Bose Takes Aim at Apple and Sonos With More Affordable Noise-Cancelling Earbuds, Refreshed Smart Soundbar

Bose is targeting its two primary competitors, Apple and Sonos, with a pair of new products. The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds bring active noise cancellation (ANC) to a much lower price point, while the Smart Soundbar lowers the cost of entry into Bose's AI-assisted living room.

Taking Aim at Apple With Affordable ANC

The QuietComfort Earbuds from Bose keep things simple. These in-ear buds include Bose-tuned audio, good ANC, user-adjustable controls, support for voice commands, and long battery life in a compact form. They cost significantly less than the company's premiere earphones, the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, which are among the best at cancelling out noise.

Bose says a total of six microphones, three on each bud, measure sound to more effectively negate the surrounding din while still prioritizing your voice during calls. Three listening modes are available, including ANC, transparency, and off. An IPX4 rating means the buds can handle light slashing, which makes them usable in light rain or at the gym. The earbuds have three eartips and three stability bands to ensure a snug fit. The batteries provide up to 8.5 hours of playback, and the case holds another 21 hours of charge. Recharging the QuietComfort Earbuds takes 1.5 hours, and a 20-minute charge provides about 3 hours of listening time.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds in Chillef Lilac

(Credit: Bose)

The associated Bose QC Earbuds app adds some functionality. It allows you to customize the touch controls, including single-, double-, and triple-press gestures. A five-band EQ is built into the app to enable customized sound profiles. The Voice ID tool lets you answer calls, play media, and access your preferred voice assistant with a "Hey headphones" command. Advanced features include a Remote Selfie feature, as well as a battery life predictor.

The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are compatible with Bluetooth 5.3 and support the AAC and SBC codes. They come in Black, Chilled Lilac, or White Smoke for $179. They are available for order starting today.

Apple recently debuted the AirPods 4 With ANC. Though Apple's earphones sport an open design (as opposed to Bose's in-ear design), they provide surprisingly effective ANC at the same $179 price.

Setting Sights on Sonos With a Smart Soundbar

Bose introduced its Smart Ultra Soundbar last year, which is the company's flagship soundbar. Now, Bose is bringing the high-end features of its $899 Smart Ultra Soundbar down to its $499 product. The Bose Smart Soundbar is a replacement for the Bose Smart Soundbar 600 in Bose's lineup and features AI Dialogue Mode and the company's new Personal Surround technology.

With AI Dialogue Mode, the Bose Smart Soundbar relies on machine learning algorithms to listen to the soundbar and your room to optimize speech within the audio stream. This ensures that sound effects and background music don't overpower the dialogue of your favorite movies and TV shows.

(Credit: Bose)

Perhaps more interesting, however, is the Bose Personal Surround Sound feature. If you have both the Bose Smart Soundbar and Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, you can pair the two for an improved surround sound experience. Bose Personal Surround Sound takes advantage of the open nature of the Ultra Open Earbuds, which act as the rear surround channels when watching TV. Bose says you'll still be able to hear the soundbar's full sound while the earbuds present an enveloping surround effect that's subtle but effective. The idea, explains Bose, is to give those who don't have the space for a full surround system in their home the opportunity to enjoy a surround experience without a 5.1 speaker setup.

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The Bose Smart Soundbar has five transducers, including two side-firing racetrack transducers, a center tweeter for dialogue, and two upfiring transducers for height effects. It supports Dolby Atmos and will upmix stereo and 5.1 signals to provide a better sense of spaciousness. It measures 27 by 4.1 by 2.2 inches (WDH) and requires a single HDMI eARC cable. It is Wi-Fi enabled and sports Chromecast, Spotify Connect, and Apple AirPlay 2, as well as Bluetooth for direct connections to phones and tablets.

The Smart Soundbar is available for order starting today for $499.

This combination of products takes a different approach from the Sonos Ace Headphones, which instead replace all the audio from a Sonos soundbar in favor of personal listening via the headphones. The Smart Soundbar competes with the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) on price and features.

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About Eric Zeman

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

I’m PCMag’s managing editor for consumer electronics content, overseeing an experienced team of reviewers and product testers. I’ve been covering tech for more than 22 years. Prior to PCMag, I worked at outlets such as Android Authority, Fortune, InformationWeek, and Phonescoop.

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