Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds (2nd Gen) first impression review: One critical upgrade

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Since their release in 2023, Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds have been Mashable’s favorite noise-cancelling earbuds. So naturally, when Bose announced its second-generation QuietComfort Ultra earbuds — which are available for preorder as of Aug. 28 — I was curious to test them out.

After spending one week with the earbuds, I can say that so far, they remain the most comfortable earbuds on the market, with some of the best noise cancellation money can buy — but they don’t feel all that different from their predecessor. Given that many devices can fall victim to fixing what isn’t broke in the name of producing an “upgraded” model, the lack of dramatic changes isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

So are they worth the upgrade? Let’s dive into my early thoughts (which I am obligated to say, are subject to change as I spend more time with the earbuds).

Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) specs

Below, you’ll find the quick rundown of what to expect with these earbuds, with new features bolded:

• Adjustable active noise cancellation

• Immersive Audio for spatial listening experience

• Custom equalizer with four audio presets

• Three sizes of stability bands and ear tips with wax guards

• Six hours of battery life (four hours with Immersive Audio), and up to 24 hours with the case

• Wireless charging for case

• 20 minutes of quick charge for

• Toggle touch controls on/off

• Bluetooth 5.3, Google Fast Pair

• Bose SpeechClarity, an AI-powered technology to promote better voice quality on calls

• Improved adaptive ANC, especially in Aware Mode

• IPX4 water- and sweat-resistance

Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds

A quick glance at the spec list above will tell you that not a ton has changed between the first and second generation QC Ultra earbuds. The products themselves look nearly identical, and both started at the price point of $299 (though you can likely expect to see the first gen on sale more often as it’s slowly phased out of Bose’s lineup).

Without the color differences, I’d have trouble telling which is which.
Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable

Despite the similar hardware, I did notice improved audio quality, noise cancellation, and general ease of use with the second generation earbuds.

Audio quality

Bose’s marketing materials don’t tout many major upgrades to these earbuds’ listening experience, but a rep from the brand told me to look out for an improved bass response and clarity at higher frequencies. Even without the direction, I firmly believe I would’ve heard the improvements: Ebony Loren’s vocals on her cover of “O Pato” sounded clearer and even louder, without sounding blown out. Chappell Roan crooning “She’s got a way” on her latest song, “The Subway,” somehow hit even harder on the second-gen earbuds, highlighting a robustness where the first-gen Ultras default to a flatter sound.

As for the bass, I went to my go-to songs where I need the bass to sound good — Magdalena Bay’s “Killshot” and Le Sserafim’s “Crazy” — and these earbuds delivered. Both offered a nice reverberation and blend, especially with the synth and guitar lines in the former song. The balance let me appreciate the depth of the bass and the layers of each song’s production. Plus, with the ANC on, I could barely hear myself typing. Even on less bass-heavy tracks like Laufey’s “Tough Luck,” the quality of the bass allowed me to appreciate the backbone of the song more, offering an overall better-rounded listening experience.

For anyone looking to fine-tune the sound on their earbuds, the equalizer settings between both generations of earbuds are exactly the same. On the other hand, call quality is noticeably improved: when I made my partner do a blind test by calling him on each earbud, he immediately identified the newer Ultras, saying my voice sounded significantly less muffled.

Noise cancellation

While Bose is known for having great audio quality, the brand’s real standout feature is their noise-cancellation, and these earbuds offer no exception.

Bose’s first claim is that on the newer earbuds, the adaptive ANC is better equipped at handling spikes in audio to prevent clipping, particularly in transparency mode. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to create the conditions for that particular feature in the course of the last week, but I have been able to use both earbuds in a shared workspace, right under an air conditioning unit, and with the TV playing nearby. In each of the above scenarios, the second-generation QC Ultras’ performance bested the first gen, offering slightly more blockage.

More notably, these earbuds have a much less noticeable hiss than the first-gen earbuds, both on ANC and transparency modes. While not totally at the level of completely undetectable ANC, with these earbuds, Bose gets closer.

Comfort

With such a similar design, I didn’t expect the newer earbuds to wear all that different, and spoiler alert — they didn’t. Still, I appreciate the inclusion of a wax guard for easier cleaning, even if it’s not a revolutionary feature.

The 2nd gen earbuds (right) have a guard to help catch dirt and ear wax, making the earbuds easier to clean and less susceptible to damage.
Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable

Still, there aren’t many negative things I can say about the design of these earbuds. The stability bands help keep the earbuds firmly in place, without ever causing soreness or fatigue, even after a few hours of wear. The touch control is a little large, and the general design of the earbud is a tad clunky (meaning a higher likelihood to accidentally trigger those controls), but if that proves to be a real problem for you, Bose did include the option to toggle touch controls off completely with the newer generation.

Other points of difference

I was able to confirm the wireless charging on the second generation buds worked thanks to the charger built into my monitor stand from Target — in other words, you won’t need anything fancy.

What stood out more than the charging to me was the ease of connection with these earbuds. I’ve tested my fair share of Bose headphones and earbuds, and across the board, they struggle with multipoint connection, often failing to connect or struggling to play back audio without skipping when more than one device is paired. It’s never been a good look for Bose’s price points, but so far, I haven’t experienced these issues at all with the second-gen QC Ultra earbuds, and I’ve been switching between four different devices for playback (with two connected at a given time).

Who should upgrade to the second-generation Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds?

I’m going to withhold my full judgment until my (incoming) full review, but if you haven’t updated your earbuds in a while, or have never invested in a pair of premium earbuds, I can’t see the second-gen Bose QC Ultra earbuds disappointing you. That said, first gen owners can likely skip the upgrade this time around, and anyone looking for a cheaper option still has plenty of other choices — even within the QuietComfort line.

Where to buy Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds

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