The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are built off the legendary performance of the popular QC models to "transform the most demanding environments into private sanctuaries for listening," as the company describes the experience, incentivizing the use of headphones in virtually any location. With the new 700 model, Bose is introducing a new platform, combining a series of new, pioneering technologies that allow users to use headphones in public spaces, for talking with friends, family, and interact with virtual personal assistants.
"With their exclusive innovation, the 700s isolate a user’s voice from 360 degrees of unwanted sound. And that lets Bose 700 owners do what’s never been done. Surrounded by competing 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 announcement states.
Bose also explains that the announcement of the new Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 effectively kicks-off a trio of headphone innovations from Bose, adding also two new truly wireless in-ears. Also available this year will be the new super-compact truly wireless Bose Earbuds 500, which will be followed in 2020 by the new truly wireless Bose Noise Cancelling Earbuds 700. Also important is the new price level for the new generation of products, not only more technically advanced but also more affordable. the Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are schedule to be available on June 30 for just $399, 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 Brian Maguire, category director, Bose headphones. “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. Pairing our phones and headphones have given us more freedom for calls, and lets us use our personal assistants to get things done. But there are still barriers, and we’ve all experienced them. Our VPA doesn’t understand what we said and dials the wrong number. Or botches our text, so we send it ourselves. Or we’re forced to manually open an app, or hang-up because we’re shouting over a crowd. Noise cancelling headphones have always helped us hear better — but we need to be heard better, too. And no mobile device has solved that problem. No phone, no headphone, and no combination of the two. But the Bose Noise Cancelling 700 changes that. And we can’t wait for people to experience the difference it makes.”
Improved Experiences
The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 have 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 the user's ears. Two of those microphones combine with two others to dramatically improve voice pickup. A beamform-array isolates speech, suppressing everything else that’s audible. A rejection-array adds a second line of defense, tracking and then blocking the most disruptive remaining sound — from a coffee grinder to other dialogue nearby.
All the microphone capturing and related audio processing happens in real-time — adapting as the user moves, turns his head, and the environment changes. And the platform works with any VPA, any phone paired to the 700s, or any phone or phone/headphone combination on the far-end. And it works from anywhere, whether the user is talking to people or machines. On audio and video calls, people on the other end will hear what the user is saying — not the TV in the room, or the person next to him. For voicemails, the user's voice is perfectly recorded, and whether the user is asking for directions or a playlist, dictating a text or email, turning on the home alarm or the air-conditioning, Siri, the Google Assistant, and Alexa will help — because now, they can hear the commands more clearly.
Apart from the next-generation Bose noise cancellation technology for improved noise reduction, the Bose 700 uses sophisticated electronic circuitry that eliminates the “hiss” regularly heard in other headphones. Combined, the technologies 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 enables the surrounding sounds pass-through the earcups fully — so with the flick of a switch, the user will hear himself, others, and everything else like not even wearing a headset at all.
The new Conversation Mode allows users to gain to the same environmental awareness while enjoying content — so they can pause entertainment and noise cancellation simultaneously, chat face-to-face or listen for announcements, and resume where they left off when done. For music, the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 were engineered with proprietary active equalization, avoiding boosted bass, vocals, and treble that create listener fatigue over time, opting instead for faithful natural, balanced reproduction.
The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 were also designed to be used and last longer, featuring stainless-steel, premium components, and fewer visible screws, seams, and joints than the industry standard. The design distributes the weight across the headband for all-day comfort and the built-in battery supports up to 20 hours of use. For streamlined control, capacitive touch works for common commands, like answering and ending calls, muting audio, changing volume, pausing music, or skipping tracks. There are three buttons — one for powering on and off, one to access noise cancellation levels, and one to activate the configured voice personal assistant (VPA).
The Bose Music app also allows users to customize and change preferences, update software, access additional features — and features to come.
The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 work with any native VPA. The Google Assistant and Alexa are already integrated for faster, easier access. An out-of-box software update is also available for wake word access to Alexa. Once downloaded, the user just needs to say “Alexa” — like it would with a smart-speaker at home.
"The 700 headphones are also Bose AR-enabled to use with a developing ecosystem of apps that add a layer of audio over the real-world based on where you are, and what you’re facing. And other software features are on the horizon, including noise-masking tracks that add a layer of soothing sounds over the blank-canvas of Bose noise cancellation for intense relaxation and focus," Bose also reveals.
The 700's 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. They come in Black and Silver, and will be sold directly from Bose.com, Bose stores, and select resellers. More details on the Bose Earbuds 500 and Noise Cancelling Earbuds 700 will be available closer to their launch.
www.bose.com
