It might have been Apple’s big day yesterday but that didn’t stop Bose from announcing its updated QuietComfort II earbuds. Maybe the Bose folks didn’t know Apple was also announcing new earbuds. Perhaps they did but thought theirs were better because this time they ship with what Bose is calling “Bose CustomTune sound calibration technology”. Either way, if you want the latest earbud technology, you have two more options.
That’s the way it Bose
The headline feature in the new buds is CustomTune. This is supposed to “intelligently personalize audio and noise cancellation performance” for your individually shaped ears. Bose didn’t only look to steal Apple’s limelight, it also claims the new smarts will result in “the world’s best noise cancellation from any headphone — banded or in-ear.” That’s a lofty claim if we ever heard one. Luckily they go into a bit of detail about how it will work.
According to Bose’s announcement, the feature is enabled when you take the earbuds out of their case. Then “a proprietary tone” is played and an internal microphone measures your ear canal’s response. Bose will use that info to calibrate the audio and noise cancellation performance for your ears. Neat, if it works.
Of course, Bose doesn’t say exactly how it uses the recorded measurements from the proprietary tone to alter the audio profile so that “the sound that reaches the eardrum is just as the artist intended.” And why would it? That’s proprietary information. So we’ll just have to take the company’s word until we can get these things in our ears and find out for ourselves.
As with most earbuds that offer ANC, these will also include a few transparency modes to play with thanks to the four microphones in each bud. This is enhanced by Bose’s ActiveSense. This will measure your environment for any sudden loud spikes in noise and respond with “a precise, equal, and opposite signal in less than a fraction of a millisecond.” Apple’s new in-ears do something similar…
What’s the catch?
Apparently, there isn’t one. You might think this new automatic personalisation tech sounds cool and all (pun intended) but it’s got to affect battery life, the price, or both. Well, it did for one of those. The company has managed to increase battery life over the original QC Earbuds from 2020. It says you can expect six hours from a charge with three additional charges in the case. That’s a whole extra charge over the originals.
Bose has developed a new two-piece “eartip Fit Kit” with interchangeable tips and stability bands so you can get the perfect fit in your earholes, presumably to help with the noise cancellation.
It’s also managed to make its new buds smaller which, if you’ve seen the first ones, is a welcome change. They were heckin’ chonkey.
The new QC Earbuds II will be available in the US from 15 September for $300 (R5,220). You’ll have the choice of two colours, eventually. The black versions will be available at launch but if you want the silvery-white ‘soapstone’ variant, you’ll have to wait until early October. There’s no word yet on when they’ll get to SA. When they do you can use all that extra cash you saved since the petrol price dropped.