Bose Sleepbuds II
ANC, 10 h, Wireless
Sleepbuds II: is the second version a winner?
11.1.2021
Revision: Veronica Bielawski
Bose is having another go at banishing sleepless nights. The second generation of Sleepbuds is here. It might be better than the first but it still draws some negative feedback.
Sleepbuds are earbuds that are designed to help you fall asleep. Playing relaxing sounds via the Bose app is meant to send you off to dreamland. But you still can’t play any music on the second generation earbuds, which look almost identical to the first. You can only play relaxing sounds from the app. Yip, even though they’re headphones.
The first version had to be discontinued because of battery problems (article in German), but the second version is here. I set out to see if the new buds can do more than their predecessor, and if they actually make me sleep better. As it happens, I have the perfect test conditions at home. There’s a building site in front of my flat that gets worked on day and night. And I live with a snorer.
Noise sealing: masking rather than cancelling
When I put the Sleepbuds in my ears, I’m initially surprised that I need a different eartip for each ear. I should say that the buds come with three different sized eartips. Once I insert the largest eartip in my right ear, the Sleepbuds already seal off the noise passively rather well. But in my left ear, the large eartip hurts, so I switch to the medium size. Meanwhile, the small eartip doesn’t give me as much passive noise cancelling. On the plus side, neither of the earphones hurts my ears.
As with the first generation, the new Sleepbuds incorporate what Bose calls noise-masking rather than noise-cancelling technology. This means they drown out background noise rather than reduce it.
In my case, they manage to drown out low-pitched sounds well. I can’t hear snoring when I have the Sleepbuds set to half volume. The problem is, half volume is too loud for me to fall asleep. I seem to remember the first generation being a lot quieter. On that point, Bose mentions that the noise-suppressing audio has been optimised with a more powerful driver. That’ll be why I don’t hear as much rubbing against the pillow. With the first version, the surface of the buds would make a squeaking or rubbing noise when pressed against the pillow. But now it’s better.
If you turn the bud volume down – you can do this smoothly in the app – you’ll obviously hear more noise, which will stop you drifting off. Even with the buds set at a quarter of the volume, I can clearly hear the snoring next to me. What’s more, the buds don’t manage to mask the noise from the building site enough to prevent it being bothersome. If loud sounds from the app don’t disturb you while you’re sleeping, the Sleepbuds can mask quite a lot of background noise when they’re at mid volume. It’s only high-pitched sounds, such as fire engine sirens or the pneumatic hammers that they use outside my flat at night that come through.
It turned out that I also find the Sleepbuds comfortable for working – and I don’t mean because they make me fall asleep. When I’m working, I don’t always like to listen to music, but at the same time, noise can quickly distract me. Moreover, a louder volume isn’t a problem for me during work hours, and the sound quality is good enough. If the buds could play music, I’d never need to take them out my ears again.
The sounds you get
The Bose app gives you 12 sounds to choose from in the «My Sounds» section. They’re called Rustle, Swell, Warm Static, Rinse, Boardwalk, Window Seat, Starboard, Outbound, Gilded Dream, Fabled, Ode and Wanderlust. It’s a bit annoying that the menu doesn’t list the names of the sounds. Instead, you have to fast-forward and rewind to switch to the next tune. And after a while, all of them start to sound very similar. You can listen to samples of some of the sounds in a large window on this website, if you scroll about halfway down.
But unlike the first version of the Sleepbuds, you can now load other sounds onto the buds via the integrated library on the app. In the sound library, you can also get a better overview of all the sounds, as they’re split into three categories: Noise Masking, Tranquilities and Naturescapes. Once you’ve select a sound in the library, you have to load it onto the Sleepbuds. That only takes a few seconds and two clicks.
According to Bose, more sounds should be added in a future update. I like the waves sound called «Swell» as a holiday sound. But there are some sounds I find annoying, as they’re too tinny.
I do think it’s a bit of a shame you can’t alter the volume or the sound on the Sleepbuds themselves. So, if you want to change anything, you have to reach for your phone. Then the glaring display shines in your face and you’re wide awake again.
The phone-free mode
To get around this, Bose developed a phone-free mode. This lets you use the Sleepbuds even when your phone is switched off or out of Bluetooth range. You turn on phone-free mode by going to Settings. Once it's enabled, your Sleepbuds should then activate as soon as you take them out of the case. Having said that, it didn’t always work reliably for me. Sometimes the buds didn’t do anything, even though the mode was activated. But that doesn’t stop this mode being handy. You can set the sound, volume and length of time you want the buds to play beforehand in the app. If you want to change the sound or volume, you have to first deactivate phone-free mode. But that’s quick enough to do on the first page of the app.
That being said, I find myself frustrated once again that the buds can save sounds but can’t play music. Bose claims that the reasoning behind this is the battery is intentionally small. But maybe it also comes down to the company not wanting to launch the buds as a music player. The sound quality is probably not good enough, and for an established headphone manufacturer like Bose, that could tarnish its reputation.
When your phone rings, it also rings in the Sleepbuds, but you can’t answer the call with the buds.
Neither can you connect the Sleepbuds directly to your mobile in the Bluetooth menu without the app. Unless you’re a hacker. Essentially, the smartphone can’t find the buds without the app.
Compromise: lower quality battery but fewer problems
Compared to the previous version, the Sleepbuds now have less battery life. You get up to ten hours on a single charge. So if you’re a late riser, you’ll run out of battery. But the case itself gives you three full charges. Bose justifies the shorter battery life by saying the buds are so small. According to reports, a lot of people couldn’t charge the original Sleepbuds fully or the buds would switch themselves off. Bose solved this problem by using a different kind of battery. In my experience, the buds always charge completely and they’ve not once taken on a life of their own.
Conversely, the battery indicator isn’t always reliable. Sometimes the buds tell me that I still have two of five battery points left, but they don’t switch on because the battery is actually out. But thanks to the reset option Bose built into the app, I was able to resolve the problem, and the battery indicator worked properly again.
The problem I often had with the first version of the Sleepbuds was that the app couldn’t find the buds. It was very difficult to hook the buds up to the phone, especially when other Bluetooth headphones were already paired. It seems like Bose has resolved this issue too, as I haven’t encountered any problems pairing the buds or keeping them paired.
The buds also have something positive for anyone who sweats a lot in their sleep or has a tendency to spill stuff. The buds are IPX4-certified, which means they’re protected from water splashes.
Verdict: not worth it for most people
«The next-generation Bose Sleepbuds™ II are so much more than an upgrade—they reimagine how we experience sleep.» That’s what Bose says on its website at least. To be fair, Bose has improved a few elements, but the buds still don’t reimagine sleep.
The buds are an investment for people who have trouble sleeping because of noise. But if only brief periods of noise are the problem, you can solve it for a fraction of the cost with earplugs. That’s why I’d say the Sleepbuds are only suited to people who’re constantly exposed to noise. And so, they could also be a worthwhile buy for those with tinnitus. The buds mask outside noises well. But unlike earplugs, you don’t get complete shielding that makes you even more sensitive to noise.
All the same, I’m sticking to my verdict from the first version of the Sleepbuds: they’d be great were it not for the fact they're so expensive. Or if they actually had more features.
If you have any questions about the Sleepbuds 2.0, drop them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Testing devices and gadgets is my thing. Some experiments lead to interesting insights, others to demolished phones. I’m hooked on series and can’t imagine life without Netflix. In summer, you’ll find me soaking up the sun by the lake or at a music festival.