Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)

By Bose · Noise-Cancelling Headphones · Audio & Electronics

  • Battery Life 6 hours (up to 4 hours with Bose Immersive Audio on)
  • Battery Charge Time 2 hours
  • Water Resistant IPX4
  • Bluetooth 5.3, A2DP Bluetooth Audio Streaming / HFP, range 30 ft
  • Bud 1.18" H x 0.49" W x 0.98" D (0.016 lb)

Lowest price seen
$271.20
from $271.20 at Greentoe · Checked Oct 2, 2026

Prices are snapshots. Check the current price with the store.

Problems, parts and running costs

Summary

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) are a component refresh of the category’s benchmark noise-cancelling earbuds, adding wireless charging, an ear-wax guard, eight call microphones and a touch-control kill switch. Check the battery and the fit: playback stays at six hours with noise cancellation on, Immersive Audio drops it to four, and the large buds may not suit the smallest ears.

Strengths

  • Four independent reviews of the exact model back the noise-cancelling claim, with PCMag giving it an Editors’ Choice and TechRadar’s reviewer reporting the most effective ANC they had heard in earbuds.
  • Sound quality scores at the top of TechRadar’s scale and is described as rich, crisp and expansive, with strong but controlled bass.
  • Call quality is rated excellent, helped by eight microphones and a new AI-based noise-suppression system.
  • The case adds wireless charging, and the app adds case battery-level reporting plus a switch to disable touch controls.
  • An embedded ear-wax guard addresses the earwax-in-driver complaints reported on the first generation.
  • Multipoint, Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair make switching between devices easy.

Weaknesses

  • Battery is unchanged from the first generation: six hours with noise cancellation on, and Tom’s Guide measured just three hours with Immersive Audio against Bose’s four-hour claim.
  • The app EQ is minimal, four presets and three unlabeled bands, which PCMag called the poorest adjustable EQ in the premium class short of Apple.
  • PCMag found a faint background hiss when nothing is playing, hiss in Aware mode, and clipping on sudden loud noises, the last of which was also present on the first generation.
  • The buds are large with a wide stem and seat deep in the case; PCMag and WIRED flag that they may not fit the smallest ears, and the case is bulky.
  • The touch surface is easy to trigger when reseating a bud, and disabling it in the app also removes playback and call control.
  • Transparency mode trails the AirPods Pro 2, there is no LDAC, and Bluetooth is still version 5.3.

Verified specifications

Typein-ear, true wireless, Bluetooth.
Noise cancellingyes, adjustable; water resistance is IPX4 on the earbuds only and the case is not rated; no dust rating is published.
Driver9.3 mm dynamic, carried over from the first generation; Bose publishes no driver size or frequency response.
Microphoneseight in total, four per bud, with dynamic mixing and adaptive filters.
Bud dimensions1.18" H × 0.49" W × 0.98" D, 0.016 lb each.
Case dimensions2.60" H × 2.35" W × 1.06" D, 0.132 lb.
Batteryup to 6 hours playback per charge, up to 4 hours with Immersive Audio, and maximum talk time 4 hours; charge time 2 hours.
Caseholds up to three additional charges; 20 minutes in a fully charged case gives up to 2 hours of playback.
ChargingUSB-C port; the case also charges wirelessly on a compatible third-party pad, which is not included.
Bluetoothversion 5.3, range 30’, multipoint, Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair.
CodecsAAC, SBC, aptX Adaptive including aptX Lossless; no LDAC, and aptX works only on non-Samsung Android devices with a compatible Qualcomm chip.
Fitnine combinations of eartips and stability bands; extra sizes and bands are sold separately.
Materialsplastic (PC-ABS), silicone and metal.
Announced June 12, 2025.
Full research notes and sources

What changed in the second generation

This is a component-level refresh, not a redesign. PCMag states the earbuds look exactly the same as the previous generation, WIRED reports the same drivers with light tuning adjustments and no physical redesign, and TechRadar put both generations side by side and found a single physical addition: an embedded ear-wax guard in the eartips. Bose’s own FAQ lists what actually changed: AI-based background-noise suppression for calls, wireless charging, improved ActiveSense adaptive ANC, case battery-level reporting in the Bose app, and an option to disable touch controls. Launch colors were Black, White Smoke and limited-edition Deep Plum, and Bose carried the previous launch price over unchanged into 2025.

