Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Review: New with the old

The names Bose and QuietComfort have become synonymous with exceptional sound quality and noise cancellation and whenever a new pair enters the fray, it’s enough to catch the interest of most audiophiles and tech enthusiasts. The new Earbuds enter a ring with some other heavyweights by Sony, Sennheiser and now even Apple to name a few.

Bose has packed plenty of tech into these Earbuds by combining their noise cancelling and true wireless expertise into one neat package that sits snug in your ears. 

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds

Body and Build

At first glance, these buds are huge. Huge, in terms of how small its competitors are, and how when you hear the terms Earbuds, you imagine a tiny little device designed to hide in your ears. These do not hide and don’t presume to make an effort to do as well.

Almost the entirety of each Earbud sits outside your ear with only the soft-tips nestled inside. It does give it a very retro look, but it also hides a lot of beautiful sound engineering inside. Despite their size, the Earbuds are not heavy, in fact, Bose claims they weigh in at about 8.5 grams each. And once you set it up and get comfortable with the best set of tips for you, you barely feel it at all. The fin at the rear helps keep them even more secure, feeling comfortable even after hours of use.

The carrying case is a bulky affair as well to match its inhabitants. It does feel solid, but it also adds weight to your pockets. A button (a click cheap one that too) on the lid grants you access to the buds, and a row of LED lights lets you know how much juice is left. 

Audio

While Bose is known for their distinct and clear sound profile, you would expect there to be some sort of drop when it comes down to such a small package. Fear not, as you’ll find it just as you’d expect. The sound is big, and crystal clear and even a little intoxicating, depending on what you’re listening to. While Bose doesn’t offer a separate adjustable equalizer inside their app, the in-built equalizer ensures that these sound great right out of the box.

The Bass notes in the QuietComfort Earbuds are deep and full-bodied, while Vocals come out rich and uninterrupted, even with Sound Cancelling on. Speaking of, the Active Noise Cancelling is very impressive and is a definite horse to back when considering your next pair of Earbuds. You can adjust the level of sound cancellation via the Bose App or by tapping the Earbuds till you reach your ideal setting. 

Other features

Call quality on the QuietComfort Earbuds is better than average and can only be answered on the right earbud. You get some disturbances here and there, and your voice can be adjusted as well through the buds. As with most mainstream buds in the market, the Bose ones also offer access to a voice assistant to let you access various features. The only thing missing on the buds, sadly is the ability to adjust volume and skip backwards on the track. 

Connectivity is pretty easy with most mobile devices but can connect to only 1 device at a time. Both earbuds have touch sensitive panels that perform various functions, like answering calls, skipping tracks, adjusting the noise cancellation levels and activating your native voice assistant as required.

Battery life is about 6 hours, give or take a few minutes, as promised by Bose, and you get 2 full charges in the case after. You can even get a 15-minute quick charge, which will get you an additional 2 hours of playback. 

Should you buy one?

The QuietComfort Earbuds are a massive improvement on the Soundsport Free and used the years in between to really give us a nice rounded well sounding product. They have some stellar Active Noise Cancellation abilities and amazing sound quality, all while sitting comfortably in your ears for long durations.

While customization isn’t a main focus this time around, we can hope to see it in the future, both on the buds themselves and in the app. Battery life is great, and while the case is bulky it does come in handy to get that extra juice in when you do a quick charge.

Although later to the game, than its rivals, the QuietComfort Earbuds are a great purchase for those looking for a new pair to invest in or just go with a brand that they trust in.