Bose has discontinued their noise-masking sleepbuds, which launched after a successful Indiegogo campaign that raised over $450,000. The wireless sleepbuds were designed to help users sleep by masking undesired noise with soothing sounds. However, users reported issues with the sleepbuds not fully charging or turning off unexpectedly. Although Bose initially believed a software update would fix the issue, an investigation determined that the sleepbuds had a battery with inconsistent performance. As such, Bose has discontinued the sleepbuds and will offer a refund to anyone who returns the product by December 31, 2019. However, Bose remains "committed to developing innovative solutions to help people sleep."

As evidence of this commitment to innovation, Bose was awarded a patent this week for a Sleep Assistance Device that includes a contactless biometric sensor that detects a user's sleep state. Based on the sensor readings, the device then adjusts sounds to promote relaxation or sleep. As expected, Bose has primarily focused its patent activity in the Consumer Sleep Technology sector in the Environmental - Sound and Devices - Sound categories. Given the success of the Indiegogo campaign, Bose should have some commercial success with the Sleep Assistance Device when it hits the market.