QuietComfort Ultra Bluetooth Earbuds, Wireless Earbuds with Spatial Audio and World-Class Active Noise Cancellation, Deep Bass, Up to 6 Hours of Playtime, White Smoke

I rarely write reviews, due to lack of time and the fact that if a product performs the way it's supposed to, it doesn't deserve my time to review it. For the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, I will make an exception. Simply put, they are wonderful - the sound, the noise cancelling, the ease of fit and comfort. A solid product all around. I have never been a big Bose fan. I thought their products were good, but not great and overpriced. I was looking for a pair of earbuds to replace my old faithful Jabra 65T Elites that finally died. They were nearly 4 years old and didn't owe me anything. Based on reviews, I tried the Apple AirPod Pro 2nd gen, the Sony WF-1000XM5 and the Bose. I was interested in the AirPods mostly because of their compatibility with my Iphone and my son's recommendation. I returned them for three reasons. First, to get them to fit with a tight seal was an ordeal. Fifteen minutes of futzing around to finally pass the seal test (and that's with Comply foam tips -- the Apple silicone tips didn't work for me period.) And even after passing the seal test, I did not find the ANC particularly effective. Adjusting the volume by sliding my finger up and down the stem was wonky -- not working, pausing the music or shifting the bud, the seal I worked so hard to get, broke. Also, not having a real equalizer is a drawback. Apple has a customization wizard, but I like to have different settings for different genres of music. The customization wizard uses Apple's own sound track. On to the Sony's. I liked the Sony's. I have the WH-1000XM4 over the ear headphones for serious listening and they are great. But they are not suitable to wear for dog walking, bike rides or the gym. I need earbuds. The over the ears are also bulky to take on airplane flights taking up a lot real estate in my string pack or messenger bag. Anyway, I tried the 1000XM5's and liked them. The sound is very good as is the ANC. The three drawbacks are ease of fit, comfort and volume control. While easier to pass the seal fit test than the apples, it still took more futzing around than I care to do. Also, to pass the seal test, I had to use the large tips which hurt my ears after an hour. Finally, the four tap volume control is a pain. I either got know response or went back a track because I only tapped three times. So on to the Bose. Nirvana. Fit and Comfort. So easy to get a fit with their innovative tip and wing combo. The wings are really a small silicone gasket that fit inside your ear, but outside the ear canal. Select the right combo of tip and wing (sized independently) put them in your ear and you pass the fit test, first time, every time. I hardly feel them in my ears. Sound Quality. Superb. The Bose bathe me with aural warmth. I liked the Sony sound until I listened to the Bose. I would characterize the sound as warm but accurate. The Sony sound is like sunlight. The Bose sound is like an incandescent lamp. Despite the warmth, the sound is always clean and bright when it needs to be. I listen to a very wide range of music and the sound has been great for every genre. I think that classical music really tests the quality of an audio product due to the tonal range of instruments and voices and the variety of textures. Listening to Mozart's Requiem was sublime. It was like falling in love all over again. The immersion sound option raises the sound quality to a whole new level, bringing a depth and presence to the music. Just wow. And unlike the spatial music technology of Sony and Apple, immersion works for all sources. What I said about Mozart applies to any rock, jazz, and Latin that I have thrown out them. I've heard sounds, I've never heard before. The Bose app has a basic equalizer but I leave everything flat. ANC: Can't be beat. I can listen to quiet music while my wife is watching TV and it doesn't bother me. Sharp sounds such as a firecracker breakthrough but it's not a sensory deprivation chamber after all. I remember the early days of ANC -- it deadened the sound. Not these buds. The sound is alive and well. Can't wait to take them on my first flight in two weeks. And the aware mode is terrific. Just switch to aware and have a conversation without taking the buds out or when using them while on a bike ride. Controls: Work really well and sliding you finger to increase/decrease volume is easy, unlike my experience with the AirPod Pros. I learned that the double and triple taps to move forwards and backwards between tracks does not have to be super rapid. Overall, the touch controls work as well as the physical controls of my old Jabra's. Phone calls: Very secondary for me but so far they have worked just fine. I hear voices clearly and it seems that I am easily understood. Battery Life -- The only weakness- 4 hours with immersion on but I'm told with moderate volume, you can eke out 5 hours, enough for a cross country flight. And I will keep my over the ear Sony's up top in my carry on if I need them. I am not too concerned. Not concerned enough to take take a star off. Everybody's tastes are different. Some folks will be wed to Apple and it's ecosystem and the buds are $50 less. Sony has better battery life. But for me, Bose wins hands down for the combination of fit, comfort, sound quality, ANC and controls.

