Bose SoundSport Free
Just yesterday, Tom’s Guide noted that Bose’s “AirPod Killers” are “finally” on sale. This means that instead of the ridiculous price of $249, they are now at an overpriced $199. The fact that Bose has put these “on sale” most likely means they aren’t selling as well as expected. And there is a reason for that.
In a hands-on review last October, this blog said they may be the best wireless standalone earbuds out there now. They still may be — in terms of sound — but that’s really not saying much. After using them a lot more, I’ve noticed a couple flaws. First, for voice calls, you can only use one earbud. And even in one earbud, the voice calls don’t sound that great. Then, there are also connection issues at times. The connection issues aren’t as bad as they are with Sony’s flawed WF-1000X earbuds.
The point is that there are still no earbuds on the market that hit all the right spots. There are no earbuds that offer noise isolation options along with rich sound, great battery life, and great phone quality. The AirPods, however, come close. They have great sound (depending on how deep you can fit them in your ear), good battery life, and good phone quality (except when you are in a very busy place).
The AirPods are still the best wireless earbuds on the market, but that's not saying much.
Apple’s buds do not, however, have any type of noise isolation. This is good for those who want to keep them in their ears all day and still be able to hear everything around them. But it would also be great if they had an option to bury other sound. When you use the AirPods on a train, you’ll understand exactly what I’m talking about.
I honestly thought Bose would be the first company to hit all the right boxes with their earbuds. As a matter of fact, I’m told that Bose initially wanted to have the SoundSport Free buds released during the summer, but they held them back so they could perfect some issues. I wish they would have held them back longer. It’s so frustrating using them, because they sound really good, but make you want more than just the good sound. You want the SoundSport Free to be the only audio product for your ears, but they just can’t be.
So, Bose has done what Sony has just done — reduced the price and disguise it as a “sale.” Will this attract buyers? I certainly don’t think so. But I’m confident that Bose will hit all the right spots with the next version of the SoundSport Free.
