So for the last 2 years, I feel that Bose has been very stagnate with actually innovating their products, and instead they have just been putting out minor upgrades which honestly could have been software updates, or they just add AI, and they slap a new name on them. And instead of making the hardware changes that are needed… they’ve just been putting out new color ways for all of their products. Now dont get me wrong, I think the Bose Smart Soundbar is a great mid sized sound bar for anyone to consider… I really like the Bose QC Headphones cause they are super comfy. And the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2 are super comfortable in ear earbuds, but these are still missing some very crucial hardware updates.
Now when it comes to pricing, the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2 have a retail price of $300, which is a lot for any pair of ANC earbuds. Because for comparison sake, the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods Pro 2 have a retail price of $250. And if you want to accept it or not, AirPods are the gold standard when it comes to ANC Earbuds. However, something the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds does have over AirPods is a very secure, but also very comfortable fit. The question is, are you willing to pay a premium and make some compromises for a better fit. Nonetheless if you want to pick these earbuds up they’ll be linked down below or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button and if you want to further support the channel then you can also watch the related videos in the description below.
So first we need to talk about the case, cause this has always been an issue for bose. Now the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2’s case is identical to the QC Ultra’s case and the Quiet Comfort 2 case. But at least this case is smaller than the Bose QC’s earbuds. But the big update here is, the QC Ultra Earbuds 2’s case now has wireless chargning, which is great. However Bose is like 3 years behind everyone else, which is sad. Especially since all of these other cases still manage to have wireless chargning, all while being much smaller than Bose’s case. And there are plenty of other more affordable earbuds out there which have had wireless chargning for years now. So the fact that bose finally added wireless charging to their most premium ANC earbuds is not impressive what so ever.
But also, theres just the sheer size of this case… like I said, Bose really struggles with their case sizes, Just look at the Bose QC Earbuds. But more importantly if we were to compare the Bose QC Ultra earbuds 2’s case to the AirPods Pro case, this case has a smaller footprint, and its thinner as well. But then theres also the Sony WF-1000XM5’s case which is also smaller… but id say equally as thick. And even if we were to compare Boses’s case to the Galaxy Buds Pro 3’s case, even though I dont like this case cause it also has its issues, this case is still smaller than Boses’s case. So with Bose’s case, this case is very noticeable when you have it in your pocket, which isn’t the most conviente thing when you’re looking for a pair of every day carry earbuds.
And when it comes to battery life, the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2’s battery life to case size ratio isn’t all that impressive, plus it has the same battery life as the Bose QC Ultra’s. The Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2 have a combined advertised battery life of 24 hours… the earbuds themselves can go for 6 hours straight plus the case can supply an additional 3 charges. But the biggest issue here is, you cant use these earbuds with their ANC turned off, so you can’t extend their battery life that way. And this has been an issue for all of Boses’s earbuds and headphones… but hey, you will be able to turn off the ANC on the Bose QC Ultra headphones 2, and they’re calling that a new feature.
And personally, I really hate not being able to turn off my ANC on my earbuds or headphones cause first off, its a great way to extend your battery life… but also sometimes when im using my earbuds, maybe I dont want to turn on ANC cause I still want to be able to be aware of my surroundings… but I also dont want turn on my ambient mode cause its going to interfere with my audio. The only battery update that these earbuds have is that you can now see your case’s battery life percentage in the app… which again, is something all of these other earbuds have had for years.
And like I mentioned earlier, the battery life to case size ratio on these earbuds isn’t all that imrepssive cause the AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2 and 3, Sony WF-1000XM5’s, and Galaxy Buds Pro 3 all have longer combined battery lives all while have a smaller case. So if bose wants to be competitive, they really need to shrink this case and increase the battery life on their earbuds.