I don't work in a peaceful environment with timid people, who are respectful of each other and know how to shut up. No. I work in a warehouse. Not a good warehouse. A small warehouse. With 30 people in a single room. People who literally SCREAM along with the music playing over the speakers. People who think being the most annoying person possible is funny. What's worse. It's 10 hour shifts. I've had enough. I decided, time for noise canceling headphones!! This review is for someone in the same position as me. That NEEDS, DESPERATELY, some way to shut down the noise around them. After much debate, I decided between two choices. The Jlab Epic Lab True Edition (200 USD) and the new Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra headphones. (250 USD) I went with these two because 1) I was very interested how jlabs new signature headphones would compare to the 20$ version they offer. I wondered how much better it could be for 200$, also I was interested in the Knowles corporation equalizer preset. Big audio company. 2) Bose is the leader of ANC headphones. I've never had a pair so I had to see what the fuss was about. I got both of these on Amazon knowing I can return the worst pair within 30 days. After using these, I want to apologize to my past self for not doing this sooner. I have broken them in over the past week at work, and it's the only time I have been there I haven't wanted to walk out within hours or gotten crazy depressed. I realized. I actually like my job. Let's start with jlab I'm going to get this out of the way. If you relate to my situation at all. These are not the headphones for you. IF you have a good life. A good job. One without people literally screaming in your ear 10 hours. Please get these. The audio quality on these are amazing. I was shocked. I honestly teared up when putting my favorite song on for first time. I heard parts of that song I have NEVER heard. You will experience this. The Knowles setting is life changing. These are a daily driver for sure. I am impressed. Comfortable and very water resistant. The active noise canceling is actually pretty good. I could barely hear my husband with music on. But my situation....multiple...people...yelling, in union, to Taylor swift. The jlabs can not handle it lol. It does get muffled...a bit. Which honestly, is loads better than just white knuckling it. But if you are looking for strictly ANC, don't get these at 200$. Are they worth 200$ on sound quality alone. Gods yes. Are they worth that...to ME. Ehh.. Bose. Honestly I was not expecting to like these as much. I heard a lot of things about loss of connectivity plus not being water resistant. In my warehouse. I do get water on my hands sometimes so I did not have high hopes. But let me tell you. The second I put these on at work, before the music played it did the ANC switch and I was the happiest I have been in months. It instantly took out the warehouse music, the machines, the fans, the background noises and 80% of the talking. I felt like I could breathe for once. The overstimulation gone like *snaps*. Then the music started playing. I was watching my coworkers mouths and I broke out in a huge grin that lasted minutes. I could see them talk, but hear them talk I could not. This is the first week in months where I didn't get depressed after about 30 minutes of that. So the ANC is legendary. The sound...is not. I keep looking at my jlabs like... ??? How do they sound so much better?! I think the bose default settings out of box is just too treble heavy. I used the app to set mine +9, +4, -2. That is the closest I can get it to sound like jlabs but they still don't. Why?! I don't know why. They still do sound good. Like a 8/10. That plus not hearing my coworkers discuss if lobsters have souls, makes this purchase on sale at $250 a steal for me. I'm going to be returning the Jlabs and looking for a future sale. I would like to have them in my collection for when I just need some good headbanging. Both headphones are great, but get the one you need for the life you live. Take care!

