Every now and then , we take a breaking from our ongoing coverage of new products to take a 2d flavor at a antecedently reviewed product — like theBose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds .
I originally issue this review in March 2023 . Since then , two things have changed . First , I ’ve been doing a fair amount of atmosphere locomotion . Getting on a woodworking plane is the perfect opportunity to essay participating noise cancellation ( ANC ) , so I alway fetch the earbuds or headphones that I ’m presently testing . When you quiz , you need a level of comparing , so the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have been coming along for the ride . That ’s given me more time with these bud than I had before I wrote the first version of this review .
secondly , Bose released a microcode update that cave in the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Bluetooth multipoint , a feature that was missing when the buds launched . I securely conceive that multipoint is must - have . I do n’t make love anyone who only uses their earbuds with just their telephone and never with a laptop computer or pad of paper .
What follows is more or less what I originally said in 2023 — the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are still some of thebest wireless earbudsyou can buy — but with a twelvemonth ’s Charles Frederick Worth of new position .
Bose QuietComfort Ultra specs
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds: design
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and their predecessors , theQuietComfort Earbuds II(QCE II ) , are almost selfsame from a design stand . That ’s a very right affair . Though not quite as diminished and satiny as theApple AirPods Pro 2 , the Ultra wait great , whether in black ( seen here ) or in bloodless . Bose has given the Ultra a fresh coat of key — literally — a new metal layer adorns the main touching control control surface , give the buds a decidedly upscale look .
Bose has made a tiny change to the stability ring — the silicone loops that wrap around the body of the earbud to aid them stay anchored in your ear . They now have a tab - and - pass blueprint that ensures they sit down correctly on the earbud when you trade them for a unlike size . You still get three sizes of band ( and three size of ellipse eartips ) to work with .
The burden case also is unchanged , hold open for a more prominent Bose logotype . That ’s not such a proficient thing . Overall , it ’s still a practiced innovation and way more pocket-size than the monster boxwood that housed the originalQuietComfort Earbuds . But the case lid does n’t snap closed with the kind of bureau you ’d expect from a top - tier Cartesian product . The magnets are n’t quite as strong as I ’d like . When the palpebra is close up , it has a surprising amount of flex at the flexible joint , give it a bit of a low - quality feel .
But the biggest letdown is the continued lack of wireless charging , something that was conspicuously wanting from the QCE II and that I ’d hope Bose would address on the Ultra .
It ’s not that you ca n’t apply the Ultra with a Qi - compatible courser ; it ’s that to do so , you ’ll need to buy the $ 49Bose Wireless Charging Case Cover . The cover version works , but it supply a fair minute of bulk to the earbuds . Plus you ’re now at $ 348 just to have a feature that is most omnipresent onearbuds that cost less than $ 100 .
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds: comfort and controls
I chance the QC Ultra Earbuds , like their precursor , very comfortable to wear even for farseeing periods . The portion that sits in your concha is comparatively small , and the compounding of the suave , rounded surfaces and the silicone polymer eartips and constancy band make for a very ergonomic configuration .
Unlike the AirPods Pro , which I find have a tendency to work out themselves loose over time , I just ever feel the need to adapt the QC Ultras . For me , they were more than unchanging enough for my gym regimen , but I do n’t do a long ton of high - impact exercises . High - mileage offset and CrossFit enthusiast may still prefer an earhook - based plan .
I still choose physical buttons to bear on control . But as touch control condition go , the QC Ultra are very just . tap and swipes were almost always register , and I ’m a big lover of the swiping gesture used to control volume . To me , it ’s the most commodious and accurate way to do volume changes on a set of earbuds .
Bose does n’t let you customise the main motion for playback , call direction , or bulk , but you do get a choice over how the long - press works on each earbud . By default , it ’s set to ANC command , but you may also take spacial audio control and voice assistant ascendency . Since I hardly ever apply my phone ’s voice supporter , I opt ANC and spacial audio and it figure out really well .
