Bose’s new wired earbuds are simple in the best way
The sales chart is the real story. Wired earbuds went up this year after five years of decline, and that reversal lines up with what I see in my own life: people getting tired of Bluetooth's little indignities. Dead cases, pairing hiccups, the dread of dropping a tiny bud down a subway grate. A cord removes all of that.
Bose stepping in with a wired product is a smart counter-move. Most premium audio brands have gone all-in on wireless, so there's little competition in this space. The "cool" factor the summary mentions is real too. There's a retro appeal to a cord, a kind of intentionality that wireless earbuds lost once they became invisible accessories.
I'd want to know the price and how they sound, obviously, but the bigger question is whether this is a blip or a genuine shift. One year of growth after five down years could just be nostalgia. Still, I like the direction. A good wired earbud is the most honest product in audio: no batteries, no software, just sound. If Bose gets that right, they'll have earned the resurgence.