Tomorrow’s Tech, Today: Innovation That Moves Us Forward
- Sleepbuds 2 offer 14 hours battery life; charging case stores two to three nights and adds a play or snooze button.
- Sleepbuds 2 improve Bluetooth with longer range, redesigned antenna, and dedicated pairing controls for more reliable connections.
- Sleepbuds 2 add a built-in amplifier, improved sound masking, and personalized tuning modes like Spoken Word, Airplane, Focus, Balanced.
- Expanded sleep insights: biometrics track breathing and movement; the case monitors sound, light, and temperature; AI sleep buddy planned.
Ozlo, the sleep earbuds startup from former Bose engineers, is launching its next device. On Tuesday, the company unveiled Sleepbuds 2, an updated version of its original product that tackles key areas of improvement, including battery life, connectivity, and sound quality. The new model costs $279, a 12% increase from its predecessor.
The launch marks Ozlo’s first major update since the release of its original device and reflects the company’s evolution from a continuation of Bose’s brand into its own sleep platform.
The original Sleepbuds, launched in late 2024, were meant to fill the hole left by Bose’s departure from the category the year prior. Ozlo’s co-founders, N.B. Patil, Brian Mulcahey, and Charlie Taylor, were Bose veterans who had been deeply involved with the Sleepbuds program and saw the potential to continue the business. They acquired and licensed the Sleepbuds research and IP for their new company, Ozlo, making its first product essentially a continuation of Bose’s earlier efforts.
The initial earbuds, which now have more than 200,000 customers, were smaller and more low-profile than AirPods. This made them more comfortable to wear at night, especially for side sleepers. They also offered built-in sleep sounds, Bluetooth streaming, passive noise blocking, an in-ear alarm, sleep tracking, and other features.
The Sleepbuds 2 promise a range of improvements, including, most notably, 14 hours of battery life instead of roughly 10 hours. Plus, the charging case can now store enough power for two to three nights of use per charge and adds a button that lets users play a sleep sound or snooze the alarm without reaching for their phone.
The update also tackles one of customers’ biggest complaints: Bluetooth connectivity, which could be flaky, although software updates improved it over time. Ozlo claims the Sleepbuds 2 offer longer Bluetooth range, a more reliable connection, and dedicated pairing controls for faster setup. The improvements come from a redesigned antenna and extender, Ozlo said.
The audio system has also been updated with a built-in amplifier for better sound masking and improved sound quality. Personalized sound tuning is new, too, optimizing audio for specific use cases such as Spoken Word, Airplane mode, and Focus mode, in addition to a Balanced mode.
Another new feature is a Sleep Shield, which will block incoming calls, alerts, notifications, and Bluetooth audio streaming. This works if the user hasn’t already enabled their phone’s built-in sleep focus mode.
Ozlo’s sleep insights have expanded to include more details around sleep patterns. The biometrics in the buds monitor breathing and movement, while the case monitors room conditions, such as the sound levels, light, and temperature. This can help wearers learn which sleep environments lead to deeper, more restorative sleep, helping them improve their sleep over time.
The company outlined its plans to become a broader platform for sleep data during an interview with TechCrunch at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, including plans to use AI to better interpret users’ sleep patterns. It is also developing an AI “sleep buddy” with which users could chat about their sleep data.
To kick off the launch, Ozlo is offering a sleep mask and travel case with each purchase for a limited time. The $279 Sleepbuds 2 also ship with four pairs of silicone ear tips in different sizes, the charging case, and a USB-C cable.
As an aside, I purchased my own Ozlo Sleepbuds after reading initial reviews of the product and found them to be an effective tool for blocking out noise and streaming sounds and music, and far more comfortable than sleeping in my AirPods. They never fell out overnight, either.
However, I found that I prefer streaming from the Calm app instead of using Ozlo’s built-in sounds. (Apparently, I’m not alone: Ozlo and Calm partnered on a co-branded case last year that included a year’s subscription to Calm’s library of sleep sounds, stories, and other sleep experiences.)
I’m looking forward to trying the new Sleepbuds 2 to see if they’re worth the upgrade for an existing Sleepbuds owner like me.
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