The new Bose 700 look very sleek, modern, and minimalist.
The Bose 700 design is a welcome change over the aging QC 35 design.
They look a little foreign to Bose — even generic, if I'm being harsh. But that's probably because when I think of Bose headphones, I think of that iconic design from the QC 35s.
But the Bose 700 headphones usher in a brand new line of noise-cancelling headphones, and given time, I'll likely start to accept the new design as decidedly Bose.
There are fewer lines, seams, and screws, and part of the headband is made of stainless steel, which looks and feels more premium than the plasticky build of the QC 35s.
To be logical, headphone design and the way they feel when you hold them shouldn't be a consideration at all when you're picking out headphones. Headphone companies should focus on sound rather than looks.
But design and feel are certainly relevant, especially when you're paying a premium or planning to wear them outside the house or when traveling. Bose has finally adopted some premium materials to make their headphones feel like they're worth their price tag.
Worthy of note, however, the new Bose 700 headphones don't fold up like the QC 35s do. That instantly makes them less travel-friendly, which is going to be a bummer for some. Still, you can lay them out flat and they'll fit perfectly in most backpacks.
They felt comfortable and lightweight when I tried them on, but I only wore the Bose 700 for about five minutes.
The true comfort test will come when I wear the Bose 700 for a few hours. If they're anything like the Bose QC 35s, the 700s should be comfortable for hours on end.
The noise cancelling seemed better than on the QC 35s, but my demo wasn't a real-world test.
I was in a room with ambient noise coming from speakers, and the music was turned up pretty high, which doesn't quite give the best idea of how the Bose 700 perform in the real world.
Bose says the 700 headphones come with the company's next generation of noise-cancellation technology. If it's any better than the QC 35's fantastic noise cancellation, I think we'd all be pretty impressed.
The one demo I experienced that offered a real-world test was the noise cancellation for phone calls, and it was pretty amazing.
During the demo, Bose engineer Ken Jacob called another Bose representative who was sitting inside a noisy coffee shop across the street.
At first, the call was patched through the original Bose QC 35s, and while I could hear and understand what was being said during the call, there was a ton of ambient noise from the coffee shop's background music and conversations from patrons.
When the Bose representative in the coffee shop switched the connection to the Bose 700, suddenly the coffee shop's music and ambient noise went silent. Some ambient noise would come through the call when the representative talked, but the call was much clearer and the ambient noise was a lot less distracting.
Essentially, what Bose is doing here is sharing its noise cancellation technology with whoever you're speaking to during a phone call. The only thing a Bose 700 owner would need to worry about is if the person they're talking to is in a noisy place and doesn't have the same pair of headphones.
Cutting out the ambient noise around you will also make it easier for your smart assistant, like Google Assistant, Apple's Siri, or Amazon's Alexa, to better understand you if you're in a noisy environment.
They sound fantastic, but that's hardly surprising.
Indeed, I had no complaints about audio quality on the Bose 700 headphones. They sounded clear and natural on the one track I listened to.
I'll have more time to put the Bose 700 through its paces when I get a pair to review, and again, if they're anything like the QC 35, pretty much everyone will be pleased.
I wouldn't judge if you pre-ordered the new Bose 700 before they're fully reviewed.
The new Bose 700 look and sound like absolute winners, based on my short time with them so far.
They look great, they sound fantastic, the noise cancellation is bound to be stellar, and the improvements in phone call quality — especially with reducing ambient noise during the call — is incredible.
So far, the new Bose 700 seem to make the most of the extra $50 you'd pay over the QC 35.
With that said, I can't say outright that you should pre-order them based on my short hands-on time. I wouldn't shake my head if you did, but you're not going to get the headphones much earlier if you pre-order them now. As with any product, it's always best to check out the full reviews before spending your hard earned cash.
The new Bose 700s launch June 30.
