Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2 Review: A whole new step up

As I dug into my Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2 Review, I was struck with having to decide what it is I look for in a pair of earphones like this. To be fair, I still use Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds from a few generations back as a backup, and even the first-gen QuietComfort Ultra earbuds were merely an incremental improvement. So here’s my review of the QC Ultra Earbuds 2 (which maybe should have been called a gen 1.5?).

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Bose is notoriously tight-lipped about how their earbuds process and deliver sound. If you’ve used a Bose product, you probably already know whether you like it or not. At the end of the day, as my Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 Review rolled on, I found that the sound was every bit as rich as I’ve come to know from the brand, albeit a bit more nuanced in the bass end of the spectrum.

So what’s this mean for the listening experience? I found the top 40 music was really balanced, with a sense of energy I don’t often get from lesser brands. I also feel like Bose is willing to pump more power and vitality out than even Apple’s AirPods Pro are (perhaps sometimes at the expense of detail). This is great if you like passively listening to music, but perhaps lost on you if you use earphones for podcasts and phone calls.

Then there’s the noise cancelling. I think Bose has done an admirable job here, but because I never get a good seal with hanging-stem earbuds like this, it’s not the pindrop-quiet experience I get with over-ear headphones such as the Sonos Ace. But in a pinch, the QC Ultra buds did a nice job at blotting out some HVAC noise and keeping me focused. 

One thing that Bose is undeniably good at is making their products feel premium. Though, I think in recent years they’ve opted for sportier plastics, so you won’t get that same wow factor I remember when first unboxing Bose Soundlink products back in the early 2010s. But, the QC Ultra Earbuds 2 have a nice fit and finish, with soft-touch materials and a satisfyingly simple case. 

I opted for Bose’s White Smoke colorway because I wanted to compare them to my older-gen QC Ultras that I have in black. Normally I like black better, but I think in this particular execution, White Smoke feels more refined and premium. And because it’s not perfect white, you won’t get it as dirty as you would a pair of AirPods. In general, I’m giving this category mostly positive remarks, though these won’t feel as premium as something like the Sonos Ace.

Bose has never been known for offering budget pricing, and at the full price of $299 at the time of this review, I don’t know if it’s a good “value” per se. I’d recommend waiting a bit, because Bose loves to discount their products every few months or so. I’ve actually found that waiting until holiday promotions is extra-fruitful, as you can often find retailer-specific pricing. So if you’re upgrading from another Bose product, maybe wait. If you’re getting into this line for the first time, it’s not a bad offering for the money.

Battery life is so contingent upon usage that I hesitate to comment definitively. Bose promises up to 6 hours in the earbuds themselves, and you’ll get more when you add in the battery case, but I’d take this with a grain of salt.

Personally, I use my earbuds in short, 2-hour bursts so I almost never have a battery problem. If you’re an all-day power user, these might struggle to get you from 9-to-5. It is nice to see that there’s a wireless charging function for the case (new in the second gen), so it shouldn’t be too hard to keep the case topped up as you plop it down on your charger overnight or during the day.