The future is here, and your sunglasses can play music…

The Bose frames have certainly attracted a lot of hype, and they seem to be the prime example of a true love it or hate it product.

If you’re the kind of person who immediately thinks ‘what a stupid idea’, then no surprises, you should steer well clear of them. Nothing that you experience while wearing them is likely to change your mind.

If you’re a little like me, however, you’ll have been instantly assessing the various situations where these sunglasses could improve your life in a minor way. Having tried out a pair, I’m glad to be able to recommend giving them a go. Chances are you’ll love them – as they give you the ability to add a little bit of extra music, or audio to your life.

The big advantage of the Frames is actually in the fact that the sunglasses, unlike headphones, leave your ears completely uncovered.

This means you can enjoy you fill of podcasts and music, without having to shut yourself off from the outside world. For me, this was a complete game-changer and a massive advantage that has been missed by many reviewers.

Of course, you’re not going to get anywhere near the same bass response as you would with traditional headphones where you insert the tips deep into your ear canals.

But that’s not the point.

What are you do you get, however, is some very effectively tuned audio – using Bose wizardry – which creates a genuinely immersive listening environment.

There is also some noise cancelling to stop other people being able to hear what you’re playing, which works up to a point.

In the box you’ll find a nice hard case, as well as a charger and a cloth to keep them clean. There’s also a magnetic charger.

The biggest complaint most people have is the battery life, which isn’t the best at around three hours. If you’re hoping to listen all day, these aren’t for you.. they are sunglasses after all!

How do they look?

For me, the biggest issue with the product is the way they look. On the Altos, for some reason, perhaps to try and mask the inevitable bulkiness of the arms – the actual frames are huge. This seems like a design choice rather than a necessity. I wish they’d made them a little smaller personally.

The Rondos are much smaller, but they have a distinctive look – which you will either like or dislike.

Using the Frames with our motivating music

Of course, here at GBM Music, we use music to motivate you – whether that’s working more productively, or exercising more effectively.

This is the main reason why I’m so interested in these Frames – they offer a great, unobtrusive way to deliver our content to listeners.

I loved being able to sit outside, fire up Productive Pomodoro on my sunglasses and get some work done. All the while I could hear my surroundings if I needed to.

Ideally you’ll be able to add prescription lenses to the Frames in the future, or simply use a placeholder, clear frame so they can be used inside too.

Amazon’s new Echo Frames look like an interesting option too. We certainly hope the market is there and continues to develop, as the potential is huge.

Using the Frames for music production

As a music producer, I’m happy to trade off sound quality for portability and convenience when using headphones at the early stage of a production.

This is a quick and easy way for me to sketch out ideas, before honing the sounds later in the studio, using dedicated headphones and monitors.

I enjoy using portable devices to make music with some of the incredibly powerful apps that are available these days, like Auxy.

Used in conjunction with the Bose Frames, I can make music on the move, and outside – while also being able to hear company and the world around me. Making music with headphones on can be a little anti-social if you’re in the same room as someone, so the Frames offer a great solution for this.

The sound quality is good enough to do composition work and chilling out ideas without having to block myself off from the outside world it’s a simple as grabbing my sunglasses and loading up the app.

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