Bose is lookin’ for a piece of the google assistant action

Bose Headphones ft. Google Assistant

Whenever Bose releases a new product, there’s usually something worth getting excited about.

Bose’s newest iteration, however—a seemingly pedestrian set of Bluetooth headphones—comes with a surprising twist: they have built-in connection to Google Assistant.

Not Now, Siri

Bose’s QuietComfort 35 II Bluetooth headphones can use Google Assistant in a variety of ways. One must only press the corresponding button on the set to trigger the Google Assistant menu on your phone, at which point Google Assistant can begin taking spoken cues.

For example, if you’re cooking (or otherwise preoccupied with a nine-finger operation) and you hear your phone buzz, you can ask Google Assistant to read aloud the message or answer a call.

Likewise, you can have Google Assistant report on the weather, alert you about an appointment, and even gently serenade you with the news.

The headphones themselves include robust sound cancellation and reportedly crisp audio, allowing you to concentrate on your music and your interaction with Google Assistant without fear of interference.

Strange Hardware

This hardware link to a non-branded app is somewhat of a unicorn in the tech world. To put it into perspective, the Google Assistant button on a pair of Bose headphones is a bit like Sony slapping a Siri button onto a pair of theirs—relatively unprecedented, but extraordinarily helpful.

Google Assistant is, of course, most commonly associated with Android operating systems, but you can download the Google Assistant app for use on an iOS device as well if that’s your thing. Naturally, the Google Assistant integration may not work the same way, so you might run into some bugs if you decide to go down that road.

Practical Uses

There are too many instances in which you might want to interact with your phone without having to use it to count, but some common scenarios include things like working out, the aforementioned cooking example, and even office work.

This should go without saying, but you probably shouldn’t use any aspect of the QC35 headphones—Google Assistant or otherwise—while driving.

Bluetooth headphones that allow two-way interfacing between you and your device aren’t new by any stretch, but Bose certainly adds a nice touch to the pre-existing model, and the physical Google Assistant switch is a definite plus.

#BoseAssist