- They have best-in-class noise cancellation tech.
- They sound excellent.
- They have a premium, strong build quality.
AP Buyline’s content is created independently of The Associated Press newsroom. Our evaluations and opinions are not influenced by our advertising relationships, but we might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content. Learn more about our policies and terms here.
Updated June 7, 2024
Bose is a king in the world of wireless noise-canceling headphones, and along with Sony, the company’s products consistently rank at the top of buyers' guides. I personally prefer the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones over the Sony WH-1000XM5, thanks to the better build quality and slightly more neutral audio. But both companies build stellar earbuds too, with the Bose option conveniently being called the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds.
Bose isn’t known as much for its earbuds as it is for its over-ear headphones, but it does indeed build high-end earbuds that are aimed at leveraging its experience in the personal audio world. Do the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds ultimately compete with Sony, Apple and others? I’ve been using them for a while now to find out.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds White Smoke
Unboxing and first impressions of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds
Upon unboxing the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, you’ll immediately see why Bose is known for making some of the better audio equipment out there. The earbuds are clearly well-built with relatively high-end materials. In the box, you’ll get everything you need: There’s the earbuds, the charging case, a USB-A to USB-C cable and two additional pairs of ear tips and fit wings. That brings the total number of tips to three pairs, including those pre-installed on the earbuds. It’s a good selection of accessories, though I do hope we switch to standard USB-C cables in the near future.
Pros:
Cons:
- You can’t connect more than one Bluetooth device at a time.
- They don’t support wireless charging.
- They’re expensive.
Key Specifications:
- Weight: 2.7 ounces.
- Headphone type: In-ear.
- Battery life: Six hours continuous, 30 hours total (with active noise canceling).
- Water-resistant: IPX4.
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.2.
- Colors: Moonstone blue, black and white smoke.
- Warranty: One-year limited warranty.
Key features of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds
Battery and charging
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds have a solid battery life, with six hours of continuous listening and 24 additional hours from the charging case with noise cancellation turned on. This battery life is fine, but it’s not amazing. Most high-end earbuds have a longer continuous battery life, and some offer more battery from the charging case too. A 30-hour total isn’t bad, but it could be better.
Unfortunately, Bose doesn’t include a feature that’s considered basic in this price range — wireless charging. Plenty of headphones half this price come with wireless charging, and all of Bose’s competitors in this price range offer it. You can charge the headphones through the USB-C port, and Bose sells a wireless charging case separately, but that’s not really enough at this price.
The Bose app
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds work with the Bose app, which I found to be well-designed and easy to use. The app is relatively sleek and stylish and should immediately recognize your earbuds if they’re connected to your phone.
From the app, you can access a variety of features and functions. You can tweak the noise modes, set up the shortcut buttons on the earbuds and change the EQ. Unfortunately, the EQ is very limited and only lets you change three bands. However, the earbuds sound pretty good out of the box, so you may not find that you need to tweak the EQ much anyway.
If you’re like most people, you’ll set up the earbuds and then mostly avoid using the Bose app. However, if you do need to use the Bose app, you’ll find it easy to navigate.
Connectivity features
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds support Bluetooth 5.2, and I found that they retained a pretty good connection throughout testing.
Unfortunately, however, they’re missing a major connectivity feature that we would expect from any pair of earbuds in this price range: Bluetooth Multipoint. Bluetooth Multipoint allows you to connect to two or more devices simultaneously, switching between those devices as needed when audio is played from them. Bose supports Multipoint on its over-ear headphones, so it was very disappointing to see it missing from these earbuds.
Performance
Sound quality
Audio quality is perhaps the most important thing to consider when buying a pair of earbuds and thankfully, the Bose QuietComfort Ultras sound excellent. In fact, they’re some of the better-sounding earbuds out there.
The bass response, for starters, is very good, allowing the earbuds to produce deep kick drums and heavy bass guitars. Bass lovers will appreciate what’s on offer here, and some might even want to tone the bass back a little with the EQ. The mid-range is well-tuned too, and there’s a ton of clarity and detail in the high end. This helps make listening to music on the earbuds more exciting, enabling cymbals and percussion to shine through and vocals and guitars to sound more natural.
These perhaps aren’t the single best-sounding earbuds out there, but they get very close. I personally like the audio response of the Technics EAH-AZ80 and the cheaper Nothing Ear a little more, but it’s very close.
Noise cancellation
Bose offers arguably the best noise cancellation of anyone on its over-ear headphones and that translates to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, too. The noise cancellation here is excellent, cutting out plenty of outside noise — more than any other earbuds I’ve used, in fact, and I’ve used all of the most popular wireless earbuds out there.
I will say that Bose’s noise cancellation isn’t the quietest out there, as there’s some hiss in the background when you aren’t listening to audio. That said, you won’t hear it when you’re listening to music, so it’s not really a huge deal.
Comfort
Along with offering excellent audio quality and top-tier noise cancellation, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are also incredibly comfortable to wear. The earbuds come with three different ear tips and three different fit wings that help ensure that they stay firmly in your ears, but they didn’t feel overly bulky or large while I was wearing them. I was able to wear the earbuds for hours without them getting uncomfortable, and most users will have a similar experience — though it’s always a good idea to experiment with the different sizes of ear tips.
