Bose’s QuietComfort 35 headphones are probably my favourite noise-cancelling headphones ever. I lost my pair a month ago on a flight out of China, and the memory still pains me. Lo and behold, what should Bose do but release a new model, the QuietComfort 35 II, with a dedicated button for activating Google’s voice-powered Assistant.
Guys, I could turn on the lights in my house with my headphones.
The new QuietComfort 35 IIs — or QC35 IIs, I guess — will cost the same $499.95 RRP as the first generation, but have one addition that seems minor at first glance — that dedicated Google Assistant button on the right earcup, which calls up Google Assistant on any phone running Android 7.0 or newer. This is the first implementation of Google Assistant in any pair of headphones, and it uses all of Bose’s multiple noise-cancelling mics already built in.
Triggering Google Assistant on your headphones won’t light up your Android phone’s display like a long-press on the home button or speaking “OK Google” currently does; this makes sense since the entire point of a dedicated button on your headphones is so you can keep your phone in your pocket. But all the same functionality, like asking a question and getting a voice response with an answer, or activating Google Home-connected devices, should work.
There’s an advantage for Apple fans, too: if you want to use the QC35 IIs with an iPhone, you’ll be able to configure that button using the Bose Connect app to adjust the strength of the headphones’ noise cancellation. And that play button can still activate Siri if you hold it down. You can get the QC 35 IIs in either silver or black — but come on, just look at the black. It looks too good not to buy. [Bose]
[clear]