Bose's new soundbar turns its Ultra Open Earbuds into rear speakers
Plus a new mid-range set of Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds
🔈 Bose Smart Soundbar pairs and uses Bose Ultra Open Earbuds as rear speaker channels
📣 Bose Smart Soundbar can project a full Dolby Atmos or 5.1 surround sound on its own
🎧 Bose introduces a new mid-range pair of QuietComfort Earbuds
🔋 QuietComfort Earbuds promise 8.5 hours of play with 21.25 more hours in the case
Bose is launching a new Bose Smart Soundbar, and its most interesting feature is that it can work in tandem with the company’s earbuds to create a surround sound system.
When paired with the new Bose Smart Soundbar, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds turn into a pair of rear-channel speakers. This supposedly works because of the open nature of Bose's recent clip-on earbuds, which lets users still hear the power of the soundbar while the earbuds fill in the rest of the immersive sound experience.
This Bose Personal Surround Sound feature will first debut on the Bose Smart Soundbar, but the company also plans to add it to its existing Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar later this fall.
The Bose Smart Soundbar can also virtualize Dolby Atmos or 5.1 surround sound on its own without any additional speakers or earbuds. It comes equipped with five transducers, including two side-firing and two up-firing, that bounce sound off walls and the ceiling to deliver Dolby Atmos and Bose Spatial audio.
There’s also a center tweeter that belts out clear-sounding dialogue with the help of Bose’s new A.I. Dialogue Mode. This feature uses a machine learning algorithm to detect speech and adjust the tonal balance in real time.
The Bose Smart Soundbar itself is also pretty small, measuring at 27 x 4.1 x 2.2 inches (W x D x H). You also get a boat load of physical and streaming connections including HDMI eARC, Optical audio-in, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, and Apple AirPlay 2.
The Bose Smart Soundbar is available to purchase starting today for $499.
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds
Bose also announced a new pair of mid-range QuietComfort Earbuds with some of the longest battery life yet.
The new Bose QuietComfort Earbuds slot under the company’s existing QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds with a more traditional shape. However, they still boast Bose’s hybrid noise-canceling technology that monitors and blocks outside noise with six combined microphones.
Battery life on Bose’s new mid-range set is even better with 8.5 hours of playtime, one of the longest run times we’ve ever heard from a pair of earbuds. Plus there’s another 21.25 hours of battery life in the earbuds’ case. The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds also feature quick charging to get you three hours of play after just 20 minutes and a full charge in 1.5 hours.
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are available to purchase now for $179 and they’re available in Black, White Smoke, and Chilled Lilac.
Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam.