One of the best noise-cancelling earbuds I’ve listened to made my AirPods sound outdated

In response to Apple’s recently-released AirPods 4, Bose just released its latest generation of QuietComfort earbuds–>, a reset on the previous version with an improved fit, better noise-cancellation, voice command controls, and a redesigned app.

Right off the bat, I can tell you that these earbuds fit and feel fantastic. I am a bit of a tough customer when it comes to earbuds since I have small ears, and I typically prefer over-ear headphones or earbuds without a silicone tip. The new QuietComfort earbuds, however, have a design that feels far lighter and more comfortable than they look. 

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The buds are somewhat chunky, but when they’re in-ear, they feel incredibly light and minimal. The angled, oval-shaped ear tips differentiate themselves from the wide, completely round tips that a lot of other earbuds have, resulting in a secure but comfortable fit. 

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That being said, there seems to be one single way that these earbuds go into the ear: there’s a single optimal angle where they “click” into place, and if you don’t get it right, they don’t feel secure. I took the QuietComfort buds to the gym with me over the course of a week, and a rushed placement one day resulted in not one, but both earbuds falling out of my ears onto the floor. 

Needless to say, I now make sure to take the time to put them in correctly before hitting the floor. 

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So let’s talk about the sound. As you’d expect from Bose, the audio quality on these earbuds is rich and booming. The bass is fat and all-encompassing, the mids are distinct, and the highs allow for a textured, dynamic soundstage. There is a good deal of separation between sound elements, and the sound quality is virtually indistinguishable whether the active noise-cancellation (ANC) is on or not. 

The approach with these earbuds seems to be to provide an aggressive, bass-forward audio profile that pairs well with noise-cancellation to be good for commuting, exercising, or in otherwise loud environments. 

The sound quality goes hand-in-hand with the redesigned companion app, which provides a fair amount of customization. You get a few pre-set EQ settings, including a bass booster and reducer, and a custom five-band EQ window where you can adjust as you see fit. The bass booster setting sounds pretty good on most content, but the low-end is so fat that it can end up sounding a little muddy on some tracks. 

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I found the custom EQ settings to provide the best sound profile, bringing up the mids and highs to compete with the hefty bass these earbuds are capable of. On my custom setting, the buzzing, bone-shattering low end in Aïsha Devi’s “The Seventh Element” pairs seamlessly with lighter tones, giving life to the airy flute that rides atop the abyss.

Another track with intense bass, Sega Bodega’s “Adulter8” sounds expansive and textured in my custom EQ — despite the crushing bass at high volumes — whereas in the custom “Bass booster” setting it sounded a little too thick and soupy, with the lower end bleeding into other sound elements.  

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The touch controls on the buds are very sensitive, recognizing even the lightest taps, and allow for a high degree of customization with one-, two-, and three-tap controls or a tap-and-hold associated with any action you can think of. These, I found to be reliable and straightforward for the most part, although if you’re in motion (running, for example), you might need to be extra deliberate about how you tap.

By comparison, I found the voice controls to require some getting used to. You need to say the “Hey headphones” command clearly and loudly, then wait for the chime to give the command. Additionally, it only recognizes its list of pre-determined commands. For example, you have to say “Hey headphones,” and then “Pause”. You can’t say “Stop.” 

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Swapping between the different noise control settings is best done with the voice commands, but these also need to spoken correctly. You have to say “Aware on” to turn on the pass-through aware mode if you want to hear your surroundings, and “Quiet on” to turn on the ANC. The app has a list of acceptable commands you can use, so I recommend reading through that list and just memorizing those commands before trying to use the voice control features. 

Unfortunately, the voice command capability has a tendency to disable itself for some reason, requiring you to restart the app to enable it again. Hopefully this is something that gets addressed with further software updates.   

Bose’s ANC is pretty solid, though. I wore these earbuds over the course of a week commuting to and from the office in New York, and they hold their own on the subway, on the street, and in a loud office. With the ANC on, it will still pick up sounds on the higher-end of the spectrum, particularly voices, but these earbuds do a fantastic job at eradicating ambient noise and chatter. 

Regarding call quality, I did have some intermittent issues being understood by the person on the other end. Most of the time, quality was fine, but the earbuds did occasionally drop out my voice, especially if I wasn’t speaking particularly loudly. 

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Other features that come with the QuietComfort app include a low latency mode, which is great for gamers (but does require extra battery) and a battery prediction mode that gives you a rundown of how long your buds will last. 

Luckily, the battery life on these is pretty good. You’re looking at over eight hours of use time on the buds with a full charge, and over 30 hours with a fully-charged case. You also have a few ways to charge, including USB-C on the case itself and Qi2 wireless charging, which couldn’t be more convenient. Just note that the case tends to heat up after sitting on the wireless your charger. 

ZDNET’s buying advice

Bose’s latest QuietComfort Earbuds<!–> are one of the best pairs of earbuds on the market for anyone looking for strong ANC paired with bold sound and a light, airy fit. Even better is the $179 price point, which is highly competitive given all the features.

The bold, expansive level of sound these earbuds provide is matched by how good the ANC is, making them really shine in urban environments. The voice commands can be finicky, but once you get the feel for them, become second nature. Additionally, if you like a high degree of customization with touch controls, these are about as granular as you can get.