Bose

Bose's $99 wired noise-canceling earbuds ship October 15, its first new wired pair in 11 years. The early impressions come from a late-stage prototype.

If you liked the idea of open earbuds but found them too quiet, the $299 Ultra Open 2nd Gen targets exactly that. Workout buyers now get a cheaper, sweat-rated option.

These trade noise cancellation for an open fit, and everything known so far comes from app code rather than Samsung, so the feature list is not final.

Sleepbuds 2 drop to $279 with 14-hour battery, from the team that built Bose's original.

Samsung is reportedly copying a form factor Xiaomi launched six months ago. The follower is now the headline.

Noise-canceling earbuds are great right up until you need to hear a human. Open-ear skips the awkward one-earbud-out dance entirely.