Bose Frames Audio Sunglasses, Alto (S/M), Black

Product Information

But between the two of them, the Bose Frames really demonstrate that augmented reality can go beyond vision, and we hope to see more apps take advantage of this. It should be easy to find compatible AR apps when more are added, as the Bose Connect app highlights them almost instantly. Battery life The Bose Frames’ headline feature is that they're also a pair of wireless headphones, and for speakers that don’t actually sit in or on your ears, these sunglasses are rather impressive. Sound quality is surprisingly good, albeit not as full or bassy as you’ll get from a dedicated pair of cans.

Bose Frames Tempo review: the specs to beat - The Verge Bose Frames Tempo review: the specs to beat - The Verge

Our reglazing service is an easy and convenient way to get prescription lenses for your Bose frames, at a fraction of the price of high street opticians. In the real world if you have the volume below 50% people sitting right next to you won’t hear it. In fact I took delight in the look of surprise on people’s faces when I gave them the Frames and they suddenly heard my tunes blasting out as they put them on. It’s really very impressive. A lot of people aren't sure what to make of the Bose Frames audio sunglasses. For 2020, the line has been updated and expanded to include three new models: The Tempo sports model, which offers better performance, joins the more traditional-looking Tenor and Soprano. That would have been a handy addition, but instead the glasses are charged via a proprietary cable that connects to a part inside the right arm of the product. Audio quality The Frames comes in two polarized lens styles (the more colourful of which is sold as an optional extra) that are fairly easy to pop out and swap around should you desire. Prescription lenses are also an option with participating retailers, though this will vary by availability in each country. In Australia, we got the Soprano lenses swapped out for polarized prescription ones by just going to Specsavers.

The charging cable clips in place with little effort thanks to some fairly strong magnets. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian Bose sunglasses are built with exclusive Bose Open Ear Audio™ technology which produced a quality of sound that you’d never expect from sunglasses. With a range of different frame options available for sports and fashion, the timeless designs coupled with unmatched audio technology means that there are audio frames to suit everyone.

Bose Frames review: smart audio sunglasses are a blast Bose Frames review: smart audio sunglasses are a blast

Polarised lenses have an odd tendency to distort the pavement, making it look less flat than it really is This means you’re able to keep your ears and head free of anything but your pair of sunglasses, while still being able to listen to music, podcasts or audiobooks.Clearly this is a massive advantage for cyclists or pedestrians, but it also means you’re subjected to the noise of the world around you. For anyone who always walks around with earbuds in, as I do, this can be quite overwhelming when you first start out. Don’t expect incredible battery life from the Bose Frames, and this is one of the reasons that it’s such a shame the company hasn’t seen fit to include a charging case. This could also be why the Frames are so incredibly light though, with both styles weighing around 45g. At Lensology, we supply replacement Bose lenses and prescription Bose lenses. Our in-house reglazing experts can even create a custom lens for your Bose frames. We offer all types of sunglasses lenses including polarised, transition, tinted and photochromatic options. Crank them up beyond 85% volume and you start to hear distortion, but they pretty loud by that point. Most of my listening was about at 60% on the street or about 30% in quieter spots.

Bose Lenses | Replacement Bose Sunglasses Lenses | Lensology Bose Lenses | Replacement Bose Sunglasses Lenses | Lensology

While neat however, even this doesn’t really show the true joy of using the device. A very robotic voice telling you it’s “220 meters to the green” is handy, but not especially fun. So the Frames will never be the only set of headphones you need, and they could do with a battery in the case, volume controls and a few more styles, not to mention prescription lenses and some killer Bose AR apps. There's a major difference in sound quality and loudness between the Tempo and the two everyday sunnies. Again, given the Tempo has been designed for athletes, they benefit from 22mm drivers in each arm and the sound is surprisingly bassy. Mind you, it's not like listening to music on dedicated headphones or earphones, but it's still quite impressive. Another thing you’ll need to get used to is not flipping the Frames upside down while they’re still connected to your phone. Doing so will disconnect Bluetooth and you’ll need to re-pair by pressing that little gold button.

Bose Tempo sunglasses are the ultimate high-performance sports sunglasses, with Bose’s cutting edge Open Ear Audio. Tempo’s sleek design allows you to listen to your music and your surroundings at the same time for a unique workout experience. One of the apps is a golfing one. It points you to the green and tells you the distance to the tee or which club to use. We found that so impressive it almost felt like we were cheating. The sunglasses can last for three and a half hours according to Bose, and we found that to be accurate in our testing. Often we found them to last a little longer, but around four hours is the maximum we were able to get over our testing period.