I mentioned the improver ofBluetooth multipointin the intro , and I could n’t be happier with the update . you’re able to now keep theQC Ultra colligate to two machine simultaneously . well yet , the app offer superb control over which two machine are in gambling , plus a handy button that pushes the bud back into sexual union mode so that you’re able to add another machine to the list .
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds: sound quality and spatial audio
I ’ve always enjoyed the fashion Bose products sound . They have what I can only describe as an energetic speech sound signature , which be given to put a little surplus sparkle on the upper - mids and high . There ’s no real dispute between the QCE II and QC Ultra on this front — they both utilize Bose ’s CustomTune technology to adjust themselves to your pinna and they ’re both a joyousness to apply with a vast motley of genre . Sound quality has always been a Bose enduringness and the Ultra Earbuds voice nifty .
Whathaschanged is the QC Ultra ’s accompaniment for additional audio formats . There are two big additions to QC Ultra : They now supportQualcomm ’s Snapdragon Soundplatform — an overarching set of technologies that includes theaptXfamily of hi - resBluetooth codecs , plus some better Bluetooth bandwidth for vocalization lotion — plus they comprise Bose ’s unexampled Immersive Audio tech , which can be thought of as very exchangeable to Apple and Jabra’sspatial audiomodes on the AirPods kinsperson and theElite 8 combat-ready and elect 10 wireless earbuds .
First , let ’s discuss those Snapdragon Sound aptX codecs . The QCE II were limited to SBC and AAC codecs , which are lossy and thus just fine for listening to Spotify , but not a great choice when seek to learn the special detail in a CD quality or hi - reslossless audiotrack fromApple MusicorAmazon Music .
With aptX Adaptive ( and a true Bluetooth connection ) you’re able to get far greater fidelity . It ’s not theoretical . When listen to the QC Ultra on a Xiaomi 12 Pro and aMotorola ThinkPhone , the soundstage took on observably safe preciseness , profundity , and detail versus listen on aniPhone 14(AAC only ) . It ’s the same bump in quality that I ’ve try when using other equally equal to wireless earbuds or headphone .
But with the QC Ultra , that bump add up with a bit of a surprise . Normally , on the iPhone , when hear to bass - heavy tracks , like Hans Zimmer’sWarming Up My Instrumentsor Bob Dylan’sMan in the Long Black Coat , the QC Ultra ( and the QCE II ) reply by delivering incredibly deep , almost sub - bass tone . If you ’re a bass - head , it ’s kind of awesome , but it ’s not a very balanced approach . Switch over to aptX Adaptive and it ’s almost as if the earbuds switch to a different EQ setting . The sea bass becomes tempered ; it ’s more musical and less boomy .
I ’d love to tell you thataptX Lossless , which is only available when you have a compatible Snapdragon ( i.e. Android ) phone , is even better , but I ’ve struggled to identify thedifference between aptX Adaptive and aptX Losslessin the past , and it was equally heavy with QC Ultra . Still , perhaps those with even more finely tune spike will be able-bodied to appreciate it .
As delighted as I am that the QC Ultra now supporthi - res audiovia Bluetooth , I was far more struck by Bose ’s efforts in spatial audio .
From a conceptual point of scene , Bose is n’t doing anything new here . Just likeJabra ’s Elite 10 , Apple’sAirPods Pro , and theLG Tone Free T90Q(to pick a few recent good example ) , Bose uses package to model what it sounds like to listen to your music as though it were come from bombastic speakers in your room ( as opposed to diminutive speakers wedged in your ears ) . It then uses gyroscope sensor to offer you an added level of Platonism by fixing those speakers in space relative to your head word position . turn your head one way or the other voice like you ’re turning by from the source of the sound .
The prescribed term for this is “ spatialized stereo , ” ( with or without head trailing ) and Apple offers it on the AirPods Pro , Max , and AirPods 4 .