I was forced to buy new earbuds becuase I accidentally left my old BOSE QC earbuds in my pants pocket and washed them. They would eventually power up but would not connect etc. so I opted for the new BOSE Ultra QC earbuds. But, the only thing ultra about these earbuds is that the sound quality is slightly better the the regular QC's and for me is the only Pro in my evaluation. I'll preface this with I use my earbuds on multiple devices. iPhone, iPad and laptop. Let's start with what I hate about the case. 1. Its smaller then the regular QC's which is good for slipping them in your pocket. What I miss in this case is the indicator lights that show you the battery level of the case. The ultra case does not have this and haveing it is very helpful to me. 2. With the regualer QC case you can also toggle between devices with the small button inside the case. Although the ultra case has this button on the back, its pretty much useless and barely has any functions. Its almost wasted effort in designn and manfacturing for BOSE. 2.a With the button on the regular case you can press it once to see what device it is connected to. very simple and very useful. The ultra case does not do this. You have to open the BOSE app on your device to see where its connected AND you have to use the app to change devices. This may be my biggest issue. Its musch easier to just toggle the button on the case while the buds are in your ears to change evices. I don't want to have to get my phone out, open the app, wait for the app to connect , touch the earbud icon to see my choices and select what device I want. I simply want to toggle the button on the case. 3. Trying to withdraw the earbuds from the case is not easy. The only way I can get them out of the case is by tugging on the rubber ear piece. I'm sure over time they will tear apart. This seems to not been thought through by the designers. Now lets go with the earbuds. 1. They are small and I guess that's ok not much of an issue here except for the earpice options. While I have to use the largest option from the choice of 3; even the largest option isn't really big enough. It fits ok but not great. My regular QC's biggest option is larger and fits really good. I'm not sure why they didn't retain the same sizing options for the ultra. 2. While using, you have to luanch the app to see the battery life. With the regular QC's you simply touch the left bud to hear the battery level. Again, very simple and useful. 2.a Lets talk about battery life. While initially I just used my new ultras for conference calls and listening to videos while connected to my laptop and it all seemed good. Then one day, with a full charge, I went for a walk that lasted just over an hour. With about 10 minutes left on the walk I started getting low battery responses. I'm like, no way. I can't have this. I normally have several conference calls that last over an hour and I can't have these dying in the middle of a call. I also travel a lot by air and often have flights over 2 hours. So reason #1 why I returned them. 3. The sound quality is very comprable for both and while the ultra may be slightly better but not worth the extra $$. I'm a sound nut and not opposed to spending extra doe for better quality but not here. Especially with the other issues I have for this version. All in all, I'm very dissapointed in BOSE's effort with the Ultra's. I have a lot of bose items and this is the first time I've been dissapointed in their products. So much so I sent the ultras back and purchased the regular QC noise cancelling earbuds like I had before. Now I'm happy again.

I'm sharing the difference between the Bose sports buds and these QC Ultra. Which do I prefer? I'm still on the fence. It's the same as android vs iohone. They both have cons and pros. So what's my experience of wearing Bose earbuds? I wear the buds nearly everyday. In fact, I wear them 6-10 hours all day, at least 5 days a week. I am a highly active person. A fitness instructor, farmer's wife, country farm girl who cans and freezes all her garden produce and cares for the 6 acre yard, I have my buds in nearly everyday, all day long. Pros to QC Ultra: The sound is INCREDIBLE! The 3 different modes are crazy good! Perfect for whatever atmosphere you desire! Can't hear the LOUD white noise of the inside of aircraft, can't hear the mower when mowing the yard, can't hear water running when washing dishes. Turn in immersion and you hear everything perfectly 👌 Compared to Bose Sports buds, the buds I bought new twice, new in 2017 (lost this pair) and 2019 (didn't hold a charge more than 10 mins in mid 2023), were not as loud, clear or had the 3 different listening modes. They may have improved in all these areas. Cons to QC Ultra: The buds won't stay in my ears if I move around much. Examples would be 1. outside getting up, kneeling down, wiping sweat off of forehead while gardening, 2. the natural vibrations while mowing, 3. while singing along with the music talking and 4. Talking on the phone to someone since the jaw is moving the buds slightly, causing them to loosen and eventually fall out. Second: if you have long hair, wear hoodies or have your hands/arms moving by your head, you will activate the buds to perform a command. Mine will switch songs, change listening modes or end a social media app. Even my wet hair will trigger the mode changes. Blow drying my hair will change the modes. But when I tap it purposefully to pauce the music or change the listening mode, it doesn't consistently respond to the touch of my finger. This gets alittle frustrating when it appears the buds are so sensitive to touch but my own finger touching it with purpose doesn't consistently produce the same results. 