So I’ve made it very clear that I dont like Bose’s case and I feel that their battery life is lack luster. However I will admit that these earbuds fit very well. Now these earbuds fit the same as the Bose QC Ultra and Bose QC earbuds… these are very shallow fitting in ear earbuds… so they passively block out a lot of noise… but also thanks to their additional rubber fit, these earbuds actually offer you a lot of lock down. Where as with lets say the AirPods Pro or Galaxy buds pro 3, these are shallow fitting in ear earbuds but since they dont have rubber feet, they can slip out very easily. Or with lets say your more standard fitting in ear earbuds… they’ll might offer you better lock down, but they feel more intrusive. But with Bose’s earbuds, these offer you the best of both worlds, they passively block out a lot of noise pollution without feeling super intrusive and without using foam ear tips which I find to be very itchy… but they also dont wiggle out easily which is great if you plan on exercising with your earbuds. However, if you want this objectively better fit than the AirPods Pro, AirPods, or Sony or Samsung… you are going to have to make a lot of compromises… and personally for me its not worth it.
Now when it comes to connectivity, the Bose QC Ultra 2 work well with both iPhone and android devices. But more importantly, each earbud establishes a connection with your phone so if you just want to use one earbud at a time you can use either one it doesn’t matter. And I know that this sounds super basic but this is something that took bose a while to get right.
But more importantly, these earbuds can be connected to multiple devices at the same time so you can easily hot swap from one device to another regardless of eco system… these earbuds have zero latency across the board so you can use them to watch movies or videos with on your phone, but when it comes to audio codecs, the Bose QC Ultra 2 have support for SBC, AAC and snap dragon sound… but in order to use that you have to be an android user.
But now lets talk about actually listening to music with these earbuds. For starters, the Bose QC Ultra 2 Sound Identical to the previous Bose QC Ultra earbuds. Now even though these earbuds have good instrument seperation, these earbuds lean towards a very bright sound signature. So vocals are very pronounced. However the bass on these earbuds isn’t all that imrepssive, so as a result, they end up sounding rather flat. Where as with lets say the AirPods Pro 2, cause I dont have the AirPods Pro 3 for this review, or the Sony WF-1000XM5’s, Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro or Sennehsier Moemtum 4, all of these earbuds sound fuller and more balanced than the Bose QC Ultra 2 earbuds cause they have more kick in their bass. So overall, I think the Bose QC Ultra 2 earbuds sound good enough to get the job done, but these sound very flat when compared to the rest of the competition.
But something that I do like about these earbuds is their touch pad, this touch pad is very big and it feels very natural actually using this touch pad. You can tap to play or pause, double tap to skip through your music and you can swipe up and down to adjust your volume. And these swapping gestures feel more natural than the swiping gestures that you have to do on the AirPods Pro 2. However, the accuracy of the shipping gestures on the Bose isn’t as good as the accuracy found on the AirPods Pro 2.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancellation on these earbuds. Now unfortunately I dont have the AirPods Pro 3 just yet… but our current ranking for ANC is Sennehsier momentum 4, but they go in super deep into your ear canals. right below them are the AirPods Pro 2 which are a lot more comfortable. Right below them are the Bose QC Ultra 2. Below them are the Sony WF-1000XM5’s which aren’t as comfy cause of their foam ear tips, right below them are the Bose QC earbuds, below them are the AirPods 4 and below them are the Bose QC Ultra earbuds below them are the Sony Linkbuds S, below them are the Pixel Buds 2 pro, below them are the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro,
So the Bose QC Ultra earbuds 2 are blocking out significantly more noise than the Bose QC Ultra’s… which is an improvement that we defneintly want to see. Now these earbuds are still blocking out less noise than the AirPods Pro 2… so its safe to assume that they’ll be blocking out less noise than the AirPods Pro 3… however, I actually prefer the ANC on the Bose QC Ultra 2 earbuds over the AirPods Pro 2, cause the Bose have significantly less cabin pressure.
With the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4, I only use their ANC when I have to cause first off I want to extend their battery life… but also I dont use it all of the time cause the ANC on these earbuds can be a little disorienting or a little uncomfortable. But that isn’t an issue with the Bose QC Ultra 2. So even though these might not block out as much noise as the AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Pro 3… the ANC On the Bose QC Ultra 2 is of better quality cause its more comfortable.