The difference is that Bose ’s interlingual rendition of spatialized stereo sounds easily to me . I wish the way it creates a virtual curing of spot sources that appear to be in front and slightly above where I ’m sitting . It manages to do this without the like loss of particular that sometimes accompaniesDolby Atmos Musictracks when you hear them via headphones . And when you rent the head tracking musical mode , it ’s impressively bland .
For a while , I was dubious as to whether mass would genuinely prefer spatial audio to classic stereophonic system . After having spent meter with the QC Ultra , I ’m confining than ever to believe a solar day may come when we look back at stereo the way we used to look back at AM radio set .
Bose has also pop out to follow Apple ’s leash on spatial consolidation with other twist . Its recently releasedBose Smart Soundbarcan send circumvent profound channel info to a set ofBose Open Ultra Earbuds . That ’s not quite the same matter as Apple ’s Apple TV 4 green integration — when you connect one of Apple ’s mind tracking - capable earpiece to its pelt machine , they do an amazing caper ofsimulating a 5.1 - channel plate theatre system — but it ’s directionally similar .
For now , the QC Ultra are n’t include in the soundbar environs feature ( which Bose call Personal Surround Sound ) , but that may yet change .
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds: ANC and transparency
The QC Ultra , when it comes to active randomness canceling ( ANC ) , are just about the near you could get . While it ’s true that both Apple ’s AirPods Pro 2 and Sony’sWF-1000XM5are also brilliant in this heed , we ’re babble about fractional differences . I would n’t cull one as clearly better than the other two .
The same is n’t quite as true for transparency modality . As good as the QC Ultra are ( and they are very good ) , the AirPods Pro are still the reference work , with the unearthly power to just disappear when you betroth transparency mood .
However , Apple is proving that it be intimate how to pull off the magic of ANC and transparency in new and useful ways . The conversational knowingness and adaptive noise ascendancy modesintroduced to the AirPods Pro with iOS 17are trial impression that haphazardness cancellation can become a highly dynamic and antiphonal feature when a band of earbuds can supervise things like your voice or the outside mankind .
With the release ofiOS 18 , the AirPods Pro will take things even further withhearing aid functionality . This puts Bose in stop - up mode once again .
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds: call quality
Bose says it has improved call calibre on the QC Ultra by get to more intelligent habit of the mike , specially in windy conditions .
I ’m not sure I was able-bodied to detect much of a difference of opinion . But in fairness , I had only mildly blowy experimental condition while I was testing them .
Overall , the QC Ultra are good for call — your caller will have no problem understand you — but Bose ’s environmental noise cancellation still need work . Loud sound still make their way through and as that happens , your voice becomes echo - y and remote , bring in it sound like you ’re speaking from across the room . Indoors , things are far better , but that ’s usually genuine of wireless earbuds .
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds: battery life
Bose has never wowed us with its battery life , and you wo n’t find much in the way of vainglorious numbers on the QC Ultra . They ’re the same as the QCE II for single - accusation gambling time ( about six hours at 50 % volume ) , and full metre ( 24 hour when you admit the case ) . However , this shake off well when using immersive audio : down to four hours per charge or 16 hr total . That ’s a big hit to stamp battery life . The AirPods Pro also devote a Leontyne Price for spatial audio , but it ’s a modest one by comparison — just a 30 - minute pearl in toughness .
Now that the QC Ultra are Bose ’s flagship noise - strike down earbuds , the QCE II can be found with some very attractive discount . If hi - atomic number 75 sound recording , spacial auditory sensation , and Bluetooth multipoint are n’t priorities , I say seize ’em — they fathom great and still have superb ANC .
That said , the QC Ultra tender some very nice upgrades in terms of audio capabilities ( and restroom thanks to multipoint ) . Should they include wireless charging at this price ? dead . But apart from that one drop feature article , they ’re some of the best wireless earbuds you’re able to buy .
