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Bose products return to Online Apple Store in time for holiday shopping

Two months after Apple abruptly removed Bose products from its online and brick-and-mortar stores, the devices are slowly showing up as in stock and ready to ship, just in time for the holidays.

As of late Tuesday, a total of three Bose products — the Bose QuietComfort 20i Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphone, Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker and Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker III — are appearing in Online Apple Store search results in the iPad accessories category. The rollout appears to be gradual, as Apple's retail chain previously carried a total of 17 Bose devices, including headphones and speakers.

Similar to Bose's expulsion from the Apple Store in October, Apple remains quiet about the products' return and has not officially announced that sales have resumed. As seen in the above screenshot, however, multiple Bose items are now available to purchase from the Online Apple Store.

Bose's return comes one day after rumors claimed Apple would restart sales as soon as next week. That report also said physical Apple Stores are already rebuilding inventory in preparation of a wider relaunch, though at this point in-store pickup for all equipment is flagged "Ships to store."

It is unclear why Apple placed an embargo on the audio company's hardware, though some believe the move was in response to a lawsuit Bose leveled against Beats Electronics in July. The company accused Beats of infringing certain noise-cancelling technology patents with its Studio and Studio Wireless series headphones. Bose filed its suit less than two months after Apple announced its acquisition of Beats Electronics and Beats Music for $3 billion. The case was ultimately settled out of court under undisclosed terms.

Also a potential factor is Bose's NFL sponsorship, terms of which prohibit players and coaches from appearing on television wearing headphones made by other manufacturers. Beats is well-known for its pro athlete ambassadors, including San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was fined $10,000 for wearing a pair of pink breast cancer awareness Beats headphones during a post-game press conference.