Bose Sleepbuds are back from the dead under a new brand
Ex-Bose employees acquired the technology behind the now dead Bose Sleepbuds, launched a crowdfunder and are now shipping them as ‘Ozlo’.
Bose Sleepbuds were first launched in 2018, got a sequel in 2020, then killed last year. Although perhaps not enough of an audience to continue production, those who did buy them, loved them. Enough for three former Bose employees to start their own brand, acquire the IP and resurrect the Sleepbuds. The Ozlo Sleepbuds brought in almost $10 million on Indiegogo and Kickstarter from over 35,000 backers. Now, after a year, the Ozlo Sleepbuds are available to the public.
Anyone familiar with the Bose Sleepbuds will recognize the design. Both the buds and case are almost identical to the original Sleepbuds, apart from the Ozlo logos. As sleep-focused earbuds, the primary goal is a comfortable fit for all-night wearing. This comes from a low profile design, soft silicone tips and wing-tips for stability. There are four in-ear and wing-tip sizes included in the box, including XS, S, M and L.
As with the previous models, there are no microphones for calls and no active noise cancellation. Instead noise cancellation comes from both the in-ear seal and noise-masking, which plays soothing sounds over sleep-distrupting noises, like snoring, city sounds and partying neighbors. Sleep Sounds are built-in to the buds themselves, meaning they can be played without a phone connected, saving the battery life of the buds too.
One big addition over Bose’s Sleepbuds is music streaming. Despite it’s $250 price mark, the Bose Sleepbuds could not stream music from a device, instead solely focusing on built-in sounds. The Ozlo Sleepbuds can stream audio from any app via Bluetooth and using biometric sensors, can automatically switch over to the noise-masking sounds when they detect you’ve fallen asleep, helping you not lose the place in your podcast or audiobook.
There’s an Ozlo Sleep app to control settings, including an in-ear personal alarm, that wakes only you up. Once setup in the app, this feature can run independently of a connected device.
The battery in the earbuds are good for a whole night, at up to 10 hours of noise masking or audio streaming on a single charge. There are up to 4 charges in the case. Unfortunately, there’s no wireless charging here. The case charges via USB-C. A USB-C to USB-A charging cable is included in the box.
There are sensors on the case to monitor noise, light and temperature, as well as accelerometers in the earbuds that can detect movement. Coming via a free firmware update in 2025, you will receive a personalized sleep report each day based on what the sensors picked up.
One thing that hasn’t changes from Bose’s take on the Sleepbuds is the expensive price tag. In fact the Ozlo Sleepbuds are an extra $50, at $299. They are available to order today on Amazon. There is also a $20 per month subscription option on the Ozlo website, with free shipping returns. This may be a better option for those on the fence, willing to give them a go. Sleepbuds are the first product from Ozlo. It will be interesting to watch this company grow over time.