Bose is launching new earbuds called Sleepbuds II, but the applications for these new earbuds are quite different from typical wireless earbuds. And it comes with an unfortunate legacy.

The $250/230-pound earbuds, which will be released on October 6 and are currently available for pre-order, specialize more in helping users get a good night's sleep than in playing music in high quality. Its unique features mean that, despite its high price, it should be of interest to many sleepless potential customers.

The original Bose Sleepbuds were discontinued in late 2019 after chronic battery issues that caused some users to experience unexpected switch-offs at night and others to find their batteries unable to charge higher than 58%. This is something Bose has publicly stated in a behind-the-scenes blog post. However, despite the problems it faced in designing the original Buds, Bose says it has attracted eager users who are looking for a successor to this unique, but junky, product.

Bose claims the Sleepbuds II offer 10 hours of playback time and an additional 30 hours in the charging case.

Rather than playing songs from their preferred music streaming service, the Sleepbuds play locally stored songs selected from a selection of songs provided via Bose's Sleep app. These songs are a selection of soothing tunes, nature sounds, and noise-masking sounds, and can be set to shuffle through downloaded songs or repeat one song throughout the night. This is part of Bose's "cover and replace" strategy for unwanted sounds, which the company claims is better for sleep than the usual noise-canceling methods found in other earphones and headphones.

They feature a unique gel ear-tip design (three sizes are included in the box), specially designed anti-friction material to prevent unwanted squeaks, a new antenna for more reliable connection to cell phones, and are much lighter than the average earbud, making them easy to wear all night long They are also much lighter than average earbuds, making them easy to wear all night long. Unlike regular earbuds, they fit well until you rest your head on something, at which point they start squeaking when you press your head against them or try to get comfortable.

We expect the Sleepbuds II to be a big improvement over the original; our review of the Bose Sleepbuds found that their uncomfortable design made it difficult to get a good night's sleep. The lack of sleep-tracking capabilities and the high price tag were also a drawback.

If these don't sound like what you want from a new pair of wireless earphones, Bose has another option in the form of the QuietComfort earphones. These are the more common ANC-equipped earbuds and should provide a strong competitor to the AirPods Pro, which will be available on September 29.