Bose - Frames Tempo – Sports Audio Sunglasses with Polarized Lenses - Black

New to Bose's Frames lineup this ear is the Tempo, sport performance sunglasses that allow you listen to music or talk on the phone while being aware of world around you. Speakers in the sunglass frame directs sound to your ears while not drowing out the world. Surprisingly, the sound is excellent. While they are certainly not going to overwhelm anyone with thier bass, the sound is warm and rich with excellent clarity. The volume is somewhat limited, distorting as you start to reach 75% or so but I never had them up that high except to see how loud they would get. In most circumstances you can hear them very well, however as they are open ear they can be overwhelmed by loud sounds -- it's not going to drown out that jackhammer as you walk by a construction area. Keep them half volume or less, and the sound is barely audible to people around you. Around 30% I can have conversations with others and they don't even realize I have music in the background. The mic works well, picking up my voice clearly. On a windy day, some wind noise came through, but did not adversely affect that ability for the other person to hear me. Google/Siri picks up my audio commands clearly. Controls are simple with just one button to turn them on/off, pause music, or answer the phone. While listening to music push once to pause, twice to skip a song, or three times to go back. Taking the sunglasses off and turning them upside down for a second or two will turn them off. Unfortunately I do have to reach for my Android phone to adjust the volume, however IoS users can do this by pressing the button and turning their head (the Android app will have these features in the future). Battery life is rated at 6+ hours, which is double what last year's model offered. They also changed the proprietary charging connecion to a standard USB-C interface so you don't have to have yet another special charge cable to keep track of. Unfortunately they come in a standard hard case so you can't charge them while storing. Overall I found these Bose Frames awesome, allowing me to be aware of what's around me while walking or cycling. They don't drown out the world like ear buds, so you're subjected to the world around you, but that's the point. As such, they'll probably not going to be the only headphones you need, but I imagine if you're like me, you'll use the a lot. Features: Open ear acoustic package 6+ hours of battery life Athletic form factor design and fit Adjustable nose pads Improved acoustic performance IPX4 water resistence Stretto-based design On-device volume control (only in IoS as far as I can tell) Replacement lenses (prescription lenses available)

Let me start off by defending my Summary. I never knew i needed these!! I have had the glasses that looked similar and tons of earbuds, but to combine them was genius. So lets jump into reviewing them and my 4 star rating. They look good! I was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of them. They have a flat black color and are slim and not heavy at all. I was a little concerned with weight because of the bulky speaker arms but they were surprisingly light. Fit: The design is one you are familiar with. They limit the adjustability a bit IMO. The only adjustable piece is the nose bridge. They include 3 sizes-small, med, large. I went with the large to keep them off my brow since I wear them outdoors and get sweaty. one thing I found when I initially got them was that they felt a bit small - pressing on the sides of my head quite snuggly. Over the course of a week, they did "stretch" out a bit and got more comfortable but didn't lose the "secure" feeling while moving about. Oh yeah, these glasses are an investment and not just in the glasses. But should you happen to scratch a lens, they are replaceable!!! Bose offers many different colors(blue/yellow) and prescription offerings if needed. They seemed to be an affordable price as well. I having kids and being a clutz sometimes - this is a great offering! Sound: They sound good and have a good volume for them. Unfortunately, they have NO bass at all. So if your style of music and preference is bass - these may not be for you. As such, they do sound fantastic and crisp. The music was loud and clear. Phone calls were good and my callers never asked if I were on speakerphone! I've even used them in the car with the windows down and they did great. Control: I LOVE the controls - I have never been one that wanted full functionality from my electronics. Just let me control the few things I need and make it WORK. BOSE did exactly that. 1 button for PWR On/Off - Same button for track forward back(2 press/3 press). Then the right arm has a 'touch" pad to control Volume Up/Down or simply hold for your phone's assistant (Siri/Alexa/Bixby). I set up Alexa and was able to verbally launch all my audio apps and open my favorite station or playlist! Easy peasy. One cool feature built-in that I quickly found great was the turn off the function. Just hold the glass upside down for 2 seconds and they power off. Great for those situations you need to talk to someone and you don't have to bumble around trying to stop/pause/mute your music! Now I've said quite a lot of great things, WHY did I rate them a 4 star? Well, let me explain. 1. I wanted them to be LOUDER sometimes!! LOL 2. Case and charger - Not the best design here - They did use a USB-C cable but I found that you have to flip the case upside down, flay the case wide open, and plug in the glasses. I charging case like my earbuds would have been nice!! This works fine at home, but a BIG issue when I want to charge them in the truck!! See pic! Notice the case is upside down and cable is pointing straight up - easily able to move the glasses. Overall these were an item I didn't really know I needed. But I really do like them! They are comfortable, good sounds, and I'm aware of my surroundings. Price was a good price for what you get(especially if you compare all the items if purchased separately). included are the glasses, semi-hard case, charging cable(no brick), and nose pieces.

