So like I said in my previous video, I think that bose has been very stagnate for the last few years. Instead of making the hardware changes that they need… they’ve just been putting out products with very minor upgrades, they throw in AI, and come out with a whole lot of new color ways and they call it a new product. Now dont get me wrong, I think the Bose Smart Soundbar is a great mid sized soundbar consider, and I really like the Bose QC Headphones cause they are super comfy, and both of Bose’s earbuds fit very well, but both the Bose QC Ultra earbuds 2 and the Bose QC Earbuds struggle to keep up with the rest of the competition.
Now when it comes to pricing, the Bose QC earbud retail for $180 which isn’t awful, especially when compared to either the Bose QC Ultra earbuds 2 or Bose Ultra Open earbuds which both retail for $300, which is way to much if you ask me. And personally, I feel that both the AirPods 4 and the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are the gold standard when it comes to earbuds… however Bose’s earbuds do have perhaps the best fit out there. Nonetheless, if you want to pick either of 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 always watch some of the related videos in the description down below.
So first we need to talk about these cases, now Bose has always struggled with their cases on their earbuds. The Bose QC Earbuds case is huge when compared to lets say the AirPods 4 which are their direct competitors, and its also huge when compared to lets say the AirPods Pro, Sony WF-1000XM5, or Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. And this case is also huge compared to the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2 case which is also still considerably larger than all of these other cases. So with either of Bose’s cases, these cases are just super noticeable when they’re in your pocket, which isn’t good for everyday carry, especially when compared to these other cases. Now the Bose QC Ultra 2’s case is significantly smaller than the Bose QC’s… but its still too big for today’s standard. If bose wants to be competitive in today’s market, they need to get all of their cases to Bose Ultra Open earbuds case size.
And when it comes to battery life, the case the battery life ratio on either of these two earbuds is not good, escpailly on the Bose QC earbuds. Now the Bose QC earbuds have an advertised combined battery life of 31 hours with their active noise cancellation turned on, The earbuds themselves can go for up to 8 and a half hours and the case can supply 2 and a half extra charges. But whats really important here is that you can actually turn off the ANC on the Bose QC’s so you can extend their battery life more… or just use the ANC when you want… where as with the Bose QC Ultra 2, you can’t turn off their ANC.
Where as with the Bose QC Ultra 2, these earbuds have the same combined battery life as their predecessors. 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. However you cant turn of their ANC so you can’t extend their battery life.
So overall, the Bose QC’s have a longer combined battery life and the earbuds themselves have better stamina than the Bose QC Ultra and with the Bose QC’s you can extend their battery life cause you can turn off their ANC. However the battery life of case size ratio on either of these two earbuds… especially on the Bose QC’s isn’t all that great cause the AirPods 4, AirPods Pro, Sony WF-1000XM5 and Samsung Galaxy earbuds all have longer lasting battery lives all while having a significantly smaller case.
So its pretty obvious that I dont like either of Bose’s case, escpially the Bose QC’s. However something that I do like about both of these earbuds are their fit. Now even though these earbuds look very different from one another, they both fit the same, they both have a very shallow fit to them, but they still manage to passively block out a lot of noise, but they also have rubber feet that give them a lot of lock down. So the result is that both of these earbuds are able to passively block out a lot noise cause they create a really good seal with your ear canals, but they dont feel super intrusive cause they dont go in deep into your ear canals… but the still manage to stay in place very well thanks to their rubber feet. So these earbuds aren’t going to wiggle out if you’re exercising with them. Cause with lets say the AirPods Pro or Galaxy Buds 3 pro, these two earbuds are shallow fitting, so they dont feel super intrusive and they passively block out a decent amount noise. However they can wiggle out. Or you can get the Sony WF-1000XM5’s or any other pair of standard fitting in earbuds which go in deeper into your ear canals which can give you better lock down, but they feel a lot more intrusive. Or you can get something like the AirPods 4 or Galaxy Buds which are super comfortable earbuds… but they dont passively block out noise. So with both of Bose’s earbuds, these fit extremely well, but if you want that superior fit, you are going to need to make a lot of compromises. With the Bose QC’s you’re going to have to deal with an abnormally large case, and with the Bose QC Ultra 2, you’re still going to have large case to deal with, but you’re also going to have a larger price tag to deal with.
