Bose is selling wired earbuds again, $99 with USB-C and active noise cancelling

If you have wanted noise cancelling without charging anything, Bose has a $99 answer. The company announced the Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds, its first wired pair since it discontinued the option in 2015, and the name is exactly that literal.

The cable is 4.2 feet and ends in USB-C rather than a headphone connector, so they plug into phones and laptops with support for lossless audio at minimal latency.

Noise cancelling runs off two microphones in each earbud, working with Bose's QuietControl technology, and there are three states to move between: Quiet Mode pulls down the intensity of the sounds around you, Aware Mode pushes them up instead, and ANC can be switched off completely. Engadget describes those microphones as continuously monitoring the surrounding environment depending on which of the three settings you pick.

The inline remote does the rest. Physical buttons handle volume, playback, calls and cycling the ANC modes, and a separate microphone sits on the back of the remote for phone calls. Bose says that mic is built to pick up your voice without being held near your mouth, and Engadget notes it is also meant to minimise unintended noise, the kind you get when a remote rubs against a jacket.

Water resistance is IPX4, which covers sweat, rain and splashes, but not submersion.

In the box there is a zippered carrying case, three sizes of silicone eartips and two sizes of stability wings for a tighter fit when you are moving around.

Preorders are open now through Bose's online store and, according to Engadget, at Best Buy, in black, white smoke and a limited edition green called dewdrop mint.

Shipping is where it gets slightly messy. The Verge reports that Bose's own press release gives October 15th as the expected start of shipments while the company's online store lists October 13th. Engadget puts it more loosely at mid-October, which covers both.