The newest Bose headphones hope to “put an end to sleepless nights” by cancelling out barks, snores and other irritating noises while you sleep — and it’s the smallest product they’ve ever made.
The noise-masking Sleepbuds, as they are called, are small wireless earbuds that you place into your ears while you sleep and block out any honking of taxi cabs, people talking and noisy neighbors as well as other sounds that could disturb your night.
The earbuds connect to the “Bose Sleep” app on your phone, where you can choose which soothing sounds you prefer, out of 10 pre-loaded options. You can also set an alarm of your choice to wake up in the morning. According to Daniel Lee, Bose systems engineer, the company “combined Bose’s noise-isolating StayHear+ tips with soothing sounds that are optimally tuned for masking noises.”
The technology for the earbuds was initially developed by Hush, a startup that was recently acquired by Bose. Hush itself had released a similar product, “Hush smart earplugs,” last year, but the updated technology and its incorporation with Bose make for a higher-standard product.
Bose has taken a new approach with the Sleepbuds by selling prototypes through a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo — through which it’s so far raised over $400,00.. The early bird prices started at $150 but all the test slots are already sold out. They are estimated to cost $249 retail price.
Why is Bose using crowdfunding? According to a Brian Mulcahey, director of emerging business at Bose, “We want to bring customers in earlier than we have traditionally done at Bose, validate the product vision.”
As a light sleeper, a product like this would definitely come in handy, but the fact that I won’t be able to hear my surroundings scares me, too. Definitely worth a try.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.