Bose revamps iconic QuietComfort headphones

Bose has ushered in a new era of headphones with the wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, featuring the biggest leap forward in headphones since the iconic QuietComfort.

The new Bose 700s introduces a new voice interface that redefines mobile communication the way Bose noise cancellation redefined mobile audio.

Built off the performance of QCs to transform the most demanding environments into private sanctuaries for listening, Bose 700s debut new, pioneering technologies to transform the same public spaces into private rooms for talking with friends, family, and virtual personal assistants.

The 700s isolate a user's voice from 360 degrees of unwanted sound, allowing Bose 700 owners to do what's never been done.

Surrounded by competing for conversations, rush-hour traffic, and loud subway platforms, they can share their quiet, and not the noise around them — for crystal clear calls to home and work, and unprecedented accuracy from VPAs.

 Siri for iOS is easily accessible, the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa are both built-in — and now, Alexa is just a wake word away.

The 700s kick-off a trio of headphone innovations from Bose.

The truly wireless Bose Earbuds 500 are super-compact, versatile, and available this year, and the Bose Noise Cancelling Earbuds 700 will follow next year.

The Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are available in Australia on August 15 and will retail for $599.95 (AUD) or $689.95 (NZD).

They can be pre-ordered from today, joining the iconic QuietComfort 35 II in the Bose around-ear headphone line.

"At its best, technology should make us more human, not more dependent on devices," says Bose headphones category director Brian Maguire.

"No one's bucket list includes more time on a touchscreen, but right now, millions of people are looking down, swiping and typing on a 3x5 display."

The Bose voice system

The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 has been engineered from the ground up as an integrated system with a new acoustic and electronics package, new digital signal processing and a new eight microphone system for the most complete, effortless headphone experience ever.

Six microphones dramatically cancel noise so it doesn't reach your ears.

Two of those microphones combine with two others to dramatically improve voice pickup.

A beamform-array isolates your speech, suppressing everything else that's audible.

A rejection-array adds a second line of defence, tracking then blocking the most disruptive remaining sound — from a coffee grinder to other dialogue nearby.

It all happens in real-time — adapting as you move, turn your head and your environment changes.

It works with any VPA, any phone paired to the 700s, or any phone or phone/headphone combination on the far-end.

It works from anywhere whether you're talking to people or machines.

On audio and video calls, they'll hear what you're saying — not the TV behind you, or the person next to you.

For voicemails, your voice is recorded, not theirs.

Full-transparency experience, conversation mode — and brilliant audio performance

The Bose 700s use the next-generation Bose noise cancellation for improved noise reduction and sophisticated electronic circuitry that eliminates the "hiss" regularly heard in other headphones.

Combined, they enable the 700's new adjustable noise cancellation feature including a full-transparency experience that gives the term "off" an entirely new meaning.

While the highest setting delivers the most powerful silence, the lowest lets your surroundings pass through the earcups fully — so with the flick of a switch, you hear yourself, others, and everything else like you aren't wearing a headset at all.

Conversation Mode lets you gain the same awareness while enjoying content — so you can pause entertainment and noise cancellation simultaneously, chat face-to-face or listen for announcements, and resume where you left off when you're done.

For music, the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 sound amazing for the first song and hours later.

Engineered with proprietary active equalisation, they avoid boosted bass, vocals, and treble that create listener fatigue over time, opting instead for faithful reproduction: clear, natural, and balanced.

All-day comfort and battery life, super-simple controls

The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 were built to last, built to use and feature gorgeous stainless-steel, premium components, with fewer visible screws, seams and joints than the industry standard.

It distributes weight across the headband for all-day comfort and has up to 20 hours of battery life for all-day use.

For streamlined control, capacitive touch works for common commands like answering and ending calls, muting audio, changing volume, pausing your music or skipping tracks.

There are three buttons — one for powering on and off, one to access noise cancellation levels and one for your chosen VPA.

The Bose Music app lets you customise and change preferences, update software, access additional features — and features to come.

Details and availability

The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 fold flat with one twist of the earcups and store neatly in a thin tapered hardcase that slides more easily into bags, backpacks, and seat-pockets.

Available in black from August 15 from Bose.com, Bose stores and select resellers, with silver to be announced at a later date.

More details on the Bose Earbuds 500 and Noise Cancelling Earbuds 700 will be available closer to their launch.