Bose debuted the second-generation QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds recently and we have now had a chance to test them out ahead of today’s pre-order launch. Frankly, the now previous models are still a wonderful set of buds that can mostly go toe-to-toe with the best of them – we weren’t even sure if we wanted Bose to change anything. But with some subtle tweaks here and there, enhancements to its already world-class noise cancellation tech, better call quality, and fine tuned audio, one of the best just got even better.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) review
Update: The new Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) are also now up for pre-order at Amazon, but only in the black and White Smoke colorways.
The new Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) are now available for pre-order in Black, White Smoke, and Deep Plum at $299 shipped – no price jump here and it’s a miracle. They will begin shipping on September 10, 2025.
- Wireless charging out of the box
- Up to six hours of battery life in the buds alone
- Charging case holds up to three additional charges
- 20-minute quick charge for up to additional 2 hours
- Capacitive touch controls can now be toggled off in the app
- Bluetooth Core 5.3 multipoint connectivity
- Low Complexity Sub band Coding (SBC)
- Low Complexity Sub band Coding (SBC)
- Qualcomm aptX Adaptive
- Google Fast Pair
Always hear your music with a new algorithm improving ActiveSense, enhancing Bose’s adaptive noise cancellation to smooth out spikes in unwanted sounds while in Aware Mode – preventing audio from being drowned out while still maintaining awareness of your surroundings. Experience personalized performance and noise cancellation tailored to your unique ear shape with Bose’s Custom Tune technology, delivering more balanced and customized sound from your earbudsCinematic, immersive sound wherever you go.
Bose Immersive Audio spatializes what you’re hearing by taking it out of your head and placing it in front of you — and with the new Cinema Mode, audio is spatialized with a wide, externalized sound stage in front of you while crispening dialogue for clarityBe heard when speaking as a new AI-noise suppression system combined with Bose audio augmentation technology improves call quality and voice pickup
Build, fit, and looks
I loved the fit on the originals from 2023, and I love it here again. There are only 3 size ear tips in the box, which is a bit of a shame for some, but it all worked out fine for me. There is a slight ridge that rests just inside the ear when you’re wearing them that, in combination with the more chunky overall form-factor here, ensured a super tight seal and one that remained in place while walking, running, and in my version of a cross-fit training session – unless your ears just won’t play nice with the ear tips provided, I would imagine your experience would be much of the same.
The sort of unique “stem” on the QuietComfort buds has always been a highlight for me. I don’t think I look stupid wearing AirPods Pro or with the more rounded vibe on display when wearing the Sony XM5 flagships, but none of them look as good aesthetically on the wearer as the Bose buds do in my opinion. And this is once again true on the 2nd Gen. For me, and this is of course an entirely personal opinion, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) are easily one of the more fashionable pair of buds you can stick into the side of your head.
Battery Life
You’re looking at a total of 24 hours – 6 hours in the buds themselves and another 18 in the case. It certainly would have been nice to see Bose deliver more battery life this go around (this is the same as last gen), but that’s par for the course and more or less the same as what you get from the competition.
The Immersion Mode (more on this below) will drop the battery life down significantly to closer to 4 hours, which is as much a shame as it is understandable. I’m not a huge fan of spatial audio on a regular basis, so it’s really not much of an issue for me, but something to keep in mind if you are.
Listening Modes – Quiet, Aware and Immersion
The three listening modes Bose has based its Ultra lineup around are back – Quiet, Aware and Immersion, all of which are largely improved across the spectrum for the 2nd Gen Ultras. In other words, ANC mode, transparency mode, and Bose’s special version of spatial audio response.
For those unfamiliar, Quiet Mode is effectively the most powerful of the bunch – this ANC setting has effectively been blocking around everything around us to an impressive degree for more than a couple years now, and is even better this time around. While it has been on the wrong end of criticism previously, with some users suggesting the experience feels a touch too synthetic and not quite as organic as some of the competition out there, I for one love it and feel that Bose has once again set itself apart from the rest (especially when it comes to earbuds).
Construction noise on the street, loud talkers on the train, passing sirens, and just about every other annoyingly loud or intrusive experience I could give these things in my testing were handled with relative ease. Bose has been boasting that the 2nd Gen Ultras are better able to handle just about everything, and that appears to be the case – they are able to adjust to changing conditions and sudden groans leaving the nearby construction site, a squealing subway train from a nearby above ground portion of the track, and that guy that started yelling into a megaphone across the street. Solid all around here.
Yes, there is a bit of a total vacuum thing happening here that is, perhaps, a but unnatural feeling, but some of the background noise present previously has been reduced quite a bit to my ears and when it comes to completely shutting out the world around you, they are certainly Quiet and impressively so.
Much of the same impressions come with Aware Mode for me. Bose’s transparency mode has been improved this time around as well and, while it is still obvious you’re listening to the world through the headphones as it were, it allows voices and environmental noise through nicely when you need to hear the world around you without removing your buds.
The spatial, or Immersive Mode is once again a mixed bag for me. When it’s great, it’s very great, but there are times when it doesn’t do the song justice. Don’t get me wrong it is a total blast to hear songs you know and love in a new way, and there are times when it treats the audio well, but for me I would just rather listen to the song the way the creator meant for me to. And the toll it takes on the battery life just isn’t particularly worth it for me – it roughly speaking reduces the on bud juice from 6 down to 4 hours.
Fun, interesting, and even impressive at times, the Immersive mode is still just an add-on experience to the brilliant ANC action for me.
Call quality
In many ways the call quality experience here falls in line with that of the listening modes. Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) do an even better job than last go around (and most of the competition) at blocking out background noise to leave voices front and center, but it is perhaps a touch less natural sounding than some of the other buds I have in the office here. However, the point of these noise cancellation features on calls is to hear who is on the other end of the line properly, and ensure you are reciprocating, and Bose achieves this wonderfully. In my testing against the B&W Pi8 and AirPods Pro 2, both myself and the person on the other end of the line felt the Bose experience was just as good or better when it came to nixing the unwanted wind and background noise.
Sound
Much like the ANC action here, if ‘aint broke don’t fix it – just make it a bit better without messing the whole thing up. Bose is boasting a better low end sound reproduction and a smoother high-end this go around – it has all worked out for the best to my ears.
Sound quality is far too subjective to take my word for it – some folks will love these things, some will think AirPods Pro 2 are better, and some will sort of hate both. For me, Bose hits with the best of them and has enhanced the listening experience this go around without screwing it all up. It is a subtle difference when I A/B the previous models with the 2nd Gen, but noticeable nonetheless, especially in the low end.
App
And here’s a look at the app side of things – there’s nothing overly remarkable, special, or unique here, it just gets the job done. Pairing was immediate and simple, there’s nice customizable EQ, you can customize the ANC sensitivity, and customize the hold touch control on the earbuds as well – you can also select when to auto engage the listening modes too:
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