Bose fans have been waiting not-so-patiently for the company to release its perpetually delayed next-generation true wireless earbuds. Well, if an official-looking launch video courtesy of Australian retailer Harvey Norman is any indication, it appears that the product formerly known as the Noise Cancelling Earbuds 700 may be available soon under a new name: the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.
Bose announced two new true wireless models last year. The Earbuds 500 — now called the Sports Earbuds, according to Bose’s UK site — were previewed way back in June of last year and supposed to ship in 2019, but got pushed to 2020.
The Noise Cancelling Earbuds 700 weren’t scheduled to ship until this year, but Bose fans were hoping both new earbuds would ship earlier in 2020 as several competing models hit the market. In July, what appeared to be an early version of the new noise-canceling earbuds mysteriously showed up on YouTube, so anticipation for an official launch has been building.
The QuietComfort Earbuds launch video offers up a few key product highlights and specs. Bose touts its noise canceling as the “world’s most effective” and “breakthrough acoustic innovations” lead to “crisp, clear audio and deep rich bass.” There’s a custom-designed microphone array for “clear” calls, up to six hours of battery life (an hour better than Apple’s AirPods Pro) and the buds are sweat- and weather-resistant, though no IPX rating is listed (Update, Sept. 9: The buds have a splash-resistant IPX4 rating, the same as the AirPods Pro. Also, you get two extra charges from the case, which offers wireless and USB-C charging).
