This is the company that patented noise cancellation, after all, and creating functioning headphones in a pair of sunglasses you feel good about wearing is its own impressive feat. C lick here for more information on the types of cookies we use and how to change your cookie settings. Hopefully, this could be improved with a future firmware update, but it could well be one of the physical limitations of this wearable release.

After connecting the Frames, announced by a lady robot, and pressing play on my Spotify test playlist to unleash Radiohead’s Burn the Witch, I was completely taken aback by how good it sounded. hours (or less) of playback time per charge and, unfortunately, they can’t charge in their case to supplement that limitation like so many fully wireless earphones. Bose had to design tiny speakers to fit into the arms of the Frames from scratch, along with some proprietary tech that, Bose promises, directs 99% of the sound to the wearer’s ears, with only 1% leaked. The Alto design offers a classic angular look, styled from premium materials and accented with gold-plated hinges. While limited in use cases (and battery life), Bose’s Frames represent a brilliant first step in a burgeoning new headphone genre, the applications of which are only beginning to be explored.Bose says the Tempo plays "deeper and louder -- loud enough for cycling at 25 mph -- while still able to hear traffic and your training partners. There’s a choice of two frames: the larger, squarer Alto (as tested) and the smaller, rounder Rondo. View image in fullscreen The arms are at their thickest immediately before the ear where the speakers are held.

We found them to be comfortable to wear in direct sunlight, and they seemed to do the basic job of shielding our eyes from rays. Not only do you have extraordinary levels of freedom to look forward to when listening to music and audio content, you can also enjoy phone communications where your own voice is clearly audible and conversations are altogether more pleasant.A pretty swanky protective case is included along with a cleaning cloth that's also a storage pouch for the proprietary charging cable -- don't lose the cable or you can't charge your glasses.

What’s more, on the inside of this frame arm there is a magnetic connector to which the supplied charger is connected. Rather, these are a fun alternative you can use when it’s sunny and you’re laying on a beach or walking in a quiet area. 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. When you turn them on and off, you’ll be greeted with the battery amount in audio form, but it doesn’t offer a way to monitor how much charge is left over visually from the glasses themselves.Granted, the arms are a bit thicker and wider near the ears, where traditional sunglasses would taper, and there’s a small gold button for turning them on and controlling music. 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. Hidden in each of the sunglasses’ temples are miniaturised Bose electronics, producing rich, immersive sound for the listener, while others hear virtually nothing. 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.