Bose Returns to Wired Earbuds After 11 Years, Adds ANC at $99

Bose has announced its first wired earbuds in 11 years, pricing the new Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds at $99 with preorders open today through Bose's online store.

The company discontinued its previous wired earbud option in 2015, and the new product marks a deliberate reversal of that decision. The design remains tethered, but Bose has folded in active noise canceling — technology the company spent the past decade refining in its wireless QuietComfort and QuietComfort Ultra lineups. The product name is straightforward: Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds.

The $99 preorder price undercuts Bose's wireless portfolio significantly and positions the product as an entry point to the brand's noise-canceling technology. For context within Bose's current lineup, wireless noise-canceling earbuds typically carry substantially higher price tags, so the wired model gives Bose a lower-cost SKU without the bill-of-materials burden of Bluetooth radios, batteries, and charging cases.

The wired format eliminates two recurring pain points that define the wireless earbud experience: battery anxiety and the need to recharge every few days. That trade-off comes at the cost of functionality — The Verge, which first reported the announcement, notes that the earbuds' feature set is limited compared with their wireless siblings. Active noise canceling is the headline addition, carrying over the core technology from 11 years of earbud innovation into a wired form factor.

Bose offers the earbuds in three colors: black, white smoke, and a limited edition shade called dewdrop mint. A specific retail availability date beyond the preorder window was not disclosed in the announcement.

The move signals a broader commercial calculation. Removing the battery and wireless radio from the bill of materials allows Bose to hit a $99 price point while retaining its flagship ANC brand positioning — a combination the company could not deliver profitably in a wireless form factor at that price. The product also serves users in markets and use cases where charging infrastructure or Bluetooth pairing friction matters, from studio and broadcast work to budget-conscious buyers.

For a company whose audio business leans heavily on premium wireless pricing — often $199 to $299 for flagship true-wireless models — a $99 wired ANC product widens the funnel without cannibalizing the top of the lineup. The limited functionality keeps a clear separation between the wired entry product and the wireless flagships.

Bose has not announced a full release date; the earbuds are available for preorder now at $99, and the limited-edition dewdrop mint colorway suggests Bose is testing demand for the form factor before committing broader production capacity to it.