While all eyes are on Apple ahead of next week's big iPhone 17 event, Bose quietly unveiled its second-generation QuietComfort Ultra headphones. In addition to offering better noise canceling, Bose's new flagship ANC wireless headphones come with a few upgrades aimed at improving everyday use that should keep it competitive with Sony's WH-1000XM6 and Apple's rumored AirPods Max 2.
The second-gen QuietComfort Ultra headphones go on sale October 2 for $449. While that's the same price as the current model, when the QualityComfort Ultra headphones originally arrived on the scene in 2023, they cost $379. Due to Trump's tariffs, the cost crept up to $399 and then $449, and it seems its successor will inherit that elevated price tag. Bose's debut follows in the footsteps of the second-gen QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, which the company rolled out earlier this month.
New features
The original Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones already reign supreme as the best noise-canceling headphones money can buy, but the company promises a "suite of meaningful enhancements" across the board with its successor. Design-wise, they look the same as the original, though they now come in two new color options, driftwood sand and midnight violet, along with the standard black and white.
Under the hood, Bose said these cans boast improved noise cancellation "with a new algorithm for more precise adaptive noise cancellation and natural sound." One of the most notable upgrades is USB-C audio support. While the first-gen headphones relied on Bluetooth or a 2.5mm aux cable for wired listening, these can now play lossless audio at 16-bit, 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz when connected to a laptop, phone, or gaming desktop.
Other updates include more reliable on-head detection and the ability to disconnect from Bluetooth "in seconds" once you lay your headphones on a flat surface. Bose has also extended the battery life from 24 hours to 30 hours with noise cancellation enabled or a maximum of 45 hours without it.
Finally, a new Cinema Mode seems particularly useful for watching TV and movies or listening to podcasts and audiobooks. This feature expands the soundstage while keeping dialogue crystal clear, a marked improvement on the original Ultra's immersive audio setting, which was mainly geared toward music.
Whether these improvements will be enough for the new Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones to beat out its competitors remains to be seen. They seem to be more iterative than must-haves, so first-gen owners may not feel compelled to upgrade unless features like lossless audio or the new Cinema Mode are deal-breakers.
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