Bose’s new wired earbuds are simple in the best way

After Apple courageously removed the headphone jack from the iPhone in 2016, most people switched to Bluetooth earbuds and never looked back. But their wired counterparts have stuck around, and their sales even went up this year after five years of decline.

Part of the resurgence can be tied to the fact that they’re cool now with younger generations — following the revival of tape decks and vinyl. Celebrities have been spotted wearing them, and there’s even an Instagram account that follows the trend. Wired earbuds have real benefits. They don’t need a battery, so they’ll last longer than wireless ones that eventually die, and it’s a lot harder to lose a wired pair with a long cable than a single earbud.

Now, after more than a decade, Bose has returned to the wired world, but the Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds are no throwbacks.

The $99 Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds connect over USB-C, so they don’t need an extra dongle to work with current phones. That’s also how they can offer ANC. Because the 3.5mm or 4.4mm analog audio connector doesn’t provide enough power for active noise cancellation, most wired earbuds, from cheap off-brands to wildly expensive audiophile in-ear monitors, rely on passive isolation only. Bose’s last attempt at wired in-ears with ANC, 2013’s QuietComfort 20, had a 3.5mm jack, and their ANC relied on a rechargeable battery in the cable. The new Bose earbuds don’t need the battery pack; they can get the minimal power they need for ANC from the USB-C port.

There are a few other USB-C wired headphones with active noise cancellation, but not many. There’s also the $30 Belkin SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds, which reportedly have weak noise canceling, and Audio-Technica released a pair in Asia earlier this year.

The best part of the Bose earbuds, or any wired earbuds, is that they’re simple. No need to worry about pairing them, no need to charge them, and no need to fiddle with an app. Plug them into the USB-C port on a phone or computer and they just work.

While the noise canceling performance doesn’t measure up to Bose’s Bluetooth earbuds (the wired earbuds have two mics per side, while the QuietComfort Earbuds have three), it’s still solid for the price. It does a great job blocking low-frequency sounds like air conditioners and low truck rumbles, but has difficulty muting conversation (with ANC on, I can’t hear our air conditioner at all, but can make out every word of my wife’s phone conversation as I write this). There’s a slight high-end hiss when the noise canceling is active, but it’s only noticeable when they aren’t playing any sound.

And they sound great. Vocals are clear and bright, and bass is punchy without overwhelming other instruments. I wouldn’t mind being able to cut down the high-end brightness a bit (mainly to tame cymbal ringing), but since these don’t use an app there are no EQ options. The wired connection allows for low latency, so there’s no worry about sound and video lining up, and they support high-res audio at 24-bit/48kHz. I went back and forth between CD quality (16-bit/44.1kHz) and high-res streams of the new release of The Beatles’ Rubber Soul on Qobuz, and the high-res versions sounded a bit more open and spacious. It’s not an enormous difference, but I’d listen to the high-res version on the Bose over the CD-level stream any day.

The in-line remote has three buttons that control volume, playback, and noise-canceling mode selection. They respond quickly when pressed and have a nice rubberized texture. The headphones come with three ear tip sizes and two sets of wings to find a good fit (you don’t even need to use the wings if you find them uncomfortable). I was easily able to find a comfortable combination and they stayed securely in my ears for hours. The earbuds are also IPX4 rated if there’s a light rain while you’re out or you want to use them on a run.

Even with the benefits of wired earbuds, though, nostalgia can’t wipe away the frustrations. If you don’t run the 4.2-foot cable under your shirt, or coil up the excess in your jacket pocket, it catches on everything. In my short time with the Bose, the cable caught on the handle of a kitchen drawer, the edge of my keyboard, the zipper of my sweatshirt, the strap of a bag I was carrying, my pocket (when I accidentally stuffed too much of the excess in with my phone), and even the hand of a stranger who got too close to me in line at Starbucks.

And as with any wired earbuds, there’s cable noise, as vibrations from rubbing or bumping against something travel up the cable to be heard in the earbuds. Although I will say the cable insulation is enough to minimize the effect better than cheap (and older) options.

The Bose struggle with wind. The microphones for noise canceling or transparency mode pick up the wind noise, and it’s distracting — with ANC on, it cuts out the low-end whoosh decently, but the high end is still incredibly present. I found turning it off was best when it was windy outside, although that meant compromising on the noise canceling.

Call quality also isn’t the best. The microphone is on the in-line remote, and it picks up a good amount of ambient sound during calls. If you regularly make calls while walking busy streets, these aren’t the earbuds for you.

I’m not ready to go back to 2016 and convert back to wired earbuds. In most situations, the benefits of wireless earbuds outweigh those of wired ones, and I don’t see that changing for me. But for the ease of use, convenience of a USB-C connection, lack of lag, high-res capability, sound quality, and the fact they include ANC, the Bose are unquestionably the best affordable wired option out there.

Photography by John Higgins / The Verge