
Rated 4.6/5 on Amazon, These Bose Headphones Are a Few Dollars Shy of a Record Low for Memorial Day
If you're looking for a new pair of headphones, you've probably noticed the large number of options with active noise cancellation. While many brands promise great sound and total escape from the world, only a select few consistently deliver on that promise. Bose is one of those rare names that stands out, and the QuietComfort headphones have become an icon for a reason.
Just before Memorial Day, this classic model is available on Amazon for as little as $229, which is 34% off the regular $349 price. That's only a couple of dollars short of its lowest price ever, so this is one offer not to be blown.
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Our Favorite ANC Headphones
It's not the name brand that separates Bose from the pack: it's the focus on quality, comfort, and user experience. As soon as you wear them, you'll sense the plush earcup cushions that softly cup your ears, and the headband that keeps everything firmly in place. If you've ever struggled with headphones that pinch or feel heavy after an hour or two, you'll appreciate just how effortless it is to wear these Bose models for an entire day.
The real magic of the Bose QuietComfort lies in its noise-cancelling technology which combines both active and passive features to create a truly immersive listening environment. Whether you're trying to drown out the whine of an airplane engine or the chatter of a busy office building, these headphones let you tune out distractions and tune in to what matters most: your music, your shows, or even a little peace and quiet. And when you need to tune back into your environment, Aware Mode allows you to toggle between full noise cancellation and full awareness with a single tap.
With wireless headphones, that kind of battery life is always on our minds. The Bose QuietComfort offers up to 24 hours of playtime from one charge, and if you find yourself momentarily in a pinch, that quick 15-minute charge will give you additional 2.5 hours of playback-funny enough. And if all else fails, and you need to go wired, the provided audio cable with in-line microphone has you covered.
The multipoint Bluetooth connectivity is great because it allows you to move between devices instantly without having to disconnect and reconnect constantly. Whether you're switching from your phone to your laptop or tablet, the experience is seamless and convenient. And with the Bose app, you'll be able to access new features and updates.
Be that as it may, with Memorial Day almost here, opportunities such as this are not common. Bose QuietComfort headphones are not frequently seen this close to their all-time low price. For comfort, for great performance, and reliability, this is a shrewd buy.
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Simple apps for creating deepfaked nudes have produced numerous instances of clear harm, including widespread harassment of women and teen girls. Some of these incidents have led to lawsuits and arrests. There are also legal efforts to crack down on AI-generated nudes and unauthorized 'digital replicas' of real people, including the recently signed Take It Down Act, the No Fakes Act, and a bill passed by the New York State Senate. These apps are unlikely to fall under the purview of anti-deepfake porn laws, though the frequent appearances of celebrities — offered templates that let you make out with both Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Timothee Chalamet — make their status under digital replica rules shakier. For now, they sit in a murky zone between app store and platform moderation policies. Major tech companies have lagged on removing even sexually explicit AI generators, and the status of anything milder on their platforms seems nebulous. Google spokesperson Danielle Cohen tells The Verge that the Google Play Store doesn't allow apps that contain content or services that could be intended as sexually gratifying, and companies aren't allowed to use sexually explicit ads (including AI-generated ones) to direct people to their Play Store listings. Apple's App Store guidelines state apps shouldn't contain content that is 'offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust, in exceptionally poor taste, or just plain creepy.' Provided examples include 'mean-spirited' content, as well as 'explicit descriptions or displays of sexual organs or activities intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings.' There are no rules about ads for these apps. I sent Meta an example of an ad for a kiss and hug AI app I found on Instagram Reels. In response, Meta spokesperson Faith Eischen told The Verge, 'We have clear rules against nudity and sexual exploitation, including non-consensual intimate imagery — both real and AI-generated — and we've removed the shared piece of content for breaking our rules.' Eischen also noted that Meta removes such ads when notified, disables accounts responsible for them, and blocks links to sites hosting such apps. The Verge reached out to TikTok about its policies but didn't receive a response. While it's fraught to create sexually charged images of celebrities, it overlaps with the