Pros: * Much better sound quality than first generation product. * Better battery life than first generation product. * New - Separate swipe volume control. * New - Separate touch control for voice assistant. * USB-C charging versus proprietary magnetic cable from first generation product. * Comfortable fit. * New companion app versus the first generation product. Cons: * Cost-reduced materials from first generation product. * Bigger & thicker side arms (to hold the better speakers and bigger batteries). * Looses the questionable built-in AR functionality? My Review: I own and have been using the first generation Bose Frames Rondo Style for a while. They are a great product because I can enjoy music while being outside without blocking ambient sounds like regular headphones would. The fist generation’s sound quality and battery life were merely adequate but that didn’t detract from the product’s usefulness. Since charging was done with a proprietary USB cable that magnetically snapped onto the frame, you had to remember to carry that cable with you to charge up the frames when on-the-go. Fast-forward to this next generation of Bose Frames. These are the Tempo style and they look a lot more sporty than the first gen styles. It’s obvious that the materials are a tad cost-reduced but this doesn’t take anything away from all of the vast improvements Bose has made - most notably; the sound, controls and battery life. The main reasons to wear Bose Frames instead of your regular sunglasses and a pair of normal Bluetooth headphones are the convenience of wearing one thing versus two, and the ability to hear sounds around you because the headphone part doesn’t cover or block your ears. All of those benefits are still here, but everything is just amped up. The sound quality is noticeably better with more treble and deeper bass. They are also louder yet still clean at top volume - all while still being barely audible by others nearby. I can’t stress enough how much better these sound than the first gen model! You shouldn’t expect the same sound as from traditional headphones, but these sounds really good anyway. For onboard controls - the first gen had a single button that attempted to do everything. Sure, it was a nice gold-colored metal button versus the new model’s black plastic button, but still it tried to do everything from power to track control and even voice assistant access. A software update added the ability to raise or lower the volume by holding that button and slowly turning your head left or right. While this worked, it was a tad cumbersome. This new second gen Bose Frame still has that one physical button (plastic now), but they have also added a touch sensitive area on the right frame arm. Swipe back to front to increase volume or reverse to lower it, and double-tap it to invoke your phone’s voice assistant. Much more convenient and useful. However, this new touch strip area could use a small improvement. You can’t see the swipe area while wearing the Frames, and there’s a noticeable groove on the side where you might think it is, but it isn’t. The touch area is above that groove, so you kinda have to feel for it and reach a tad higher up to get to the touch sensitive area. Not a huge deal, but it would have been better if they either put the touch sensitive area in that groove, or made the actual area easier to find by touch alone. There’s also a nice, new orchestral sound when you turn them on and another when you turn them off with the button. As before, you can also flip them upside down for a few seconds to turn them off, but then you don’t get to hear that nice shut down sound ;-) When it comes time to charge them up, the first gen had a proprietary USB cable that magnetically attached to the inside of one of the arms. This was nice in that there was no port to get wet or dirty, but it did mean that you had to carry that special cable with you to charge them up. The new model replaces that proprietary magnetic connection with a standard USB-C port. I presume it is water resistant but don’t know for sure. At least you can use any standard USB-C cable to charge now, which is probably worth replacing the magnetic contact with a standard port. These also come with a nice zipper case that keeps your Frames safe when not being worn. There’s a convenient pocket inside to tuck a cleaning cloth and the provided (yet standard) USB-C charging cable, too. The first gen’s case was a bit nicer in that it had a magnetic clasp and looked more befitting a pricey pair of glasses, but the new case is plenty good enough. Overall, this second gen Bose Frame is significantly better on all fronts; much better sound, better battery life, standard USB-C charging, and convenient on-board volume control. If you have any desire to listen to music while also wearing sunglasses; these are a great choice!

