Silent night: Bose’s new noise-masking Sleepbuds
Hi-fi giant’s latest creation shuts out unwanted noises to give you a good night’s rest
Bose is best known for making premium hi-fi equipment but now the US audio giant is concentrating its efforts on giving consumers a good night’s sleep.
The company took to crowd-funding site Indiegogo last November to see whether customers would be interested in prototype wireless, noise-cancelling earphones designed to help shut out intrusive sounds at night.
The answer was a resounding yes: the first small batch of prototype earphones, dubbed Sleepbuds, sold out within six days.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
With that success in mind, the company is now launching them at stores across the US from autumn.
The sleepbuds use “noise-masking technology”, says Bose, and feature sculpted rubber earbuds that play specially designed sleep-promoting tracks.
These tracks hide background noise by mirroring the frequencies of intrusive sounds, such as dogs barking or someone snoring, to neutralise potentially sleep-disrupting environmental noise.
The smallest product that Bose has ever made, the Sleepbuds measure in at just over 1cm in width and height and are completely wireless, connecting to the user’s smartphone through a low-energy Bluetooth connection.
Once connected, users can choose between ten audio backing tracks, including the sound of gentle waves, and can also set an alarm for the morning.
The batteries last for around 16 hours, and are powered up using a compact wireless charging case that comes with the Sleepbuds.
Bose stresses that the Sleepbuds do not double as a pair of wireless headphones, so you can’t stream music or TV shows through them. For that, you could try the company’s noise-cancelling QC35 MKII headphones.
Sleepbuds will only be available in North America initially, with prices starting at $250 (£190).
But if they prove to be popular, it may not be long until they go on sale across the pond too.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Trump tells next Senate GOP leader to skip confirmations
Speed Read The president-elect said the next Senate majority leader must allow him to make recess appointments
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - November 11, 2024
Cartoons Monday's cartoons - border walls, the Christmas creep, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Is Cop29 a 'waste of time'?
Today's Big Question World leaders stay away as spectre of Donald Trump haunts flagship UN climate summit
By The Week UK Published
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listings
Speed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
By Mike Starling Published
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequel
Speed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binary
Speed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?
Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday television
Speed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
By The Week Staff Published
-
Coco vision: up close to Chanel opticals
Speed Read Parisian luxury house adds opticals to digital offering
By The Week Staff Published
-
Abba returns: how the Swedish supergroup and their ‘Abba-tars’ are taking a chance on a reunion
Speed Read From next May, digital avatars of the foursome will be performing concerts in east London
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘Turning down her smut setting’: how Nigella Lawson is cleaning up her recipes
Speed Read Last week, the TV cook announced she was axing the word ‘slut’ from her recipe for Slut Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly
By The Week Staff Published