Bose QuietComfort Earbuds review: Bose’s entry-level ANC earbuds are excellent for the money

If you’re getting a sense of déjà vu reading this review for the BoseQuietComfort Earbuds (2024) don’t worry, you’re not going mad. You see, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Bose product with this name pass through What Hi-Fi? Towers.

The original QC Earbuds launched back in and provided a fantastic platform for the brand’s noise-cancelling earbuds to launch from. Now, the buds have been reincarnated for 2024, bringing with them a brand new look, and a whole host of new features. Fingers crossed they can continue Bose’s excellent form in the category.

Price

At the time of writing, Bose only has three pairs of wireless earbuds on its website, with the QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) being the brand’s entry-level model. They cost £180 / $179 / AU$289 compared to their flagship siblings, the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, which come in at £300 / $299 / AU$450. The Ultra model has been out for longer, though, and you can find discounts available online.

The Bose find themselves in quite a unique space with the majority of their rivals being slightly more expensive. You’ll be paying around £200-£250 for the five-star Sony WF-1000XM5 and a similar amount for its QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, although the discounts aren’t as big or common in other territories e.g. the US. This means there’s more of a gap between them and the QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) which could work to the new model’s advantage.

The Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are closer in price at ​​£179 / $179 / AU$299, but they are an open earbud design compared to the Bose’s more traditional in-ear design.

Design & comfort

Historically, small and discreet designs haven’t really been the Bose way. Its buds tend to look on the stocky side and the QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) are no different – those with small ears might think they are a little too bulky, but we know fit is a very personal thing.

The shape reminds us of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds but with part of their stems sawn off, making for a more oval earpiece. Each one has a matte plastic surface (which includes touch-sensitive controls) that contrasts with the glossy moulded plastic of each earbud body.

Wrapped around each edge you’ll find a Bose stability band which comes in three different sizes and helps wedge the earbuds in place.

You’ve also got three sizes of silicone ear tips to choose from, and we’ve always found Bose’s tips give arguably the most consistent and comfortable fit in all our years of testing wireless earbuds. The angle of the tips, combined with their long oval shape and shallower profile seem to promote a more effective seal when you twist and lock them into place.

They don’t feel as intrusive as a pair of Sony WF-1000XM5, for example. And, the fact you can mix and match the tips and bands means there should be a combination for pretty much any ear size.

The buds come with a matching, chunky charging case which boasts wireless charging, a feature that’s actually missing on the more expensive QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. The buds are IPX4-rated for water and sweat resistance.

Features

Bose claims 8.5 hours of battery life per charge with the charging case offering another two and a half charges. This is good for the category and actually outperforms their pricier siblings which manage around six hours per charge (although their case provides three extra charges).

The buds support Bluetooth 5.3, SBC and AAC codecs, but there’s no aptX support like you get with the QC Ultra Earbuds and Ultra Open Earbuds. There is Bluetooth Multipoint which allows two devices to be connected simultaneously.

The big news for the new QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) is that they come with a brand new app. Called Bose QCE, it’s a departure from the standard Bose app which is used with the rest of Bose’s current line of wireless headphones. Interestingly, the new app only works with the QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) and Bose has told us there aren’t any plans to open it up to any other models. Bose has also told us the new buds use new hardware and firmware that isn’t found in its other models, which is why it needed to build a new app.

It’s extremely thorough, though, and gives you the option of tweaking touch controls, voice controls, multipoint settings, sound modes and much more.

There’s a five-band graphic equaliser (the Ultras only have a three-band equaliser) which adjusts low, low mid, mid, high mid and high frequencies for your own custom audio setting, or you can choose from bass boost, bass reducer, treble boost or treble reducer presets.

Bose also includes a low latency audio mode for making sure audio is sync’ed up with video for watching video content and playing games. You can enable it for a single listening session or have it on permanently.

