The QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds remain the comfort-and-silence pick among flagship ANC earbuds: SoundGuys measured up to 34 dB of noise reduction, and owners keep praising the secure stability-band fit. The V-shaped sound, average calls and launch-era feature gaps are honest trade-offs — but prices now sit well under the $299 launch, and the ANC still tops the charts.
— THE VERDICT · JUDGEANY EDITORSWhat they are
Bose launched the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds in fall 2023 at $299 (model 882826-0010), replacing the QuietComfort Earbuds II as its flagship. This review covers that 2023 model — not the 2025 2nd Gen, which added built-in wireless charging and new colors, and not the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones. The headline technology is CustomTune, which plays a calibration tone and adjusts both ANC and sound to the shape of your ear canal.
ANC and sound, measured
SoundGuys put the numbers on the ANC: up to 34 dB of reduction below 400 Hz, roughly 90% perceived loudness, and up to 39 dB above 1 kHz — among the best ANC it has measured in true wireless. The Verge's Chris Welch called it best-in-class noise cancellation with very enjoyable sound and a crystal-clear transparency mode. On tuning, SoundGuys measured a V-shaped signature — around 14 dB of bass emphasis at 30 Hz — and its MDAQS panel gave the buds 4.4/5 overall, an average flagship score with high timbre marks. Immersive Audio, Bose's spatial mode with Still and Motion settings, is fun but has head-tracking lag and cuts battery to about 4 hours; the original stereo mix usually sounds better.
Comfort and fit
At about 7.1 g per bud these are light enough, but the fit system is the real story: umbrella-shaped silicone tips in three sizes plus interlocking stability bands in three sizes, nine combinations total, built around an ovoid nozzle that seals consistently. What Hi-Fi? judged them comfier even than the Sony WF-1000XM5 in its head-to-head, and owners consistently praise the secure feel once the right combination is found. The trade-off is bulk — they sit larger than Sony or AirPods, and smaller ears can fatigue.
Calls, battery, and the feature fine print
Trusted Reviews rated call quality as falling short of the best, naming the Technics AZ100 and JBL Tour Pro 3 as better, and owners report wind noise outdoors as the main weakness — fine in quiet rooms, average anywhere gusty. Battery is 6 hours per charge with ANC on under Bose's official test conditions (75 dBSPL, June 2023, Immersive Audio off), with SoundGuys measuring 6 hours 11 minutes; the case holds three more full charges, and 20 minutes on the cable buys 2 hours. Two launch-era gaps deserve mention because they shaped the early reviews: no Bluetooth multipoint (added later via a summer 2024 firmware update) and no built-in wireless charging — that takes a sold-separate Bose cover, $49 at the time Tom's Guide covered it. Bluetooth 5.3, SBC/AAC/aptX Adaptive, and aptX Lossless on Snapdragon Sound devices complete the wireless picture, with an IPX4 rating for sweat and splash.
Where Sony wins — and why it barely matters
The conflicting evidence is on the record. In SoundGuys' head-to-head, the Sony WF-1000XM5 measured about 87% average noise reduction against the Bose's 83%, with the Bose showing a weaker band between 300 and 900 Hz. What Hi-Fi? gave Sony the overall win in its comparison on sound detail and clarity, while still conceding the ANC and comfort rounds to Bose. The fair reading, and SoundGuys' own: a few percentage points of attenuation are inaudible day to day, the gap is fit-dependent rather than a capability gap, and Bose wins decisively on fit security and transparency mode. Sony's foam tips, notably, divided What Hi-Fi?'s own testers on comfort.
What owners complain about
The aggregate owner picture is warm on the hardware, cooler on the software. The Bose Music app draws the most consistent complaints — slow to connect, firmware updates stalling mid-update and sometimes requiring factory resets. A second, more serious thread: spontaneous disconnect/reboot events where the music stops, ANC cuts out, and a loud reconnection follows 10–15 seconds later, described by multiple verified owners as a known bug persisting across firmware updates. Touch controls trigger too easily when inserting or removing the buds. And the $299 launch price felt steep to many — which brings us to pricing.
Who they're for
The QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are for the buyer who ranks silence and all-day comfort above all else: frequent flyers, office workers, anyone whose ears never quite sealed with Sony's foam. Sound purists and call-heavy users should weigh the V-shaped tuning and average mic performance honestly. Pricing has moved in the buyer's favor — Notebookcheck reported a record-low $239 for this Gen-1 model in May 2025 — so check the live Amazon price; at today's street prices the flagship ANC is a much easier recommendation than it was at $299.