Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: Not quite as quiet as the Ultra model but still great

Despite countless pretenders trying to wrestle away its crown, Bose remains the reigning monarch of noise-cancelling headphones. Its flagship true wireless earbuds, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, block out sound better than any of their contemporaries, and the same is true of its over-ear QuietComfort Ultra Headphones.

The brand’s latest buds, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, aren’t quite as impressive but are still among the best options for attenuating distractions at their £180 price point. Bose has had to leave out one or two headline features to keep costs down, but those luxury omissions will be sacrifices worth making for many. 

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: What do you get for the money?

The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are a cheaper, pared-back take on the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds. Their IPX4-rated design isn’t as elegant and they drop a couple of premium features but, conversely, they also gain some features the Ultra buds don’t possess.

The first omission, at least at the time of writing, is Bose’s Immersive Audio spatial sound format. Bose says this is coming soon, though, which is good news. More significant is the absence of support for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound platform. This means no aptX Adaptive or aptX Lossless, leaving codec support limited to SBC and AAC over Bluetooth 5.3. Multipoint pairing is available from the outset, however; this wasn’t the case with the QC Ultra Earbuds – it was added after launch via a firmware update.

The new QC Earbuds also get a new companion app. Bose QCE was launched alongside these earbuds and introduces some interesting features, chief among which is Bose Voice Control. After uttering “Hey Headphones”, you can execute a wide range of basic commands relating to phone calls, audio playback and noise cancellation. If voice controls aren’t your thing, there’s a comprehensive roster of touch controls and these can be personalised to a pleasing degree.

Other in-app options include a Low Latency Audio mode, five preset EQs, the ability to create a custom sound profile, and a Battery Prediction section that gives you an idea of how much audio playback or call time the buds have left in their locker.

Bose states the estimated battery life of the buds at an impressive 8hrs 30mins, while the accompanying case offers a further two-and-a-half charges. That takes total battery life to around 30 hours, which is a decent upgrade on the QC Ultra Earbuds’ 24 hours. The QCE’s case also supports wireless charging, which is nice to see given Bose was asking for £50 for an optional wireless charging case cover for the QC Ultra Earbuds.

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Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: What did we like about them?

The QuietComfort Earbuds don’t hit the noise-cancelling heights of the QC Ultra Earbuds but still do a very good job of attenuating sound in your environment. Their strength lies in low-frequency attenuation, which isn’t far off the Ultra model, but they’re not as capable when it comes to tackling other distractions.

Voices, the tapping of keyboards, alarms and other mid-range and high-pitch frequency sounds made their way into my ears without much resistance. That said, with volume set to around 40%, I was largely oblivious to what was going on around me. That should be more than good enough for most people.

I found the QC Earbuds extremely comfortable to wear, too. You get a decent selection of eartips and stability bands in the box and the in-ear seal these created proved agreeable regardless of how long I had the buds in my ears. I’ve always been impressed by this aspect of Bose headphones and its latest earbuds don’t drop the ball where fit is concerned.

I was equally impressed by the audio performance. I’ve made no secret that I’m a fan of the American manufacturer’s approach to tuning and the QC Earbuds are on-brand in this department. The vocals on Snow Patrol’s Everything’s Here and Nothing’s Lost were packed with nuance and the drums had plenty of presence and punch.

Transitions in tempo and volume were handled smartly during The Fray’s Angeleno Moon and I never felt like the buds were forcing the issue when reproducing higher frequencies. There’s lots to like at the other end of the frequency spectrum, too. The bassline on Shy FX’s remix of Protoje’s reggae anthem Who Knows throbbed with a powerful, yet controlled resonance and had me bopping my head appreciatively.

Despite not being a huge fan of voice controls, I like how Bose has incorporated them here. You’re given the option to use a third-party assistant such as Google Assistant, Siri or Alexa, but Bose has also baked-in proprietary voice commands that work surprisingly well. Once enabled, I found my commands were picked up and executed accurately. They also offer the ability to take remote selfies, which is niche but neat. 

I didn’t have any complaints about the touch controls, either, and was particularly pleased by how extensive the customisation options were. You’re not forced to omit certain key commands – something I value highly – and the sensors are responsive without being overly so.

My final area of praise is reserved for the QCE’s microphone quality. I used the buds in various meetings and for lots of phone calls and wasn’t plagued by requests to repeat myself, which I often get when testing other earbuds. My voice was articulated clearly and background noise was kept to a minimum bar on the odd occasion when it was particularly gusty outside.

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Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: What could be improved?

As noted above, the QCE’s ANC could be better at reducing the impact of mid-range and high-frequency noise and they’re undoubtedly inferior to the Ultra Earbuds in that regard. How much of that discrepancy is due to Bose omitting its CustomTune tech, which personalises noise cancellation based on the shape of your ear canals, is difficult to say.

They’re also more limited in terms of customisation. You can engage Quiet or Aware (transparency) mode or have both switched off, but there’s no way to select a specific level of noise cancellation or set up your modes with bespoke settings. Ultimately, it’s hard to feel too put out; the brand was always going to remove a few bells and whistles in creating a more affordable product.

Initially, I thought Immersive Audio – the brand’s spatial audio technology – was part of the feature cull, too. That would be a big miss, in my opinion; it worked very well on the QC Ultra Earbuds, ramping up immersion in both stereo and multi-channel content (though with varying success depending on what you were listening to). Fortunately, Bose has said it’s on the way, although at this point I’m not in a position to say if it will be as effective on its cheaper buds. If it is, that would push these buds into five-star territory.

That only really leaves Snapdragon Sound and aptX Adaptive support as the major omissions. The absence of a high-resolution, lossless streaming option certainly stings, given it’s available on several similarly priced options, including the excellent Cambridge Audio Melomania M100. Those buds, along with the Apple AirPods 4, are the QCE’s most capable price-comparable rivals.

Aside from omitted features, there are a couple of things that rankle. They may be very comfortable but they’re also pretty uninspiring to look at, and the case feels rather cheap. I appreciate that how a case looks and feels is secondary to its charging capabilities, which are impressive here, but it just didn’t feel like something I’d expect Bose to produce.

I also had issues with the stability fins when removing the buds from my ears. They created a very snug fit while the buds were being worn, but often came off during the process of pulling out the buds from my ears. If you do buy the Bose QC earbuds, this is something you’ll want to be acutely aware of when you’re done using them.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: Should you buy them?

If you want great noise cancellation, engaging sound and a comfortable fit and don’t mind missing out on lossless streaming, the new QuietComfort Earbuds are a compelling option.

They may not attenuate sound as well as the QC Ultra Eaburds but their ANC is as good as it gets for this kind of money and you’re getting slightly better battery life, wireless charging and a proprietary voice control system.

You’re spoilt for choice for great true-wireless headphones at this price; if ANC is the deciding factor, these are the buds I’d buy. But there are strong arguments to be made for the Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 and Apple AirPods 4, depending on your needs and listening habits.