Bose has truly carried their audio quality over to the Tempos. The sound is nothing short of amazing. I was astonished that the Tempo sound is better than my over the ear headphones and yet the speakers of the Tempos don't go over or cover your ears, Controls - 5 Fit - 5 Feel - 5 Audio Quality - 5 Call Quality - 5 The Tempo comes with 3 sets of nose pieces which allow you to adjust the glasses to fit you. The ear pieces fit snug around the sides of my head but aren't so snug as to make them uncomfortable. They feel like normal sunglasses. Bose has also designed them to allow for the lenses to be changed. I hope to see quite a few different lens styles to be made available such as different reflective colors on the front of lenses in the future. The lenses that come with the Tempos are polarized and tinted enough to shield your eyes from the sun as you would expect from normal sunglasses. The lenses are medium tent. Transitioning from outside to inside while wearing the glasses didn't cause a problem as the tint is such that I was still able to walk inside from my patio into my living room and see well enough that I didn't worry about having to stop to take them off before further moving through the living room. I went jogging while wearing them and didn't have a problem with the fit. They felt comfortable and stayed in place throughout the jog. Also, a little sweat got on both ear pieces, but this didn't cause a problem. I just cleaned the ear pieces after the jog and everything was fine. The USB-C charge port is on the bottom of the right ear piece. My Tempos didn't come with a cover for the port which is something I wish Bose had included. I would think that at some point dust or sweat my enter the port, so it would have been nice to have a cover for it. They also come with a USB-C charge cable, but they don't have a charge block included. I was able to use one of the many I have around the house to plug the cable into and charge the glasses. The case that comes with the glasses is a good quality case and will hold the glasses with the charge cable and included cleaning cloth. The battery life is good. I've listened to an audio book and music while connected to my phone over Bluetooth. So far, I have about 8 hours of listening time. My current charge remaining from the initial full charge is 40%. That's after the 8 hours of listening time plus the time of setup and registration with the app. Sound quality is excellent. The speakers don't fully cancel out surrounding noise, but I can hear music or an audio book over the noise of a TV, outside AC unit, and general traffic noise with the volume set to 30%. I was truly surprised by how well they work. I was thinking that I would probably have to raise the volume a lot just to hear anything over ambient noise, but that was not the case. 30% volume allowed me to hear music and an audio book just fine with background noise sources around and near me. The audio is very clear. No hissing sounds or crackling noise in the audio. I was also able to walk 50 ft. away from my phone from my back bedroom out to my patio without any disruption to the audio or the glasses disconnecting. The signal had to carry through 3 walls. I also was able to walk 60 ft. away, line of sight, from my phone and had no problem with the connection. The controls are simple. A button on the bottom of the right ear piece powers it on and off. For music, it plays, stops, forwards and reverses tracks. For phone calls, it answers and hangs up the call. Volume up and down is done by sliding a finger forwards or backwards along a specific part of the outer right ear piece. A double tap of the same area activates your devices voice assist. These are simplified, easy to use controls. One additional way to power off the glasses is to turn them upside down for two seconds. Overall, I'm very pleased with the Tempos and would definitely recommend them to others.

