Wired earbuds are supposed to be obsolete. Bose is betting that they are ready for another run.
The company has introduced the Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds, a $99 pair of USB-C earphones that combine old-school wired audio with active noise cancellation. They go on sale October 15 in black, white and a limited-edition mint green.
It is an interesting reversal for Bose. The company discontinued its last wired noise-canceling earbuds in 2022, as AirPods and other true wireless headphones became the default. But corded headphones have quietly returned, particularly among younger users attracted to their simplicity, retro appeal and reliable microphones.
Bose is giving the format a significant technical update. Four microphones, two in each earbud, monitor outside noise for the active noise cancellation system. The earbuds plug directly into a device over USB-C and draw power from it, eliminating batteries, charging cases and Bluetooth pairing entirely.
There are other benefits to staying wired. A physical connection supports lossless audio, while virtually eliminating the latency that can appear when gaming or watching video over Bluetooth. Bose has also put playback, volume controls and a microphone directly onto the 4.2-foot cable.
The tradeoff is that the $99 earbuds do not match the noise cancellation of Bose’s more expensive wireless models. Early testing found they could noticeably reduce subway and cafe noise, but not to the same degree as the company’s $299 QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds.
Still, Bose is making a different argument here. These are not $19 EarPods dressed up as a nostalgia product. They are an attempt to take what people once liked about wired headphones, no charging, no pairing, low latency and dependable audio, and add one of the features that helped convince everyone to go wireless in the first place.
Maybe the headphone cable wasn’t dead. It just needed an upgrade.