Now when it comes to connectivity, both of these earbuds 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… both of 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, both of these earbuds have support for SBC and AAC, but only the Ultra 2 have support for Snapdragon sound. But in order to use that you do have to be an android user.
But now lets talk about sound, for the most part, both the QC and QC Ultra 2 sound the same. They both sound good enough to get the job done and they both have very good instrument separation. But both of these earbuds leans towards a brighter sound signature, and since both of these earbuds lack a lot of kick or resonance in their bass compared to their direct competitors like either AirPods, Sony, or Samsung… these earbuds sound flat and boring by comparison. And even if you were to go into these earbuds apps, and adjust their EQ, their bass is still going to be lacking. So these earbuds just dont sound as full as their competitors. And another thing that I want to point out here is, the Bose QC’s have a separate app from all of Bose’s other products… so I find this to be very weird and it’ll might matter to you if you have lets say Bose’s Smart soundbar, which I actually really like. So when it comes to sound quality, these earbuds get the job done, but if you’re looking for better sound quality, id look at something else.
And when it comes to the media controls on these earbuds, therye a little different. You can tap on both earbuds to play or pause your music, and you can skip through your music, but whats different on the Ultra 2 is that you can also swipe up and down to adjust your volume, And personally I really like being able to swipe on my earbuds to adjust my volume, however I will point out that the accuracy of these swiping gestures isn’t as good as the swiping gestures as 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.
And the ANC On the Bose QC Ultra 2 also blocks out more noise than the Bose QC’s, which I really like to see cause the Bose QC’s actually blocked out more noise than the previous Bose QC Ultra which are actually older. But just like the Ultra 2, the ANC on the Bose QC’s also manages to block out an impressive amount of noise without a lot of cabin pressure. Making them very comfortable. And even though the Bose QC’s are priced the same as the AirPods 4… it is expected that they block out more noise, cause they actually create a seal with your ear canals, where as the AirPods 4 dont.
And then theres the ambient mode on these earbuds. Ambient mode on the Bose QC Ultra 2 sounds better than the ambient mode on the Bose QC cause it doesn’t sound as robotic, and the Ultra sounds more natural. Where as with the Bose QC, it kind of sounds like people’s voices are getting pushed down. Again these ambient modes get the job done, and the Ultra 2 sounds better than the Bose QC, but both of these ambient modes are behind the ambient modes that you’ll find on either the AirPods 4 or AirPods Pro.
Mic Bose QC quiet
But finally heres the microphone test, and this is an area where bose is really struggling to keep up with the rest of the competition. Now while in a quiet room, I feel that the mic on the Bose QC sounds okay.
Mic Ultra 2 quiet
And the mic on the Bose QC Ultra 2 does sound a little better than the mic found on the Bose QC. And this is where bose is going to say, oh the mic on these earbuds has been improved thanks to AI.
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 noticeable amount of road noise in. But at least I feel that its still very easy to actually understand you while you’re talking.
Mic Bose QC Road Noise
But then here are the Bose QC earbuds and these are just letting in more road noise making it harder to understand you and there is a noticeable amount of interference going on with my voice.
Mic Bose QC Chatter
And when it comes to blocking out chatter, these earbuds are trying to reduce this chatter… but they are also pushing down on my voice, making it difficult to actually understand me.
Mic Bose Ultra 2 Chatter
Now with the Bose QC Ultra 2, these are doing a better job of blocking out this chatter, but they are also pushing down on my voice a lot, making it very hard to understand me.
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 both of Bose’s earbuds, 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, both the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2 and Bose QC Earbuds 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 both of 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. With both of these earbuds, you are paying a premium, especially with the Bose QC Ultra earbuds 2, and you’re having to make a lot of compromises. Especially with the Bose QC earbuds cause this case is abnormally large. Sound quality wise, they sound a little flat cause of their lack of bass. The mic on the Bose QC Ultra 2 is mid compared to its rirect competitors, and you should only use the mic on the Bose QC while in a quiet room. I can only recommend Bose’s 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.