When talking about excellent wireless headphones, Bose is the company that’s always somewhere at the top of all the lists. They offer some of thebest ANC earbuds, as well asamazing over-ear headphones, with fantastic software features and great build quality to boot.
Even though all the Bose products sound great, most people probably know these headphones mostly for their excellent active noise-cancelling – and for good reason. Bose was one of the first companies that introduced this technology to the commercial market, and has been developing the tech ever since.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II
Bose Ultra Open
Best noise-cancelling earbuds: Translucent designs and adaptive audio
From Apple’s in-ears to Nothing’s new buds, these ANC earbuds promise convenience, comfort, and silence without the bulk of over-ear headphones.
Because of that, Bose headphones are well-liked by music aficionados and casual listeners alike, and with various form factors available, you may always find something that fits your needs perfectly in the company’s vast catalog.
Headphones do not have to be huge to provide you with excellent sound and great noise-cancelling (or total lack thereof, in some cases). On the contrary, Bose offers quite a range of terrific earbuds that are sure to make you stop and listen for a while. Because of that, Bose headphones are well-liked by music aficionados and casual listeners alike, and with various form factors available, you can always find something that fits your needs perfectly in the company’s vast catalog.
Over the years, the Pocket-lint team has gone hands-on and ears-in with testing the best Bose buds around, and these are what we consider the best options.
Best Bose earbuds: Our top picks
Bose to the wall impressive
Bose QuietComfort Ultra is our choice for the best Bose earbuds. They provide excellent ANC and transparency modes, great sound quality and the Immersive Audio feature, along with top-tier build quality and user experience. They might be a bit pricey, but you get the best of the best.
With the Ultra moniker, theBose QuietComfort Ultra Earbudsearn their rightful place as the best Bose earbuds. Aside from the always-excellent ANC that the QuietComfort series is known for, the Ultra model adds to the mix amazing spatial sound capabilities – all in an extremely comfortable package.
These Bose QuietComfort Ultra give me the best ANC, but there’s a catch
With incredible ANC, spatial audio smarts, and a comfortable fit, these buds almost deserve the $299 price tag, but miss on some key features.
The design of the buds themselves has barely changed from their predecessors, with a similar size of both the earbuds and their case. You also get the signature Bose FitKit in the package, so you can mix and match eartips and wings to suit the needs of your ears and find the perfect fit.
What makes the QuietComfort Ultra stand out among the rest of the Bose lineup is its excellent spatial audio support, along with much better streaming capabilities. The headphones support the newest aptX adaptive codec, allowing you to take full advantage of lossless files and really improve the audio quality.
Additionally, the Immersive Audio feature – Bose’s version of spatial sound software implementation – works with both stereo and spatial audio mixes, and can even be configured in Still mode or Motion mode, letting you choose which immersion mode you like best. It works great, possibly even surpassing Apple’s implementation, but keep in mind that it does take its toll on battery life.
Speaking of the battery, the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds last around six hours on a single charge with ANC on, with four additional charges in their case. Unfortunately though, the case doesn’t have wireless charging, so if you run out of juice, the USB-C port is your only charging option there.
True to their quiet and comfortable namesake
Bose Quiet Comfort II lack some of the more advanced features of their “Ultra” brethren, but still pack a lot of goodies into comfortable, ANC-enabled buds. With the best noise cancelling in class and great fit and finish, they truly live up to the name on the box.
The Bose QuietComfort II is an excellent example of an amazing generational improvement. While the first generation of QuietComfort earbuds was amazing in its own right, the second took the idea to a completely new level of greatness, and really gave justice to the model name of those earbuds.
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II: The sound of silence
Bose is back with its second stab at the true wireless market. Does it offer the “world’s best” noise cancellation it promises?
So, as the name suggests, the Bose QuietComfort II focuses on two main factors – how comfortable they are and how well they can isolate you from the surrounding sounds.
The first goal is accomplished by the unbelievably light and ergonomic design of the earbuds. What’s more, in the box you get a choice of different eartips and earwings which you can mix and match to find the perfect fit for your particular ears. It makes wearing the earbuds, even for extended periods of time, a breeze, and Bose claims it reduces the ear canal strain that every user of in-ear earbuds is unfortunately familiar with.
The second part of the Bose QuietComfort II promise – the quiet – is also handled expertly.
Not only do the aforementioned eartips help you passively block the sounds of the environment, but you also get excellent active noise-cancelling from the buds themselves. It works wonders, and in that price range, is one of the best ANC implementations around.
Of course, if you need to hear what’s going on, you also get a competent transparency mode, which is great for those who are running or commuting. Not only do the aforementioned eartips help you passively block the sounds of the environment, but you also get excellent active noise-cancelling from the buds themselves. It works wonders, and in that price range, is one of the best ANC implementations around.
To finish off with the battery, it’s the only part of these earbuds that’s just adequate. You get six hours of music with ANC on a single charge, and 24 more hours from the charging case – a good, but not great showing.
And now for something completely different
Bose might be the king of ANC, but with the Bose Open Ultra, the company managed to prove that they can excel at the other end of the spectrum as well. The Open Ultra offer amazing sound quality, innovative design and unparalleled spatial awareness in a really convincing package.
Even though Bose is probably best known for itsexcellent ANC implementation, both in over-ear headphones, and in-ear earbuds, the company sometimes goes out on a limb and does something completely different – and no less excellent. The Bose Open Ultra are an excellent example of this adventurous spirit.
Bose’s new Ultra Open earbuds are the fashion and function success I can’t stop wearing
They may not be part of Bose’s QuietComfort lineup, but my ears don’t want any other buds. Think transparency mode – but better.
