Sleeper Hit? Not Quite, As Bose Discontinues Its $379 Sleepbuds

Sleeper Hit? Not Quite, As Bose Discontinues Its $379 Sleepbuds

After just over a year on the market, Bose has now discontinued its $379 Sleepbuds, citing issues with the product’s built-in batteries and faulty charging.

Before discontinuing the Sleepbuds, Bose attempted to address user complaints through a series of software and firmware updates. However, when issues persisted, Bose finally made the decision to discontinue the Sleepbuds, with a notice on Bose’s website from general manager John Roselli saying “that while the battery we chose functions safely, it doesn’t work as consistently or predictably as it should to meet our standards.”

Thankfully, for any Sleepbuds owners currently plagued by a faulty device, Bose will continue to honour the product’s warranty while also allowing customers to return the product for a full refund until December 31, 2019.

This move by Bose is somewhat disappointing, as Gizmodo reviewed the Sleepbuds at launch and praised them for making it easier to fall asleep without disturbing a partner with gadgets like a white noise speaker.

That said, between its clunky controls, not having a real Bluetooth connection and being limited to just a handful of white noise sounds (instead of music or other audio sources), the resulting product had limited appeal. And that’s before you factor in the Sleepbuds’ $379 price tag.

While it’s unclear when Bose might release a new version of the Sleepbuds with better charging and updated features, it seems the idea of sleep-friendly earbuds isn’t totally dead yet, as Bose says “We’ll go back to research, because we are committed to making our vision a reality.”

But for now, it’s time for the Sleepbuds to say goodnight.


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