, mood, or environment. We offer a range of Bluetooth® headphones and true wireless earbuds with active and passive noise cancelling, in addition to long-lasting battery life and renowned Bose audio quality. Sound quality is good, though, and typically Bose-esque in profile. Bass is solid and meaty, delivering the eighties synth bassline of Kraftwerk’s “The Robots” with a pleasingly weighty thump, but it’s not too blousy and indistinct. There’s also plenty of detail in the upper registers and the mid-range is pleasingly open. What's interesting about the sound is that this headphone seems to be optimized for outside use. Inside, in a quiet room, the bass can sound a little bloated, which gives everything a slightly dull edge. But when you're walking around outside, the bass sounds toned down because it's competing with ambient noise, whether it's the wind or traffic or whatever. If you didn't have that extra bass the headphone would sound thin outside. The way it's tuned, it sounds smoother and better balanced outdoors. Bose Connect, a free app for Android and iOS, allows you to manage your pairing list, upgrade the firmware and change the auto power off settings (the headphone powers down if you don't use it for a certain length of time, which is a good battery-saving feature). When you turn on the headphones, a female voice alerts you how much battery life is remaining and with which devices you're paired. That information is also available in the app.

Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. See how we test. The only downside to the floating-fit, open design is that ambient sound does leak in: this isn't a great headphone for noisy environments. (If that's your preference, Bose's upcoming QuietControl 30 is a wireless model that features active noise-canceling.) But if you're out running or biking, you'll be able to hear cars coming, which is why a lot of runners and bikers prefer their headphones to have open designs.