3. These buds don't have a push button. They are only activated if they malfunction (stop responding in a way that you desire) by reinserting them into their case. This is aggrivating when I'm mowing or in the garden. Either I have to go get the case to reset them or carry the case with me wherever I go around my house and outside property. Ugh!! I wish they had a reset button like the Bose Sports. I could turn them on/off and reset, and even engage them to switch the BT device I wanted them to switch to. *So my review is meant to only serve as a tool to help you choose which you think would work best for you! If you need excellent music quality and clear crisp sounding videos, these are for you! The sound quality blows Galaxy buds & apple buds and away in my opinion. The only sound quality I've ever heard was Beats padded headphones. I'm not talking loud and blary or hearing the 5 string quartet crisp. I'm talking about hearing every instrument with perfect ease, easy to allowing your own mind switch and focus in on the the sax, to the drums, to the lead vocals, to the bass guitar kind of listening. A perfect blend of separate sounds. It's crazy! You can enjoy loud music from the sounds of the amazing Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert to a hard, bass-thumpin' NF or Aerosmith song. Anyone can listen to a band on a lesser quality set of buds with less instruments and hear the different sounds well. These Bose QC Ultra buds allow you to experience the beautiful chaos inside a "loud" concert and thoroughly enjoy each individual piece that creates the experiencial masterpiece! If you just need good music quality and know that the little quirks of the buds falling out and the sensitively of the buds will push you over the edge everyday, then I would recommend the sports buds. I honestly am not sure which I would choose if I bought another pair. I hope the sports buds have this same music quality. If so, I'd get them. If the sports buds don't have the music quality, well, I honestly don't know. I guess I'll tell you which I decide upon then, in another 3 years if these quit holding a charge (or God-forbid that I lose them).

I owned some traditional Bose noise canceling headphones for years that I've used extensively for travel, mowing the lawn, etcetera. They're great! I was looking for something I could use every day, and because of my experience with the brand I purchased Bose QC Ultra Earbuds. Starting with the unboxing - Bose did a nice job with packaging, but you'd expect that in this price range. The earbud charger case is a nice shape and size, but it lacks wireless charging. This is disappointing for these high-end earbuds. The next thing I tried was removing the earbuds from the case. This is where I began to get annoyed. Perhaps there’s a trick I’m not aware of but getting the earbuds out of the case is much more difficult than it should be! The Earbuds themselves are very nice. After trying them for fit, I realized I needed to go to the larger Eartips and Stability Bands. Bose did a nice job in their manual stepping you through checking the fit and the replacement of these pieces. Once I replaced them, the earbuds are not falling out. This is especially important to me as these will mostly be used while riding my bicycle. I had already loaded the app and the earbuds connected without any fiddling on my part which was nice. I put on some of my favorite tunes and began testing the different settings; Noise Cancellation, Immersive Audio and Listening Modes. All were impressive, and each will have a place depending on the situation. Very nice! I realize this is a review of the earbuds, but the app is an important tool while using them. For example, there’s the ability to customize different combinations of the settings and setting them as favorites for quicker access. There’s also the ability to modify the default touch settings. I haven’t done this yet because I plan on living with the defaults for a while to see what might be lacking for me. Generally the app and connection is rock solid, but there was an instance where the earbuds kept loosing connection. An uninstall and reinstall of the app seemed to cure this. All in all I am happy with this purchase. Time will tell if the quality matches my original Bose headphones, but I am optomistic on that front. The only negatives I've found to date are the design of the case when extracting the earbuds, and the fact that the case doesn't include wireless charging. Hope this helped!