I've been using these sunglasses on my runs and they've added a new dimension in terms of my environmental awareness and comfort. Because these sunglasses are designed with open ear audio, you get to experience your music without an earbud entrenched into your ear canal. It is a very liberating and refreshing experience that provides a level of comfort that none of my headphones can provide while I run or hike. I've been pretty surprised how much more aware I am of my surroundings during my runs due to the open ear audio design. Anything that adds a layer of safety when I'm engaged in a physical activity is a huge plus in my book; especially while shielding my eyes from the sun! I can also vouch that they have stood up to my sweat during my runs with no issues so far. While the open ear audio design provides for a much better level of comfort than traditional earbuds/headphones and also provides much better environmental awareness, there is a trade off. You're not going to get the "boomy" low frequency bass notes that you may be used to hearing when listening to your favorite electronic set. You're also not going to get that punchy double pedal sound when listening to metal or hard rock. However, hip/hop, pop, jazz, and acoustic tracks sound FANTASTIC! Incredibly crisp and vibrant.I think this may be a deal breaker for some people depending on what their preferred genre of music is. I happen to be a huge fan of electronic and metal when working out and I just wish they offered a little more bass. I also wish they were just slightly louder. For poolside listening, these are such a pleasure! It's refreshing not having to have anything in your ears while you sip on your favorite beverage. I would like to note that because of their open ear design, at it's highest volume, people close to you will definitely be able to hear your music. Just something to keep in mind. In terms of build quality and design, this thing feels like it's built like a tank (albeit all plastic) but somehow maintains a very light heft to it. I absolutely love the polarized lens with the mirror finish. They include three different nose pads to increase/decrease the pressure for a tighter or looser fit. I have the "medium" nose pads installed and they don't budge when I run. They're also super comfy! One thing I'm not a big fan of is the oversized frames. However, I know that Bose did this in order to pack lithium batteries that provide up to 8 hours of audio playback. Happy to report that battery performance has far outlasted any of my runs or hikes. Setup was a bit of struggle for me at first. However, I am fully to blame for not being able to initially pair my sunglasses to my Android device. I could simply not get the "Bose Music" app to connect to my sunglasses. After some troubleshooting, I discovered that under my "connections" settings, I had "Phone Visibility" set to off which means that my phone was not discoverable during bluetooth pairing. As soon as I turned this on, my phone was able to quickly pair with the sunglasses and I've had no issues since. I have included a screenshot of the setting in case anyone has any issues pairing their sunglasses. This would be the first thing I would check. My favorite feature so far has been the convenience of simply swiping on the top right side of the frame to turn the volume up or down. You can also skip or replay tracks by tapping on the frame. I love not having to mess about with pushing a button on a wireless earbud or trying to find the play/skip/volume buttons on a cord. Overall, if you're an active person who loves to take your music with you on runs or hikes but also likes to shield your eyes from the sun, I would highly suggest you give them a try. Or if youre someone who constantly finds themselves poolside, these are a must!!

These are perfect sound sunglasses for working out or other outdoor activities with that awesome Bose sound. These are my new "Go To" running outside sunglasses/audio combo in one. Pros: Great sound – especially for not actually being in your ear at all. Since they are not in your ear, you can better hear your surroundings which is great for running, biking, etc and being aware of cars approaching, etc. Comfortable – at first I thought they were a tad snug with the side arms touching the side of my face, but that actually keeps them in place and were very comfortable on my regular 5K runs. Perfect for running, biking or other outdoor activity. Great optics – super clear sunglasses. 3 options for nose pieces for a good fit (the default “2” option was perfect for me). Long battery life Easy to use controls – love the tactile button under the right arm to pause, next song, previous song and because they aren’t in your ears – no pressure on your ear drums when you tap it. Volume controls also very intuitive – just gentle swipe the right sunglasses arm forward (up) or back (down) They can also be used for calls, but I don't answer a lot of calls while "getting the run in", so haven't tried that feature. Double tap the side arm and access Siri or Google Very easy to pair and Bose app is easy to use Come with a nice protective travel case Love the simple turn over and set down to turn off feature! Cons: You lose a little bit of peripheral visibility just to the left and right of the glasses due to the larger side arms (but with nothing in your ears the ability to hear your surroundings definitely offsets this, plus these larger arms give you the great battery life) Because they aren’t in your ears, if you “bump up the volume” others that are close to you will definitely hear your music playing. These are made/designed for outside activities though – not for indoors on a treadmill, at your desk, or on a plane etc.

