Bose is bringing a change of colors with a handful of new entries in their earbud, headphones, and portable speaker lineups, including some limited edition colors. Bose’s QuietComfort Headphones and Soundlink Flex Portable Bluetooth Speakers get Blue Dusk. Their QuietComfort Earbuds get Chilled Lilac. Bose aims to satisfy your sound and color palettes this fall. Here’s the breakdown of Bose lineup.
Key Features of the Bose Lineup
- High-quality audio with adjustable EQ
- Premium construction
- Extended battery life
QuietComfort Headphones
- Industry-leading noise cancellation
QuietComfort Earbuds
- Industry-leading noise cancellation
- Wireless charging case
SoundLink Flex Portable Bluetooth Speaker
- Portable
- Water and dustproof
What’s New in the Bose Lineup
You know what you’re going to get with a Bose product: excellent audio quality, first-in-class noise cancellation, durable construction, and great battery life. These new Bose offerings won’t let you down in any of those departments, whether you opt for the speaker, the headphones, or the earbuds.
High-Quality Audio
Bose brings its signature excellent audio quality to all three of the offerings. Customize the EQ to your heart’s content through the integration with the Bose Music app, whether you want to pump up the base, smooth out the treble, or balance out the mid-range.
If you have a Bose TV or soundbar that supports SoundSync, you can pair these devices with those sound sources and sync sounds between them. Additionally, through independent volume controls, the various device sound-levels can be adjusted separately.
Premium Construction
Bose has built products for every day use and the wear and tear that comes with that. Each of them has an IPX4 rating for water resistance. This means they are resilient against splashes, drips, sprays, and other hazards of real-world outdoor use. New and limited edition colors let you customize your Bose to match your look.
Noise Cancellation (QuietComfort Headphones and Earbuds)
Bose headphones and earbuds have always stood on the strength of the company’s best-in-class noise cancellation. The newest QuietComfort entries continue to carry that torch. Two modes of operation allow you to switch between a more transparent Aware mode and a more sound-dampening Quiet mode. You can also customize modes to tailor the amount of sound cancellation to your preferences.
Extended Battery
The QuietComfort earbuds promise up to 8.5 hours of life on a single charge. The SoundLink Flex gets up to twelve hours of battery life. And the QuietComfort headphones boast up to twenty-four hours of battery life. Whichever product you choose, you’re getting at least a working day’s worth of sound without having to unplug and recharge.
Who is this Bose Lineup for?
Which of these Bose devices is right for you is going to be dependent on your use case. If you’re looking for a speaker to take with you and share sound, then the Soundlink Flex speaker is the choice for you. It’s got excellent battery life, an IP67 rating for withstanding dust, water, wind, and other environmental factors, and Bose’s high fidelity sound.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a personal listening device, the headphones and earbuds offer some of the same features but in very different form factors. The headphones offer the best battery life, but the form factor may not be a great fit if your use case is as a listening device during workouts and other active pursuits (though I’ve seen plenty of runners, joggers, and runners rocking headphones so no shade if that’s your jam). They’re also a bit bulkier and heavier, and thus, a level less portable than the earbuds. That said, the headphones can charge via USB-C without having to unplug, so if you tend to listen to music or podcasts while you work on a laptop or desktop computer, you extend the listening times well beyond the battery life.
Comfort is also a consideration. It’s a personal choice. Do you prefer in-ear or over ear? I find my ears get tired faster using ear buds but I know other folks who will absolutely swear that the reverse is true for them. Head shapes, ear shapes, and our own idiosyncratic preferences will go a long way toward dictating which choice is right for you.
Final Thoughts
Bose is not a newcomer to the audio device game. It’s easy to become bored with products that are not offering revolutions but steady evolutions of design and performance. The new SoundLink Flex speaker and the new QuietComfort headphones and earbuds are certainly evolutions of proven design, construction, and performance. They’re not game changers, but they are excellent quality products for the price that don’t undermine their strengths with new gimmicks; if you want to get creative with your color palettes, Bose has got you covered.
If you’re in the market for a personal listening device, the QuietComfort line has industry-leading noise cancellation and excellent battery life to go with its excellent, customized sound. If you want to share sounds on the go, the SoundLink Flex speaker is the right tool for that job. It also has customizable sounds. All of the devices can sync with other Bose devices via their SoundSync system to extend or reroute sounds. Finally, the choice between the two QuietComfort offerings will depend on your preferred form factor and use case. Either way, you won’t go wrong.
