Everything old is new again as today Bose announced its first pair of wired earbuds since discontinuing the option in 2015. The new tethered earbuds, which are simply called the Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds, do away with battery anxiety and the need to remember to charge them every few days. Their functionality is limited, but they do take advantage of the past 11 years of earbud innovation with the addition of active noise canceling.
Two microphones on each earbud work alongside Bose’s QuietControl technology to deliver active noise canceling with multiple modes that can be cycled using a button on the headphone’s inline remote. Quiet Mode reduces the intensity of sounds around you while Aware Mode instead boosts them, but you can also turn off ANC entirely. There’s an additional microphone on the inline remote for making phone calls and it’s designed to effectively pick up your voice without having to be held close to your mouth.
Instead of a headphone connector on the end of the earbuds’ 4.2-foot cable you’ll find USB-C for connecting to smartphones and laptops with support for lossless audio with minimal latency. The earbuds also come with an IPX4 rating for water resistance so they can survive sweat, rain, and splashes but a complete dunking is a no-no. A zippered carrying case is included along with three sizes of silicone eartips and two sizes of stability wings that can provide a more secure fit during physical activities.