Bose Updates Its Top End With QuietComfort 45

Bose today unveiled its new QuietComfort 45 headphones — the successors to the highly popular QuietComfort 35 II.

Bose is trumpeting simplicity with this new upgrade. The QC45 have just two settings — “Quiet” and “Aware.” Quiet mode is what you’d normally call active noise cancellation, using microphones inside and outside the ear cups to blot out anything other than what you’re wanting to hear from the headphones themselves. And Bose says that the transition from noise to nil is down to a fraction of a millisecond. The Aware mode allows for full sound transparency, where you can hear everything going on outside the headphones as well as what’s being pumped through them.

The simplicity transfers into the controls as well. There’s a single button on the left earcup to change between the two modes. The right earcup has volume up, volume down, power, and the Bluetooth pairing slider.

“QuietComfort headphones are legendary for a reason,” Mehul Trivedi, category director for Bose wearable audio, said in a press release. “What started as a product for traveling became a product that makes every day better and easier for millions of people all over the world. Our customers have told us for years that it’s the balance of benefits that make QuietComfort so different and indispensable. They’ve always been a great example of excelling where it matters most. And the QC45s are no different.”

The QC45 also take that noise cancellation into account when you’re on calls or giving commands via your favorite digital assistant, isolating your voice to make sure it’s the most important sound coming through on the other end.

Bose is claiming up to 24 hours of battery life on the QC45, with a full charge achieved in 2.5 hours. A mere 15 minutes plugged in will get you three hours of playback. And perhaps most important is that they now use USB-C to charge.

You’ve got a couple of colors from which to choose — “Triple Black,” and “White Smoke.” (Otherwise known as black, and off-white.)

The new QC45 headphones will be available starting September 23 for $330 and are available for pre-order today.

Editors’ Recommendations