About a year ago, we declared that wired earbuds are so back, and boy, was that declaration correct. However “back” they were back then, they are doubly back now, and Bose is living proof.
Here are Bose’s newly unveiled $99 Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds. When I say “wired,” I mean USB-C and not a 3.5mm jack like back in the day, which is probably a good thing given the fact that the headphone jack is effectively dead on most people’s phones. The cable seems like a decent size for most people at 4.2 feet long.
One thing these wired earbuds have that you might not expect is active noise cancellation (ANC) as well as “Aware” mode, which is Bose’s version of transparency. Lots of cheaper wired earbuds don’t have those features, so they’re a pretty big perk. You can use the Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds for calling with the four on-board microphones, too.
One other flourish I like is the inclusion of silicone ear stabilizers, aka the little wing that juts out from the earbud itself. Ear tips usually work just fine, but it’s nice to have stabilizers in there as well, especially if the wire gets pulled while you’re walking around, which, based on my many experiences using wired earbuds, is bound to happen. There are physical controls for play/pause and track skipping built-in for completing your wired earbud nostalgia.
The design isn’t too wild, but I do like the colors, especially the limited edition Dewdrop Mint. If you’re not a minty kind of person, there’s also White Smoke and Black. Bose says the Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds will be available Oct. 15 if you’re itching for a blast from audio hardware’s past. And sure, $99 might be a bit much for a pair of wired earbuds, but the ANC and Bose’s reputation for audio quality do help sell the package a bit more.