I purchased the Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra earbuds in the Moonstone Blue color to replace/be a backup to my Samsung Buds 2 Pro earbuds. Like all flagship earbuds/headphones, they ARE expensive, but you have to pay for quality - and if you can get them at a discount, don't hesitate to snag them immediately. THE BOSE APP: The same Bose app works for all of your Bose Bluetooth sound devices. For example, the Bose SoundMax Speaker. The app is necessary to access certain functions/features. For example, these features require the app: The simplistic Equalizer settings, renaming the device (helpful if you have more than 1 connected Bose device, changing/adding Modes (Quiet, Aware, Home, Exercising, etc), testing earbud fit, change the order of cycling between Modes, Turning voice Prompts on/off, and configuring what the long press on each ear does. The app works and is free, though the equalizer is simplistic with only Bass, Mid and Treble plus and minus. I've set mine to -3, +3, -1. Once any setting is changed via the app, the earbuds "remember" the settings and uses them on all devices to which they connect. NOISE CANCELLATION: Bose was correct to make the first word of the product name "Quiet". I have never experienced such complete noise cancellation. At maximum, and without music playing (also possible), it's not unlike what it must be to suffer near-total hearing loss. Any sound you hear is muffled and has an oddly mechanic tone. By far the noise cancellation is the best I've ever experienced. Out of the box the earbuds come with 3 uneditable modes, 2 of which are "Quiet" & "Aware." Quiet is Max noise cancellation and Aware is minimum and, in fact, slightly amplifies sound around you to compensate for having something blocking your ear canal. I was surprised how natural ambient sound is with the "Aware" mode. At the other end of the scale, I'd say that maximum is for when you don't want to hear ANYthing/one around you if you're using a jackhammer to break up your backyard sidewalk. If you're listening to music you won't hear anyone talking to you, possibly even if they are right next to you. SOUND: The sound is classic Bose. By this I mean a little heavy-handed with the bass with clear highs. The mid-range is OK. I knew this going in and compensate for most of this using the Bose app equalizer. Sound can get painfully loud without distortion and bass can be made to make you feel like it's going through your head (if you're into that sort of sensation), all without muddying the sound. BATTERY: I have found that the 6 hour expected battery life with ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) is accurate for the "Quiet" mode of maximum cancellation. I have discovered that you will get more than that if you don't set the noise cancellation to maximum. So only set it to the minimum that you need. In the Bose app and in the voice prompts, battery life is only reported in increments of 10 (10%, 20%, 30%...90%, 100%). FIT: I have unusually sized/irregularly shaped ears and ear canals that has led to so much frustration over the years. What works for one ear will not work for the other. For example, with other manufacturers, I've struggled to get a good fit (both with my senses and the manufacturer's software fitment tests) - even if I buy after-market tips. Bose is the only company for which I can get a fit that is both comfortable (doesn't lead to pain) and doesn't eventually fall out. This is because of their use of fitment bands that go around the middle of earbud in 3 sizes, combined with 3 sizes of tips. FEATURES: Other than the Quiet and Aware modes that cannot be modified in the level of ANC, the level of ANC can be changed to any of about 10 steps of cancellation for any Mode that you add to the list in the Bose app. This is helpful so that you can save battery by only using the amount of ANC you need for your environment. Using the app you can not only add and remove modes to choose from, but using the star/favorite icon in the Bose app you can set which ones are included in the list to cycle between. For new Modes you add to the list - and ONLY those - you can set a custom level of noise cancellation at any one of about 10 steps between off and Full, important to saving battery (see above). I did not play with the Immersion feature as I've never found that battery-hogging feature interesting to me. Oh, it works and it's freaky to play with, but at the end of the day it's a gimmick created by someone with WAY too much software development time on her hands. There is no detection of me talking that automatically switches the buds to "Aware" mode, but this mode is automatically engaged when taking a phone call or when only 1 earbud is inserted. Phone calls are clear and natural sounding both for me and the other person. Multipoint Bluetooth connection can be turned on in the Bose App and works as expected, allowing you to simultaneously connect to more than 1 audio source (first come, first served). Range for Bluetooth is great (as expected). Easily reaches me in the when I go to the ground floor to use the restroom from the basement where I work from home and leave my phone. Even at that range (about 50-70 feet as you walk and about 20 straight line feet traveling through the floor to the restroom). There is no skipping or sound quality degradation. I HIGHLY recommend these earbuds, as they are my new favorites.

