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The BOSE QuietComfort45 headphones have just been revealed by the FCC — here's your first look

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Out of nowhere, the Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones are about to appear. The over-ear headphones, as discovered by WinFuture, are named and pictured in an FCC filing submitted by Bose itself.

The Bose 700 served as a de facto follow-up to the QuietComfort 35 II, but a true successor appears to be on the way. Bose's active noise-canceling technology is among the best in the industry, so the upgraded pair may be among the best noise-canceling headphones available.

Externally, the design shown in the photos attached to the application is very similar to that of the QuietComfort 35 II. The headband is thicker than the Bose 700, the ear cups are more rounded and convex, and the controls on the QuietComfort 45 also appear to be arranged similarly to the button layout on the 35 II, including a sliding power switch and Bluetooth pairing switch on the right ear cup.

The controls appear to be placed in the same way as the buttons on the 35 II, including a sliding power switch and Bluetooth pairing switch on the right ear cup.

One visible change is the USB-C port on the right ear cup. This could mean that the QuietComfort 45 will support faster charging.

Elsewhere, some of the onboard microphone grilles appear to have moved, but otherwise this pair of ANC headphones looks familiar.

Nothing in the FCC filing mentions pricing, but it would not be surprising if Bose launched the QuietComfort 45 at a more affordable price point than the Bose 700. This reflects the lower MSRP of the QuietComfort 35 II.

Of course, we assume that Bose has not found a way to significantly upgrade the QuietComfort 45's internal hardware; ANC improvements seem obvious, but it will be interesting to see what else Bose has in store. After all, even if the QuietComfort 45 is cheaper than the Bose 700, this pair should challenge the Sony WH-1000XM4, AirPods Max, and other best over-ear headphones.

However, an official release may have to wait a while. As part of the filings, the FCC granted Bose a short-term nondisclosure agreement regarding additional photos and instruction manuals. This agreement expires on January 12, 2022 and could be released around January 10 or 11.