But then theres the ambient mode on these earbuds, it does sound more natural than the ambient mode found on the previous Bose QC Ultra Earbuds, cause it no longer has the robotic static to it… however it still doesn’t sound as natural as the AirPods Pro 2 and this microphone array can still pick up a decent amount of wind noise when walking out doors.
Mic QC Ultra 1 Quiet
But finally heres the microphone test, and this is an area where bose was really good, cause the microphone on the Bose QC35 headphones was actually very good, for those days… but ever since then Bose hasn’t been able to keep up with the competition.
Mic QC Ultra 2 Quiet
Cause while in a quiet room, I feel that both of these mics are good, but the QC Ultra 2 do like to amplify your voice noticeably more than previous version.
Mic AirPods Pro 2 Quiet
Cause when compared to the AirPods Pro 2, and keep in mind that these are the AirPods Pro 2 and not the AirPods Pro 3 cause apple doesn’t send me anything early… this mic sounds a lot more natural while in a quiet room.
Mic AirPods Pro 2 Rod Nosie
But where Bose really starts to struggle is when it comes to blocking out noise pollution. Cause right now the AirPods Pro 2 are doing a really good job of reducing this road noise, cause if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clearly hear all of this road noise, but if we were to switch back over to the AirPods Pro 2, it is severely reduced.
Mic AirPods 4 road Noise
However, the newer AirPods 4 do an even better job of blocking out this road noise, so hopefully the AirPods Pro 3 will also do a better job of blocking out this road noise.
Mic QC Ultra 2 Road Noise
Cause for comparison sake, here are the Bose QC Ultra 2… and these are letting in a nocitbale amount of road noise in. But at least I feel that its still very easy to actually understand you while you’re talking.
Mic QC Ultra Oringal road noise
And then we have the Previous Bose QC Ultra, and these are letting in even more road noise and sometimes there is some interference going on with my voice. So technically yes, the Bose QC Ultra 2’s mic is blocking out more noise than the previous version thanks to AI, but its still a lot when compared to the competition.
Mic QC Ultra Oringal Chatter
And when it comes to blocking out chatter, the previous Bose QC Ultra are letting in a noctibale amount of chatter, but I think its still easy enough to understand me.
Mic QC Ultra 2 chatter
But then here are the Bose QC Ultra 2 and these are blocking out more chatter than the previous version, but these also have more interface than the previous version.
Mic AirPods Pro 2 chatter
But then here are the AirPods Pro 2 and these are doing a much better job of blocking out this chatter, cause for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clearly hear all of this chatter, but if we were to switch back over to the AirPods Pro 2, it is severely reduced.
Mic Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 pro chatter
And its not just apple that has a better performing mic than the Bose QC Ultra, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 pro also do a great job of blocking out all of this chatter. So like I said at the top of the video, bose just isn’t keeping up with the rest of the competition, yes Bose’s mic sounds good enough to take phone calls with while in a quiet room… but there are plenty of other earbuds out there that just sound better.
So with all of that being said, the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2 are a pair of very comfortable fitting earbuds that actually offer you a lot of lock down… so therye not going to wiggle out easily like lets say the AirPods Pros, or Galaxy buds 3 Pro, and they dont feel intrusive like a pair of standard fitting in ear ear buds. I also like that these earbuds are able to block out a lot of noise with less cabin pressure… again making them very comfortable. However with these earbuds you are going to have to make a lot of sacrifices and compromises. First off these earbuds a more expensive than the AirPods Pro which are the gold standard… but also their case is pretty big, their battery life is as long as these other earbuds, sound quality wise, they sound a little flat cause of their lack of bass and the mic on these earbuds is mid by today’s standards. I can only recommend these earbuds if you’re someone thats very particular about their fit, and you’re willing to make the compromises for slightly better fit. But other than that, bose really needs to wake up.