existing territory of fan art and meme-ification. Many of these apps' functions, though, tread in more uncomfortable territory. While it might not be overly pornographic, it's creepy to deepfake yourself kissing someone. It would be even creepier to do it to a friend or acquaintance who didn't consent to it. But it's also not really clear what the average user is looking for — most reviews are simply complaining about the microtransactions. Moderating this sort of content is kind of like whack-a-mole. had plenty of 'use AI to kiss your crush' ads several weeks ago. Now, all the ones I bookmarked have disappeared from social media. Within the app itself, I can no longer generate any kind of kissing video. Instead, the app moved on to ads of a suburban mom twerking, before they, too, were subsequently removed. Experimenting with AI video apps wasn't always creepy. Few people would object if everyone was using them to generate heartwarming videos of kids hugging their grandparents; you could argue that it's weird to want to do this, but it's not inherently wrong or illegal. But the fun or arguably helpful use cases are mixed in almost inextricably with the creepy stuff. Changing my hair is a pretty unobjectionable process, but it's unsettling to swap my own face onto a model 'dancing' while wearing cat ears, a plunging crop top that shows off her midriff and bra, hot pants, and lacy garters. (Leonardo DiCaprio's face on the model is perhaps less disturbing than simply unhinged.) Conversely, I've had genderqueer friends say they privately used AI templates that let them see what they'd look like as a different gender, and it helped them figure out their feelings. Even the kissing templates could have fairly innocuous uses — you could be a fiction writer seeking inspiration for a romance novel. In that case, what's the difference between drawing your own fan art and using an AI video generator? Perhaps, you're trying to process something and need a little visual help — and that's how I ended up deepfaking my dead parents. In a plot stolen straight from The Farewell, my mom died before my grandmother, and my family decided not to tell her out of fear she'd drop dead from shock. But whereas that film dealt in regular white lies, my family decided to update its deception for the modern era. When my grandma started lamenting that my mom had stopped calling, a cousin asked me if there was any chance that I, a tech reporter, could use AI to create video messages of my mother. That would, my cousin said, give my dementia-addled grandma some sense of peace. At the time, I told her it wasn't possible. Three years later, I finally generated the deepfake she requested while testing these apps. It was eerie how much it looked like my mom, except when she smiled. My real mother was self-conscious of her underbite. AI mom's teeth were perfect. All I could see were the ways that AI had failed to capture my mother's essence. I thought my cousin would feel the same way. Instead, the text I got in response was four hearts interspersed with several exclamation marks and crying face emojis. For her, the horrible deepfake was comforting. My mom would've hated this AI version of herself, and yet in the days after creating it, I found myself replaying it over and over — if only because spotting what the AI got wrong reminded me that I hadn't forgotten the real her. I found myself replaying it over and over — if only because spotting what the AI got wrong reminded me that I hadn't forgotten the real her. After that, I deepfaked my dad hugging me at my wedding. Some little girls dream of their fathers walking them down the aisle. Mine died before that day ever came, and I didn't make it to his deathbed in time for a proper goodbye. I wondered if deepfaking dad would give me a sense of closure. I used the last good photo I had of him, taken a few days before he passed, and a solo photo of me from my wedding. The AI did a horrible job. For one, it interpreted my dad's beanie as a thick shock of black hair. In my family, we teased him for his thin combover and fivehead — which, in his broken English, he insisted was proof he was a true 'egghead.' I tried again and got a slightly better result. Still, the pattern on his sweater changed. His facial features morphed into someone who looked close, but ultimately wasn't my dad. Even so, it made me cry. The AI got so many things wrong, but it was good enough to sketch the shape of my longing. This, too, I sent to my cousin, who replied back with even more crying emoji. AI evangelists tout this as a positive use case for AI. Wouldn't it be nice to reanimate your dead loved ones? Before deepfaking my parents, I'd have scoffed and said this is a dystopian premise that denies the humanity of our mortality. But all I can say now is that grief is a strange beast. I'd be lying if I said that I found comfort in these deepfakes, but I can't deny that a part of me was moved. I'm also no longer inclined to describe this as a bad way to use AI; it's just weird. Perhaps the question isn't whether these apps are inherently harmful or what platforms should do when they appear. Maybe it's a matter of asking what we're hoping to see of ourselves reflected in them.