Bose, a globally recognised manufacturer of headphones, earbuds, speakers, and soundbars, has announced to discontinue its Bose Frames line of audio glasses.
Five years after Bose launched the Frames as part of an audio augmented reality initiative, the company has only one model left, the Frames Tempo, with the price dropped by half.
“Bose is in the process of phasing out Frames,” Digital Trends quoted the company as saying.
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We were told that “the majority of our inventory is sold through. You might see some on the Bose website between now and the holidays, but by the end of the year, they will no longer be available,” Boss said in an email sent to Digital Trends.
The company said that all active warranties will remain intact for the existing Bose Frames owners.
The Bose Frames, which are glasses that play audio, got different opinions from people since they first came out. Most people agreed that the concept of combining sunglasses or regular glasses with speakers and microphones built-in is a good idea.
However, there's a problem with the sound quality that often let people down, making it not as good as it could be. In 2021, a reviewer from Digital Trends named Andy Boxall expressed this by saying: "Bluetooth audio smartglasses are a waste of space on your face."
Even though people didn't like the idea of putting speakers, microphones, cameras, and screens on our faces, the industry is still trying. Bose has stopped its Frames, but Meta and Ray-Ban are working a lot on their smart glasses, with Amazon having released its third generation of Echo Frames.
This isn't the first time Bose is stepping back from a product. In 2021, they introduced the Bose Sport Open, which were the first open-ear earbuds, but they were later discontinued in late 2022.
However, Bose now seems to be the only company not having open-ear earbuds on its shelves.
Despite having discontinued two open-ear products in a row, the company said “We haven’t abandoned the open-ear category,” indicating at a temporary pause and a will to again venture out in this niche.