Design
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds offer a mostly premium build, but their look might be a little more controversial. I typically like earbuds with stems in them — the AirPods Pro look good, and I really like the design of the new Nothing Ear earbuds. I certainly don’t dislike the design of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, but I find them to look a little weird compared with the other options. Much of that probably has to do with the thicker stem, which is much more obvious.
The charging case is well-built, too. However, I really dislike how the earbuds slot into it. This design makes it difficult to take the earbuds out when you need them, as I found them hard to grip inside the case. They were very easy to place back inside, though.
All that said, the look of a product is mostly subjective while the build quality is much less so. Generally, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds offer a premium build quality, with high-end plastics that feel strong. I like the matte plastic used on the charging case, and I never felt like the case or the earbuds themselves were in danger of breaking. The earbuds also offer an IPX4 water resistance, so while you won’t want to submerge them in water, they should survive light rain.
Is it for you?
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are clearly premium earbuds, but they’re missing a few key features, like wireless charging and Bluetooth Multipoint. They’re some of the better-sounding earbuds out there, and they have arguably the best noise cancellation tech, but they’re also expensive. Ultimately, they don’t quite compete with the Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds, and I actually much prefer the cheaper Nothing Ear earbuds to all other options currently available, thanks to their highly comfortable fit, stylish design and as-good audio quality. If noise cancellation is a top priority for you, then the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds may be the way to go, however, others should go for the Sony WF-1000XM5, the Nothing Ear or the Technics EAH-AZ80.
User reviews
User reviews of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are somewhat mixed on Amazon, though they are mostly positive.
One reviewer on Amazon was impressed with the earbuds all around. “Simply put, they are wonderful — the sound, the noise canceling, the ease of fit and comfort. A solid product all around.”
Others were slightly less impressed. One reviewer still liked the earbuds in general, but noted that the lack of wireless charging seemed like an odd omission given the fact that the competition offers it. “The lack of wireless charging is strange in this day and age. I also don't like how much larger this case is for charging, it's about 50% larger than the Buds 2 Pro case, which also supports full wireless charging.”
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds alternatives
Sony WF-1000XM5
Sony WF-1000XM5 The Best Truly Wireless Bluetooth Noise Canceling Earbuds Headphones Black
The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds are perhaps the biggest competition to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. Ultimately, the Sony earbuds are slightly better overall, offering an as-good audio quality with better battery life and features like wireless charging. The noise cancellation isn’t as impressive as on the Bose earbuds, but it’s still very good.
Apple AirPods Pro
Apple AirPods Pro
The AirPods Pro are a better option for those in Apple’s ecosystem, but not for those who don’t use Apple devices. They don’t sound quite as good as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, nor is their noise cancellation tech as good. However, they offer wireless charging and additional features that make them better for Apple users, like Automatic Switching, Spatial Audio and more.
Technics EAH-AZ80
Technics EAH-AZ80
The Technics EAH-AZ80 earbuds are better than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds because they sound as good and support modern features like wireless charging and Bluetooth Multipoint. While their noise cancellation isn’t as good, they have an excellent app that allows users to customize the audio.
Nothing Ear
Nothing Ear
The Nothing Ear earbuds are my favorite earbuds right now, plus they only cost $150. These earbuds sound as good as the top wireless earbuds out there and their app allows for excellent customization. They’re also more stylish than the Bose earbuds, have wireless charging and offer a better battery life. And, they’re more comfortable, which is a high bar.
Anker Soundcore Space A40
Anker Soundcore Space A40
The Anker Soundcore Space A40 earbuds aren’t as good as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, however, they’re much cheaper, at only $49. While they don’t sound as good as the Bose earbuds and they’re not as comfortable, they do have a solid battery life, support wireless charging and have Bluetooth Multipoint.
Beats Fit Pro
Beats Fit Pro
The Beats Fit Pro earbuds are about as good as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, but again, they’re much cheaper. The Beats Fit Pro is a better choice for those in Apple’s ecosystem, with support for Automatic Switching and other Apple-specific tech. They also fit very well. That said, they don’t sound quite as good as the Bose earbuds and don’t have wireless charging.
The AP Buyline takeaway:
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds earbuds have a lot going for them, but ultimately they miss the mark by omitting features that are typically expected of earbuds in this price range.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds White Smoke
To read more reviews and discover some of the best wireless earbuds, check out our Anker Soundcore Space A40 review, our Anker Soundcore Space Q45 review and our Beats Fit Pro review.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
How do you control the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds?
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds can be controlled through the touch surface on each bud, and they can be controlled using the Bose app.
How do the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds connect?
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds connect to your listening device through a Bluetooth 5.2 connection. Unfortunately, they do not support Bluetooth Multipoint, so you’ll only be able to connect them to one device at a time.
What is the battery life of Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds?
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds offer a battery life of six hours of continuous listening and an additional 24 hours in the charging case, with noise cancellation on. The total listening time is 30 hours, although your mileage may vary a little depending on how you use the earbuds.
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AP Buyline’s content is created independently of The Associated Press newsroom. Our evaluations and opinions are not influenced by our advertising relationships, but we might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content. Learn more about our policies and terms here.