Bose have revamped its QuietComfort lineup of headphones and earbuds by debuting the latest additions, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. They feature new designs, materials, and keep up with the company’s spatial audio focus.
Equipped with Bose Immersive Audio, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound platform, they are retailing for $429 USD (headphones), and $299 USD (earbuds). Australian pricing is still to come.
They will be replacing the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II as the new flagships. The company have also introduced a new successor to the Bose QuietComfort 45 Headphones, known as the Bose QuietComfort Headphones, retailing for $349 USD.
All three will be available in black or white, and there will be an additional limited-edition green colour for the QuietComfort Headphones. The Ultra models are tipped to start shipping in October, and the QuietComfort Headphones are expected to arrive on September 21st. Preorders for all models started September 14th on bose.com.
Bose is claiming the immersive audio system creates a wider soundstage for all content, and uses sensors to enable optional head tracking. The company are using the Snapdragon Sound platform to support aptX Lossless (16bit/44.1kHz), however the implantation of hi-res audio will be limited to 24bit/48kHz.
The company claimed the Ultra products have hardware that supports Bluetooth LE Audio, including the Auracast broadcast feature. The new flagships have a slender profile, along with a traditional forked earcup pivot. The Ultra Headphones are also able to fold up and flat.
The headband is wider, and sliders and earcup pivots were built with aluminium instead of plastic. There is one single multifunction button for calling and playback control, as well as a raised strip for volume control. Long pressing the volume strip activates a voice assistant or switch immersive audio modes. There is also a combo power/Bluetooth pairing button, as well as a 2.5mm analog input for wired connections.
The Ultra Headphones have wear sensors, which can be used to auto-pause and resume music upon removing or replacing the headphones. Bose claim the cans will enter a hibernation mode for 15 minutes upon removal if they aren’t replaced.
Inside is better active noise cancellation (ANC) and added Active Sense, which monitors the environment for loud sounds while the user is in transparency mode. It will switch to ANC upon detection of dangerous decibel levels.
CustomTune is also a new feature, which automatically calibrates the headphones to the user’s ears’ specific shape and responsiveness.
Bose is claiming call quality has improved, with the cans using new mics arranged in a beamforming array that has been tipped to differentiate the user’s voice from any unwanted sound in a 360-degree pattern.
Battery life has even reportedly improved, with the Ultra tipped to have 24 hours playtime, which drops to 18 hours when using Bose Immersive Audio. However, instead of supporting Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, they only work with a built in voice assistant.
Now, onto the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. They look identical to their predecessors, however, have been claimed to incorporate a metallic treatment, and the stability bands have been redesigned to ensure gripping in the best spot for comfort.
ANC and sound quality is the same as prior models, with added Bose Immersive Audio. The company claimed it changed the mic setup to improve voice pickup. They aren’t more wind-resistant, instead the algorithm was adjusted to determine which mic has the least amount of wind noise.
Max battery life is the same as before, lasting six hours per charge, but drops to four hours with Immersive Audio.
These have been tipped to come with wireless charging, but only as an optional upgrade by purchasing a separate silicone case cover that fits over the charging case enabling wireless charging.
The Ultra Earbuds will not include Bluetooth Multipoint, due to the combination of different chipsets used. However, Bose claimed it would attempt to bring this feature to the Ultra Earbuds in the future.
The Bose QuietComfort Headphones have changed the least in the lineup. They are a rebrand of the QuietComfort 45, with a better battery life (24 hours). They can vary the amount of ANC, and has the addition of Spotify Tap, for one click access.
