The last thing you want to do with a wearable is draw unnecessary attention to it, so we’re thankful that the design doesn’t give away the tech that’s hiding away here. The one-microphone system has been replaced by a dual-beaming-forming mic array that "shields what you're saying from wind, noise and other nearby conversations.

Bose Audio Sunglasses

In Australia, we got the Soprano lenses swapped out for polarized prescription ones by just going to Specsavers. This could also be why the Frames are so incredibly light though, with both styles weighing around 45g. The Tenor fits my face better than the Soprano, which -- as its name implies -- Bose is aiming at women who like oversized sunglasses (my daughter likes them). No matter what your prescription needs are, whether it’s single vision, transition, bifocal, or varifocal (to name a few), Lensology can provide lenses for your Bose frames along with any sunglass lens you choose.They play a little louder than the original Frames and the bass response is better, so music sounds a little fuller and richer. Open-style products like the standard AirPods and Galaxy Buds Live are one alternative, but then you still face the possibility of losing them. Now, I’ve got an extremely large dome — they used to have to bring out a special-sized helmet in Little League, friends — but thankfully, the fit loosened up a bit because this pressure went away by the end of the first week. There’s not much give, but they feel rugged to me, and they’ve got an IPX4 water and sweat resistance rating, so if you get caught running or biking in the rain, they’ll survive. Bose has included this headphone functionality inside the body of a fairly stylish pair of sunglasses, and the likelihood is that the average person wouldn’t even realize these are smart audiowear at all.

Bose—Classic Bluetooth® audio sunglasses Wearables by Bose—Classic Bluetooth® audio sunglasses

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. Their wafer-thin Bose systems are discreetly embedded in each arm without extra parts, visible screws, seams, or perforations,” Bose said in its press release, adding that the electronics add less than 50 grams of weight. One thing we’re disappointed to find with the Frames Tenor and Soprano is the use of a proprietary charging port on the right arm. All our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative. All in all, the battery life on the Bose Frames is okay if you’re set to listen for short stints of time, but if you’re planning to use these over a period of a whole day you may need to take your cable out with you to ensure they’re charged up.Just know the Bose Frames are unlikely to replace even average headphones anytime soon, as they simply aren't versatile enough.

Bose 830044-0100 Frames Audio Sunglasses, Alto, Black, One Size

We offer all types of sunglasses lenses including polarised, transition, tinted and photochromatic options. You get just over three hours of continuous listening out of the Frames before the battery runs dry, which is normally enough. Again, given the Tempo has been designed for athletes, they benefit from 22mm drivers in each arm and the sound is surprisingly bassy. And optional lenses are also available: road orange has a 20 percent VLT medium-light lens to reduce glare from reflective surfaces like water and snow; trail blue has a 28 percent VLT low-light lens to increase contrast and definition in bright-sun conditions; twilight yellow has a 77 percent VLT very low-light lens for use at dusk.

That’s especially the case as the matte black material Bose has used doesn't feel like it's made with high-quality plastic. When she's not testing camera kits or the latest in e-paper tablets, she's discovering the joys and foibles of smart home gizmos. It also doesn’t charge up the product in a similar way to how wireless earbuds like Apple AirPods or Samsung Galaxy Buds work.

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

The Bose Music app ( Android / iOS) can be used to set up the sunglasses, but it requires you to create an account to use it, which continues to strike me as a little pushy on Bose’s part. Their range of slick designs not only offer timeless sunglasses styles but also offer Bose’s unbeatable sound technology, allowing you to take your soundtrack with you and leave headphones at home. Kept to 50% or lower those next to you can’t hear your music, but because your ears are open you can hear the world around you. There’s also considerable audio leakage at volume levels higher than 60%, so if you’re sitting near someone, they’ll be able to hear tinny sounds emanating from your sunglasses and, unfortunately, you'll need them at full volume to enjoy them over the sounds of public transport. Get tips and personalise your settings, so you can spend more time enjoying the music instead of setting it up.You can also switch between three different shapes of nose pads to keep the Frames Tempo from moving. You swipe across the right temple to raise or lower the volume, and on the underside of that temple is a small circular button that you can press to play / pause, double-tap to skip tracks, or triple-tap to go back. 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. We tried the glasses on various walks through London and we found it almost impossible to hear voices on a podcast when walking along roads.