Bose announces $99 wired earbuds with noise cancellation

Bose has announced $99 USB-C wired earbuds with active noise cancellation, reopening a product category it left in 2015. The company has started taking preorders and says shipping will begin in October, though reports cite October 13 and October 15 as possible dates, and the supplied information does not establish which is definitive. The Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds connect directly to compatible phones, tablets and computers through a USB-C cable. They do not use Bluetooth and have no internal battery, drawing power from the connected device instead. Bose says the connection requires no pairing or companion app. The 4.2-foot cable carries an inline remote with physical controls for playback, volume and noise-cancellation settings, as well as a microphone for calls. Bose says two microphones in each earbud monitor surrounding sound for its QuietControl noise-cancellation system. Users can choose Quiet Mode, which reduces surrounding sounds, Aware Mode, which lets more of them through, or switch noise cancellation off. Bose says the earbuds support audio playback up to 24-bit/48kHz on compatible devices. The wired connection also avoids Bluetooth pairing.