Nice wrap around style sunglasses with mirrored polarized (but changeable) lenses that are dark enough to keep your eyes more comfortable in bright sun but not so dark that some evening use is out of the question. And the sound is fantastic. Of course these are not noise blocking but in an average environment with normal background noises you can turn them up far enough to all but eliminate the noises to enjoy your music or turn them down to participate in a conversation without stopping the music or taking out one or both earbuds when you were using those. You can also take and place calls from your glasses of course when connected to your phone through Bluetooth. Music can be paused, tracks can be skipped from the multifunction button on the right temple. Also on the right temple, you just slice your finger forward on the temple to increase volume and slide your finger towards the rear of the glasses to decrease volume, no switch just slide along the temple. I found the slide action to be a bit temperamental but over all like the feature. Phone calls were very clear on both ends of the conversation. The quality of the sound rivals that of many top end ear buds I have and do own and without the hassle of having something sitting in your ears sometimes painfully after several hours of use. Until I got use to the placement of the multifunction button I found it very easy to accidentally push but found the key to that is stay away from the right temple unless you are looking for the button of wanting to slide your finger for volume control. All control can also be accomplished from your phone as well. Setup is three quick steps outlined on the card wrapping the box and full instructions can be found in the app once it is downloaded and the glasses are paired with the app. The Glasses, a nice carrying case, charging cord and microfiber cleaning cloth are included.

I have to say, I was skeptical to be getting sunglasses that have bluetooth connected music, and I'm thrilled to say that my skepticism was misplaced. To start, the packaging definitely gives a feel of luxury when opening it. Once in the box, the sunglasses themselves are inside a semi-hard protective carrying case embossed with the Bose logo. The whole experience gives you the feeling of quality. Removing the sunglasses you can feel the weight and quality to them. They are sturdy, if a little bit heavy because of the battery and speakers, but look sleek. It may take a moment to get past the wide-body of the band on either side, but honestly with the strange things that many sport-grade sunglasses have going on, this doesn't really stand out too much. Connecting to the bluetooth is as easy as you'd expect. It connected right the first time and without issue. I tried it both directly to the phone without the Bose Music app and with. It works both ways, however the Bose Music app allows control of the device in more specific ways and is worth the install. It is unobtrusive so there's no issues with using it. It also ensures the firmware is up to date. Something it does not do, which I really appreciate, is try to take over all sound/music functionality of the phone. It seems apps for other bluetooth connected headphones and speakers recently need to give me their little notification icon and want to take control of play/pause/etc functions of my music. The Bose music app stays pleasantly in the background. So now the important part. How do they sound? Amazing. Shockingly good. I would hope so when you consider the company is Bose, but hey, they are sunglasses, not speakers, not earbuds, not headphones. The open speaker configuration perfectly directs the sound into your ears for a full sounding experience. I will say they lean a little on the tinny side, but I would expect that with almost anything in this size range (I've never met a pair of earbuds that can deliver what I would consider 'good' base response) and I would say this is a dramatic cut above all earbuds I've ever listened to music on. I know there is also the question of how well others can hear your music. It is definitely not completely silent to another person, but it sounds about on-par with someone sitting next to you listening to their headphones turned up a bit too loud. Which is to say, you can hear it, but it's not going to be heard over even a whisper. Can you hear while wearing them? Yes and no. If someone is talking to you sufficiently loud enough to overcome your music volume, then yes, so in that way it's like any other headphones.. As far as looks and aesthetics, they are right up there with any high end sport sunglasses you may have ever seen. The only gripe I have is the lenses pick up fingerprints VERY easily. Having barely brushed one with the edge of my thumb I can see exactly where I smudged them. I dont know if sunglasses usually have an oleophobic coating, but I think these companies should start considering it. Bottom Line. These are incredible. If you're considering them, then yes, get them.