We are fans of the large amount of customisation available for the touch controls. You can have them controlling volume, playback, listening modes, and can even assign a ‘remote selfie’ control for taking pics via your smartphone camera. We tried it. It works. We’re just not sure how many people are going to use it.

Immersive Audio, Bose’s take on spatial audio, isn’t onboard, although at the time of writing Bose’s website says the feature is ‘coming soon’ – we’ve been told to expect it in 2025. In our experience using it with the more expensive QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, we found the tech to be hit and miss and we wouldn’t be put off by its absence.

Noise cancelling & call quality

Time and again, Bose’s noise-cancelling has proved itself to be a cut above the competition and the QuietComfort Earbuds don’t disappoint. They do a very good job of eliminating mid- and low-frequency drones and rumbles.

They aren’t quite as effective as the more expensive QuietComfort Ultra, which is understandable since they also don’t feature Bose’s CustomTune tech which automatically adjusts the ANC to suit your ear profile. Nor do they have the same signal processing. You only get the option of having ANC on (what Bose refers to as the Quiet mode) or off. Or, you can switch to Aware mode which is basically Bose’s transparency mode.

Rumbles of a train carriage are dumbed down relatively successfully, and in a busy environment, the chatter is nicely subdued. However, testing it side-by-side with the Ultra, we found the latter’s ANC has another gear or two, with mids and highs especially subdued more effectively. The Ultra’s ANC delivers a stronger sensation of things being cancelled, making background noise that bit quieter.

Each earbud gets three mics compared to four in the QC Ultra Earbuds and the mics are positioned slightly differently. During testing, we found call quality was okay, but not as clear or expressive. Switching between the two, our tester’s voice on the QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) was audible, but didn’t have the dynamics or vocal lucidity of the pricier pair. Nor did the caller sound as rounded or balanced as when making calls through the Sony WF-1000XM5.

Sound

If it’s drive and musicality you’re after, then the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) deliver in spades. They’re powerful and punchy performers that build an entertaining sound on the foundations of robust low frequencies, an expressive midrange and controlled highs.

Play Florence And The Machine’s Cosmic Love and you’re treated to a wonderfully emotive performance.

The drums drive the track along, their power, weight and precision combine to give the song a real sense of occasion. Add Florence’s similarly powerful and expressive vocal and the Bose buds merge the two into a suitably rousing rendition. When the harps interject, every string pluck sounds natural with the soothing character adding a sense of refinement and sparkle. Their delicate, almost angelic presence contrasts neatly with the drive and drama of the drums.

We place a magnifying glass on the Bose’s bass quality with a quick blast of Angel by Massive Attack and, besides lashings of rich, solid bass, there’s also a great level of insight. The earbuds delve deep and extract plenty of detail and texture. Edges are precisely drawn which means the track never sounds cumbersome or leaden.

The Bose show a great grasp of the language of any track thrown their way. Whether it’s simple rhythms or more complex ensembles such as the test posed by Radiohead’s 15 Stepthe QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) don’t lose anything in translation. They latch on to the natural flow of the track, cutting through what can sometimes sound like a disorderly collection of individual elements, keeping them all working together as a cohesive unit.

Their QuietComfort Ultra siblings take all these positive elements up a notch with a greater sense of spaciousness and even greater detail and dynamic differentiation between notes, but this is to be expected given the jump in price. The Bose offer a different flavour of sound to the Sony WF-1000XM5, with the Sonys preferring a more neutral balance and with less weight and heft in the bass.

Verdict

We’ve already alluded to the fact that at the time of writing, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) occupy an interesting space in the market – their closest rivals all come in at slightly higher or lower price points. Having said that, they still need to perform, especially with more premium models becoming cheaper over time and moving closer in price. Thankfully, the Bose do more than enough to stand alone and, more importantly, stand out enough to secure a five star rating.

First reviewed: October 2024

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Features 4
• Comfort 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds

Also consider the Sony WF-1000XM5

Read our Apple AirPods 4 with ANC

Best wireless earbuds: top pairs tested by our reviewers