For years, wireless earbuds have dominated the market; they are convenient, easy to carry and cableless. Bose announced their new noise-canceling wired earbuds on Sept. 28, bringing them back to the wired-earbud market after discontinuing their previous models in 2015.
“Wired earbuds are experiencing a cultural renaissance, and when we decided to bring them back, we knew we had to make them even better than before,” Raza Haider, president of Bose Premium Consumer Audio, said.
“Technology has come a long way since our last wired earbuds, allowing us the opportunity to bring our latest advancements to the category and set a new standard for what wired earbuds can be.”
The product is listed at $99 and can be preordered through the Bose website. The earbuds are available in three colors: Black, White Smoke and Dewdrop Mint.
They also come with a carrying case and multiple sizes of ear tips to accommodate different consumers.
The new earpieces feature a USB-C cord, low latency, four microphones and three listening modes to cycle through.
The three listening modes include: Quiet Mode, with full active noise cancellation, Aware Mode, which allows users to listen to audio while being aware of their surroundings and ANC Off Mode, which turns off noise cancellation and transparency, relying on the acoustic seal of the earbuds.
According to Bose, each earbud uses two microphones that constantly monitor and minimize surrounding sound, allowing users to focus on their audio.
This implementation ensures that users receive the best experience while plugged in.
The quality and price of this product provide consumers with a cheaper option for high-quality earbuds. Bose is not the first company to introduce this idea.
Companies such as Mindbeast and Backwin have produced their own wired, noise-canceling earbuds.
Harry Rabinowitz of Wired said that the Bose earbuds have clear details across frequencies and excellent noise cancellation for their price.
However, he also criticized the easily tangled cable and heavy central control panel, which weighs down the ear tips in your ears.
“The control panel is a little heavy…the cable is thick and premium-feeling, but it inevitably ends up tangled inside one of the included soft pouch,” he wrote.
To combat smartphones without headphone jacks, Bose’s new earbuds can be plugged in through USB-C.
Although this may be viewed as a practical workaround, it can create limitations for users who want to charge their phones while listening to music. With the buzz surrounding the new product, Bose earbuds combine the original style of wired earbuds with the perks of wireless ones.