The product code is QCUE2-HEADPHONEIN, and the listing this page covers is ASIN B0F7M3HPBD, whose colorway could not be confirmed because Amazon pages were excluded as sources. Do not merge this model with the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), the Ultra Open Earbuds, the QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) or the first-generation QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. WIRED draws the last distinction explicitly, noting the first generation also had six hours with ANC on and 24 hours in the case.

Noise cancellation and sound

Noise cancellation is the core proposition and the evidence is unusually consistent. PCMag reported that the buds cut nearly all frequencies rather than only low ones, excelled on consistent droning sound such as airplane rumble and air-conditioner hum, and blanketed higher squeals on a city bus; in a busy cafe, faraway conversations were completely eliminated. TechRadar’s reviewer wrote that they had never heard more effective ANC in earbuds and missed their own doorbell while testing at a low music level. Tom’s Guide made them its top pick for noise-cancelling earbuds after about a month of testing. WIRED described noise reduction as slightly besting the previous pair all round, with the WF-1000XM5 sounding slightly better overall but losing on sound reduction. Transparency mode was rated on par with the WF-1000XM5 and behind the AirPods Pro 2.

Sound is the second strength. PCMag describes rich, full-bodied audio on a U/V-shaped curve with strong but controlled bass, judged as capable as the Technics EAH-AZ100 on bass-heavy material. TechRadar scored sound quality at the maximum, describing loud, zealous, crisp and expansive audio with a layered soundstage, while noting the Technics retains slightly more detail. WIRED notes the buds do not over-compress quiet content and stay balanced whether ANC is on, off or in between. The weak spot is personalization: four presets plus three unlabeled bands, with no listening test to build a custom profile.

Battery and charging

Battery is where the refresh shows its age. Bose’s published figures are unchanged from the first generation: up to six hours per charge, up to four with Immersive Audio, a case holding three additional charges, and 20 minutes in the case returning up to two hours. Those are Bose’s own February 2025 lab numbers at a fixed 75 dB playback loudness, and Bose says life varies with settings. Independent results land at or below the claims: TechRadar got exactly six hours and not a minute more at just under 45% volume, and Tom’s Guide matched the printed claims without exceeding them, measuring three hours with Immersive Audio on against 7.5 hours for the WF-1000XM5. The case also charges wirelessly on a compatible third-party pad that Bose does not include, and its LED glows solid amber when correctly centred.

Fit, controls and the app

The buds are physically large with a very wide stem, seat deep in the case and protrude more than rivals; PCMag also calls the case pocketable but noticeably bulkier than the AirPods Pro 2 and WF-1000XM5 cases. WIRED, who would otherwise choose the Sony, cites smaller ears and a smaller case as reasons not to. The capacitive touch surface is easy to hit when pushing a bud back in, which interrupted playback and track-skipping during testing until the reviewer learned to pinch the buds clear of the surface; disabling touch controls in the app solves that but also removes playback and call control. Bose rates the buds IPX4 and does not rate the case, and there is no published dust rating, unlike the AirPods Pro 2’s IP54. Two ANC artifacts are worth knowing: a faint hiss audible only when nothing is playing, hiss in Aware mode, and clipping on sudden loud noises such as a bus hitting a bump, the last of which PCMag had also found on the first generation.

Reliability, warranty and evidence

Four outlets tested the exact 2nd Gen, but reliability over time is unassessed. No exact-model owner-forum thread was retrievable, Bose publishes no failure or battery-degradation data, and the only owner-scale figure found is Bose’s own single-retailer rating pool, which is not a neutral sample or a defect rate. RTINGS has published a review of this model, but its article body did not render for plain fetching, so none of its measurements are used. Bose includes a 1-year limited warranty covering mechanical breakdown and battery failure, with optional extended plans adding years of coverage; direct purchases also carry a 30-day return policy. For repairability, Bose sells a 2nd Gen fit kit and a charging case, and offers a refurbished line, but no teardown or battery-replacement information was found, and whether the first-generation case, fit kit and eartips are cross-compatible with the 2nd Gen was not established.

Sources

Manufacturer:

Independent reviews:

Owner reports:

  • No exact-model owner-forum thread was retrievable; only Bose’s own single-retailer rating pool was found, and it is not used as evidence.

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