The Bose Open Ultra are open-ear earbuds, meaning that, contrary to the usual ANC-enabled earbuds, their goal is not to block all the incoming sounds from reaching your ears. Rather, they don’t block your ear canals at all, allowing all the ambient sounds inside, giving you much better spatial awareness.
However, the Bose Open Ultra are not your typical open-ear design that comes with quite bulky ear hooks. Instead, they work a bit like clip-on earrings, sitting around your earlobe.
However, the Bose Open Ultra arenot your typical open-ear designthat comes with quite bulky ear hooks. Instead, they work a bit like clip-on earrings, sitting around your earlobe. The unique design isn’t the only thing that makes the Bose Open Ultra a bit special. The earbuds use what Bose calls Open Audio technology, which is essentially a set of hardware and software tricks that help the music sound better to you, while not being as audible to the other people around you.
It works well, adjusting the sound of the earbuds dynamically to the sounds of the environment, so you can hear your music well even on a busy street. Additionally, you don’t lose out on Immersive Audio, so your music feels doubly spatial thanks to both the open-ear design and the excellent software trickery courtesy of Bose.
Rounding up, the battery life in the Bose Open Ultra is just fine, lasting around 7.5 hours on a single charge with Immersive Audio turned off. The one big drawback of the earbuds is their mic quality, which lags behind all the other great tech in headphones. It’s serviceable, but certainly not ahead of the competition.
Bose Sport Open
Quiet and comfort indeed
The Bose Sport Open are a more traditional pair of open-ear buds by Bose, and they are still a great choice if you need something to hold extremely securely on your head, even during the most taxing workout. They have been surpassed by the Open Ultra model, but with great refurbished deals going around, they are still an interesting choice.
A few years ago, theBose Sport Open Earbudswalked so the Bose Open Ultra could fly. Even though the first open-ear design by Bose has been discontinued some time ago now, they still have their devoted fans thanks to the conventional, secure fit and fantastic performance.
While the Bose Open Ultra took the open-ear design language and twisted it quite a lot to create a completely different look, their predecessors took a much more conservative approach. The Bose Sport Open Earbuds look exactly how typical open-ear earbuds look, with ear hooks that make them securely stay in place even during the most intensive workouts.
With the more conventional open-ear design come a few caveats that you need to keep in mind. The carrying case is significantly larger, making it quite difficult to keep in your pocket.
They also offer a bit more muted sound than the Open Ultra, being the first try at the technology.
However, there are significant advantages as well. These are, without a doubt, the best fitting Bose earbuds. Even during the most intense workout, the ear hooks keep them stable and secure, so you don’t have to worry about losing them in any circumstances. They also offer 8 hours of battery life, so even if you go for an all-day run, your music will accompany you all this time.
The bottom line: What are the best Bose earbuds to buy?
When buying Bose earbuds, you have only a few choices, but all of them are of really high quality. That being said, if you want the best of the best, you should certainly choose the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. They sound fantastic and offer excellent software features, such as Immersive Audio and best-in-class ANC, together with a fun sound profile and great, ergonomic fit that you can customize to be perfect for your own ear canal with a multitude of included eartips.
That being said, if you’re looking for something a bit more unusual, or you’re just an enthusiast of open-ear designs, the Bose Open Ultra are an excellent choice as well. The open-ear design might not be for everyone, but the way Bose implemented it, with a unique fit and excellent audio features, makes it a must-try both for casual listening, and all the fitness applications you could come up with.
How did we choose the best Bose earbuds?
When choosing the best Bose earbuds we had to consider quite a few different factors. Of course, the sound quality and the experience of using the earbuds was one of the most important ones, but when looking at the selection of Bose earbuds, the other consideration is how universal a particular model is.
Even though the Bose Open Ultra are excellent, and one of the best implementations of the open-ear design we’ve seen, they are simply not for everyone, and most people prefer their earbuds to isolate them from the sounds of the environment. That’s why the best Bose earbuds are, for us, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. They combine excellent features, impressive sound quality and great fit and finish with well-liked additions such as transparency mode and ANC, being the best choice for most customers.
Why should you buy Bose earbuds?
Nowadays, the wireless earbud market is one that’s full of interesting designs, great performers and value kings, with the competition being more fierce with each passing month. So why should you choose one of the models manufactured by Bose as your next wireless earbuds?
What’s the difference between open-ear and in-ear earbuds?
In Bose’s earbud catalog, you may find two distinct categories of earbuds. The QuietComfort series are traditional, in-ear designs, while the Open series – the Bose Open Ultra and the Bose Sport Open Earbuds – are open-ear designs.
The in-ear design is the typical earbud design you’d think of. They usually have silicone tips (but some of them, such as the regular AirPods, don’t) and go straight into your ear canal, using tiny speakers to transfer sound there. They have many advantages. For example, by filling your ear canal, they passively block quite a lot of sound from the outside. It’s also quite easy to get a balanced, detailed sound out of them because of the proximity of drivers to your ears.
Open-ear vs open-back earbuds: Key differences explained
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On the other hand, the open-ear design leaves your ear canal open to the sound of the environment. These kinds of headphones try to deliver the sound using directional drivers that are in the vicinity of your ear using air conduction. This results in a sound that’s a bit more difficult to tune, but you also get unparalleled environmental awareness.
That’s why open-ear designs are valued so much by all types of athletes that work out outside – they can listen to music but still be aware of their surroundings, such as approaching cars. Additionally, you get less of a strange pressure build-up that comes with some in-ear headphones can cause when wearing them for extended periods of time.