I used these on an iPhone 12 Pro Max. While I was tempted to get a new set of Echo Buds 2, I wanted to try the Bose QC Earbuds. With there being a $50 discount at the time, I went for it, even after reading some of the mixed reviews. Here is are the positives and the negatives. Positives: - These earbuds fit is fantastic. The supplied silicon ear pieces and "wings" made the fit simple and snug. I could wear them for extended periods and did not experience any pain. They are also very easy to insert into your ears with no problems. - Sounds quality for Audio Sources (except for Phone calls) is amazing. I was very happy with the sound quality and how balanced it sounds. If I was only to use them for listening to Music and Movies (connected to my TV to listen in private), I would keep them. Having compared to the AirPods Pro 2 that I have now, they were better. The APP2 lack some of the highs that were very clean in the Ultras. - The Aware and Quiet modes (ANC) work extremely well. The Echo Buds 2 had a very good ANC and the passthrough was pretty good. On the Bose, the Aware Mode is awesome and the Quiet Mode is fantastic. I could mow the lawn in Quiet Mode and really not hear the tractor. - The Battery Life is very good, they would last the published times without any problems. - Placing the earbuds in the case was very easy and they would not fall out. The magnets that pull them into place are very strong. - Switching between two phones was best accomplished just using the Bluetooth settings from the phone, not the Bose App as is reported to do. Negatives: - Phone Calls are by far the worst of anything that I have ever tried. This is the primary reason that I returned these just before writing this review. The volume for phone calls (only phone) is about 50% or less than the maximum volume of any other audio sources. In other reviews here and other forums, it is the most common complaint by far from all others. My first call was while outside walking and my party could not understand me very well and I could not hear them with Aware Mode or Quiet Mode. I tried a few other calls and they were all bad, with the last one where I needed to switch to the phone from the earbuds where I decided that these were being sent back. I even contacted Bose to see what they would say. - Connection only to one device at a time, is a disappointment. Almost all others support Multi-Point, this was a shortcoming. I did have trouble getting it to connect to an iPad Air 2, not sure if it is the older iPadOS or what. Never got back to solving that. - Case only supports USB-C for charging, not a deal breaker, you would think it would be part of a high-end product. - Support from Bose was very disappointing. I could not find a way to enter a support ticket on their website, was able to make contact through X with DM messages to their support team. They did not answer everything that I wrote and did not address the main issue correctly. I told them that I cannot hear other parties on a phone call, they twice sent me links about getting the microphone positioned better. Not hearing the other party, has nothing to do with the mic. They also sent me a link for over the ear headphones, which was not even the product that I have, they knew that too as they had the Serial Number and referenced what I had. I really wanted these to work, as I like all of my other Bose products. So disappointed that they could not acknowledge that there are reports of Phone Call issues and they are working on it. I might have waited. If you want them for audio, they are great. If you are going to make phone calls, you will most likely be disappointed.

Update 3/25. I’m down to 3 stars and that’s probably where I will end my review of this product. I bounced around from 2 to 4 stars, but 3 is fair. The sound quality, noise cancellation, and comfort are the good qualities of these. But connectivity and the app just constantly frustrates me. There continues to be issues with connecting to my devices, or putting in both buds but only one connects, or they don’t show up in the app, etc. They feel 5 years behind when it comes to ease of connectivity and the app. Update 2/25. Latest software update seems to have solved a lot of issues. Also, I can now have 2 active Bluetooth connections which is great for me as I’m frequently on my laptop and phone simultaneously. I’ve also been using immersion mode more and the sound quality is on its own level as far as buds go. The sound quality and noise cancellation is definitely 5 stars. We’ll see how the software update holds up and I may bump it overall to 5 stars. Update 8/24. Having a lot of issues where I’ll put the buds in and one won’t turn on. I have to put them both back in the case to resolve. Pros: noise cancelling is best I’ve ever experienced. They are comfortable. Sound quality is good. Cons: software is frustrating all around. I’ll put them in my ears and they’ll make a million connecting sounds and sometimes one will not have noise cancellation turn on, things like that. I programmed the left bud to cycle noise cancellation modes and the programming would randomly go back to the default programming for a while. Also sometimes I’ll put them on and the noise cancellation just doesn’t turn on at all and I have to put them back in the case and put them on again for them to connect. So, they are pretty good but honestly pretty unreliable and the software component feels pretty low quality for Bose.