Following a two month absence, Apple has restarted sales of Bose products in its online store. The reinstated products include the Bose QuietComfort 20i, the Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker, and the Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Speaker III, but notably do not include the company's over-the-ear headphone offerings. The move follows a report yesterday which noted that some French Apple retail stores had begun receiving shipments of Bose products with an intent to put the products back on shelves, and it is now likely those products will return to stores shortly.
It still is not clear as to why Apple removed Bose products from its stores, but the decision may have had something to do with Apple's acquisition of Beats Electronics and a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Bose in July against Beats. That lawsuit was settled between Beats and Bose before Bose products disappeared from Apple's store shelves, which may indicate that the removal and reinstatement was a part of the discussions between the two companies.
Bose also signed a deal with the NFL to ban NFL players from wearing Beats headphones during games, which garnered comments from Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine who stated that it made Beats "look like the underdog." Bose products were not the only products removed by Apple in recent months, as the company also pulled Fitbit products from its retail and online stores. Unlike Bose products however, Fitbit products have yet to return to the Apple Store.
