Bose claims the latest QuietComfort 45 headphones come with world-beating ANC, 24-hour battery life and high-fidelity audio

Bose QuietComfort is a name often encountered as something else to think about when considering the purchase of headphones such as those of the Sony WH-1000XM series. Then again, even the 35-series generation suffers from some disadvantages in comparison, particularly as they launched with micro-USB rather than type-C ports for charging. However, the iconic US-based audio OEM has finally addressed this potential drawback in the new QuietComfort (or QC) 45s.

Bose estimates that this upgrade allows the QC45s to charge from 0 to 100% in 2.5 hours, or enough for 2.5 hours' worth of playback after just 15 minutes of charging. Otherwise, the headphones look much like their predecessors, with the exception that the ruffled look to the outer rim of their earcups has been ironed out in the 45s. Nevertheless, their maker still asserts that the levels of silence and user enjoyment is in force the second the user puts them on.

This is achieved at least in part to something Bose calls Acoustic Noise Cancelling technology, based on "more than 50 years" of in-house research. Therefore, it may not seem like the personal-audio spec usually indicated by its acronym; however, as Bose describes it as a technique by which external mics constantly monitor environmental noise so that the QC45s' internals can adapt to and neutralize it on the fly, the 2 definitions pretty much amount to the same thing.

On the other hand, the new QC45s also support Aware Mode, by which some outside sounds are dialled back in so the user can stay alert to their surroundings while out in the world. Bose also, of course, claims to have packed its expertise in terms of actual playback into the new headphones, with developments such as its "exclusive" TriPort acoustic architecture and a "volume-optimized" active equalizer.

The new headphoness are also rated to fit right in with their first-party ecosystem, with Bose SimpleSync to co-ordinate seamlessly with any speakers or other products from the same brand around the user's house, voice-assistant support baked into their physical multi-function button and the Bose Music app for easy set-up on an Android or iOS device.

Therefore, the QuietComfort 45s now seem primed to pop right up in search results alongside other headphones typically pitched at a premium experience, their own 700 siblings included. They come in either Smoke White or Black, and are available to pre-order for US$329 from bose.com right now, for shipping on or around September 23, 2021.