Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds

A capable, feature-rich flagship pair with excellent noise cancelling and Snapdragon Sound support, held back by a bass- and treble-heavy tuning, middling distortion and immersiveness scores, and a steep price.

The earbuds deliver superb noise cancellation, sound quality, soundstage and call clarity, but are held back by bulky, tiring comfort, short battery life and patchy connectivity, especially with iPhones.

8.9/10

A modest but real step up from the QC Earbuds 2 that delivers top-tier noise canceling, excellent sound and a secure fit, held back by missing multipoint and wireless charging; not worth upgrading for existing QC Earbuds 2 owners.

The 2nd Gen Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are comfortable, stable flagship earbuds with excellent noise cancellation. They are held back by short battery life, high gaming latency and a modest microphone, and the discounted 1st Gen narrows their value case.

The reviewer finds these the best noise-cancelling earbuds they have tested, with excellent sound and Editors' Choice status, held back only by fussy touch controls, middling battery life, and a weak EQ.

The writer found the Ultra Earbuds a worthwhile upgrade over the QuietComfort II, with class-leading noise cancellation, a slimmer comfortable fit, and fun immersive audio modes, held back by short battery life with all features on, overpowering bass, and a bulky case.

9/10

The writer calls the second-generation Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds the best noise-canceling earbuds available, with small but useful upgrades over the original and excellent sound and call quality.

These earbuds deliver the best noise cancelation available plus a striking immersive audio feature and a secure fit, but the missing wireless charging and multipoint pairing, along with weak call quality, keep them from being a no-compromise choice at this price.

The reviewers consider these flagship Bose earbuds a five-star pair thanks to comfort, class-leading noise cancelling and slightly punchier, clearer sound than the predecessor, though Immersive Audio is hit-and-miss and owners of the QC Earbuds II needn't rush to upgrade.

~9/10

A refined pair of earbuds with best-in-class noise cancellation, lively sound and better call quality, though the upgrade over the first generation is modest and they may not fit small ears.

The second-generation Bose earbuds are a refined, comfortable upgrade with near-class-leading noise cancellation, fixed call quality and slightly better sound, though they cost a lot, have mediocre battery life and are bested on sound by Technics and Sony rivals.

5/5

The writer found the second-gen Bose earbuds to have the best noise cancellation, sound and call mics of any buds they've tested, and thinks they will be very hard to beat in 2025 for anyone who puts noise-nixing first, despite a few missing features and a large design.

The reviewer found the second-gen QC Ultra Earbuds to have the best noise cancellation of any earbuds he has tested, plus great sound and added wireless charging, though the bulky fit, mediocre battery life and high price keep them from being a universal pick.

The reviewer finds these earbuds offer class-leading noise cancelation and very good sound in a comfortable, travel-friendly design, but call quality, the missing wireless charging, a basic EQ, and low water resistance keep them from being a flawless purchase at their price.

The earbuds deliver excellent noise cancellation and very good, lively sound with a stable fit, but the bass-heavy, slightly grainy tuning and easily triggered touch controls hold them back.