Bose unveils QuietComfort Earbuds, a soundbar and a wild approach to surround sound
There's a new way to get surround sound without filling your home with speakers
Bose has unveiled a trio of new products and experiences. And one of them is truly unusual - but we like that it is trying something a little different.
But let’s start with the biggie. The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are the next generation of Bose’s in-ear headphone series.
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds
They sit a rung below the QuietComfort Ultra, and last 8.5 hours off a charge. That’s significantly longer than the six hours of the last QuietComfort Earbuds, a figure matched by the Ultra model too.
The design is different this time around, with much less of the casing dropping below your ear canal, near your ear lobe. Are they better-looking? We think so.
They’re no better for sports, mind, with an IPX4 rating meaning you should be fairly careful when around water.
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds actually cost a bunch less than the previous (similarly named) earphones. These ones are £179, while the QuietComfort Earbuds II from 2022 originally sold for £280. The new pair comes in "Black, White Smoke, or Chilled Lilac."
Bose Smart Soundbar
Next up is a soundbar, the Bose Smart Soundbar. This one replaces the popular Smart Soundbar 600, which again has been around since 2022.
The new model is just about exactly the same in terms of size, measuring 69cm long and 5.6cm tall (plus 10.4cm deep). It just spruces things up with the term of the season, AI.
The A.I. Dialogue Mode uses “machine learning” to fiddle with the sound when a dialogue line is detected, in order to make it easier to make out, without going as far as getting rid of the other sound.
This one could be handy for those Christopher Nolan films we enjoy so much.
The Bose Smart Soundbar will set you back £499.95, much like its predecessor, and will go on sale from October 10.
Bose’s final new thing is another feature you can use with the soundbar, called Personal Surround Sound. But you’ll need another piece of kit to make use of it, Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds.
Personal Surround Sound lets you pair your soundbar with these earphones, to use them to play the surround sound channel sound without needing an extra pair (or army) of speakers. And Bose uses clever psychoacoustic processing to make it seem the sound is coming from behind you.
Is it a reason to buy a pair of Ultra Open Earbuds, at £300? Probably not. But if you already have a pair and get one of these new-fangled soundbars, you’ll have to give it a go.