Bose Announces Its Apple AirPods Competitor, The $249 SoundSport Free

Bose announced its first pair of wireless in-ear earphones called the SoundSport Free. The new pair of wireless earphones will be available sometime in early October and will sell for $249.95.

“The SoundSport Free is the closest thing to what people have always wanted in a sport headphone – a technology-packed solution that’s stripped down to just two rugged earbuds that feel great, stay connected, stay in, and sound amazing,” Bose on-the-go products director Brian Maguire said.

Despite being pricier than Apple’s $159 AirPods, Bose’s SoundSport Free is packing a set of features that might convince some consumers to pick it up instead. First off, the Bose SoundSport Free can deliver five hours of battery life. When it needs a charge, users will simply place the wireless earphones inside its magnetic charging case.

The charging case for the SoundSport Free will be able to deliver ten hours additional hours of battery life. The five-hour battery life on the SoundSport Free matches the Apple AirPods, however, the AirPod’s charging case provides additional 24 hours of batter life, as pointed out by MacRumors.

Since Bose is primarily targeting athletic and active-focused users, the SoundSport Free come with StayHear+ sport tips. These are silicone tips that insure the wireless earphones fit comfortably during activities without falling out of the user’s ears. Bose says that the SoundSport Free is also has an IPX4 water and sweat resistance rating. Apple’s AirPods on the other hand don’t have an official water resistance rating of any kind.

Bose’s SoundSport Free don’t come with Apple’s W1 chip, which makes it easier and faster for AirPods and Beats headphones pair up with iOS devices. What the SoundSport Free does have however is a new antennae system which maintains strong and reliable connection between each earphones and the smartphone or tablet they’re paired to.

Bose says that the SoundSport Free won’t get disconnected even if they’re 30 feet away from the device that their connected with. The company also says that its wireless earphones come with a miniature acoustic package that includes the Bose digital signal processing, a volume optimized equalizer and the rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

The SoundSport Free earphones can be tracked easily if a user loses one of them. Users will simply have to download and install the Bose Connect app on their Android or iOS device and activate the new “Find My Buds” feature. This will display the last time and place where the earphones were last used, according to CNET.

The Bose SoundSport Free will be available in two color options: triple black and midnight blue with yellow citron. The triple black model is available to pre-order now and will start shipping in October, while the midnight blue and yellow citrus combo won’t be out until later this year.

Aside from announcing its own pair of AirPods competitors, Bose also announced the new QC35 II wireless headphones which comes integrated with Google Assistant. The new QC35 II is now available from Bose’s website for $349.95.