Bose

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are a premium true-wireless in-ear headphone sitting at the top of Bose's noise-cancelling lineup.

### Overview

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are Bose's flagship true wireless in-ear headphones, originally released in September 2023 and widely regarded among the best noise-cancelling earbuds available. They sit at the top of Bose's earbud lineup, combining world-class ANC, gloriously rich audio, and a comfort level suited for long listening sessions. They carry a starting price of $299, though discounts are regularly available at major retailers.

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### Standout Features

- **Bose Immersive Audio:** Bose's spatial audio technology designed to get sound "out of your head," making it feel more like listening to a pair of stereo speakers than wearing earbuds. - **CustomTune Sound Calibration:** A proprietary technology that plays a calibration tone on startup, measures how your ear's unique shape modifies that sound, and adjusts audio and noise cancellation accordingly. - **World-Class Active Noise Cancellation:** Uses both passive and active noise reduction, with microphones inside and outside the earbuds that sense the environment and produce an opposing cancellation signal in real time. - **ActiveSense Aware Mode:** An adaptive transparency mode that listens for loud environmental sounds and selectively applies noise cancellation, so you stay aware of surroundings without being startled by sudden noises like passing vehicles. - **Snapdragon Sound / aptX Adaptive:** Adaptive Bluetooth connectivity that targets lossless transfer rates to preserve original sound quality, falling back to aptX Adaptive when conditions require it. - **Customizable Fit:** Nine combinations of eartips and stability band sizes are included to help find a secure, comfortable fit.

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### Who It's For

If you're in the market for noise-cancelling earbuds for travel and work, the QC Ultras excel at combining comfort, audio quality, and ANC performance — though they're not the cheapest option and aren't optimized for running. They're a strong contender for anyone wanting great earbuds that can quiet the world and offer an immersive experience, though those prioritizing extended battery life or top-tier call quality may want to consider alternatives.

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### Important Considerations

- **Battery life is shorter than advertised:** Bose rates the earbuds at up to 6 hours with Immersive Audio off, but only up to 4 hours with Immersive Audio enabled — noticeably below the 24-hour figure, which refers to total battery including the charging case (earbuds + approximately 3 case charges). - **Sound tuning leans bass-heavy:** Out of the box, these earbuds lean bass-heavy with accentuated highs that can become fatiguing at high volumes, though the three-band EQ gives users some control over their sound profile. - **Call quality trails competitors:** While Bose upgraded the microphone system with AI-based noise suppression, real-world testing found call quality decent but still behind the AirPods Pro 2, with occasional voice dropouts. - **aptX Lossless is Android-only:** You'll need an Android smartphone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 or newer to take advantage of the higher-fidelity codec — Apple iPhone users are left out.

Key features

• ANC headphones
• Immersive Audio
• 24h battery

Seen at 3 retailers from $239.99 to $299.00 as of 2026-03-14. Prices change — check the retailer for the current price.

Bose's flagship earbuds set a high bar for noise cancellation and spatial audio in a compact form.