Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: These mid-range earbuds reign supreme

The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) are a fantastic pair of noise-canceling earbuds that don’t break the bank. Bose reigns supreme in terms of sound quality and active noise cancellation, and that’s very much the case with these mid-range earbuds too. You’re getting best-in-class sound quality and ANC — all for just $179.

The QuietComfort Earbuds are easily some of the best noise-canceling earbuds out there. Not only that, but they’re extremely comfortable to wear and they look minimalist and premium. And the long battery life is just the cherry on top of the cake. But they aren’t perfect, and lack in a couple of areas. For example, there’s no aptX or lossless, and the case is a little flimsy. For all the details, read my full Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A mid-range pair of wireless earbuds with active noise cancelation
• Who is it for? For serious music enjoyers who don’t want to spend too much on other QuietComfort earbuds
• How much does it cost? $179 / £179
• What do we like? They’re designed well, very comfortable, boast incredible sound quality, super effective active noise cancelation and long battery life
• What don’t we like? They’re a little sensitive to voice commands, the case is a little plasticky, and there’s no aptX or lossless

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: Specs

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: Price & availability

The 2024 iteration of the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds succeeds the original 2020 pair, and these entry-level earbuds are the cheapest in the brand’s QuietComfort lineup. They have a retail price of $179 at Amazon U.S. / £179 at Amazon U.K. and are half the price of the flagship Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds ($299). We’ve seen them drop to as low as $129 in the past too, although usually during deals events like Black Friday or Prime Day. You can get the QuietComfort Earbuds in one of three colorways: Black, Chilled Lilac, and White Smoke.

Bose’s offering occupies a unique place in the market where most of its competitors, like Sony and JBL, are pricier. The QuietComfort Earbuds, then, find themselves competing with the likes of the Apple AirPods 4 with Noise Cancelation ($179) and the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 ($180). But are they better? Definitely. At a similar price, they offer better ANC, richer sound, and come with a very detailed companion app.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: Design & comfort

• Minimalist design with great finishing
• Extremely comfortable
• Case feels plasticky though

Unlike the AirPods 4 with NC and the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 which sport drop-stem designs, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) have a rounded design that fits very snugly in my ears. The buds are very light too, each weighing just 0.29oz, so I never felt weighed down and I even took a nap with them and forgot I had them in.

There’s a rubber ‘stability band’ that aids the secure fit, of which you’ll find different options in the box to dial them in to suit your ears. I stuck with the default options and was very comfortable for eight hours straight. That ‘Comfort’ moniker is no lie.

It’s worth noting, though, that the case feels a little plasticky — the exact opposite of the premium-feeling earbuds. This is disappointing as you’re still paying $179 which isn’t a small amount. It’s a letdown to see such a cheap-feeling case from Bose.

I tested the Chilled Lilac colorway which looks stunning. As an emo kid at heart, I’m usually partial towards darker colors but I’d be lying if I said the QuietComfort Earbuds’ light purple hadn’t won me over. The earbuds have a matte finish too which gives them a premium edge over the glossy competition from Apple.

The QuietComfort Earbuds are IPX4 rated which means they’re resistant to water only at a splash level, so don’t go swimming with them. You can wear them to the gym though as they’re sweatproof. I wore them when it was raining and the earbuds were fine. In comparison, the AirPods 4 with NC are IP54 rated while the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 are IP55 rated, which means both pairs are dust resistant, giving them an edge over Bose’s offering.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: Connectivity

• Multipoint connectivity
• No aptX or LDAC

Similar to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, the QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) utilize Bluetooth 5.3 and they support the AAC and SBC codecs. However, there’s no aptX lossless or LDAC, which I’ve seen even in cheaper earbuds like the EarFun Air Pro 4 ($89), so audiophiles may be left feeling shortchanged.

Thanks to multipoint connectivity, the entry-level earbuds can seamlessly connect to three devices simultaneously, which is great as I keep my earbuds connected to both my MacBook Air M2 and Google Pixel 7 Pro at work. The QuietComfort Earbuds also feature wear detection so playback will automatically pause when a bud is taken out and resume when it’s put back in.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: Controls & app

• Simple touch controls
• Detailed app for customization
• A little too sensitive to voice commands

The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) don’t house any physical controls, so everything is done either via touch or voice commands. Pressing either earbuds pauses/resumes playback, while pressing twice jumps tracks. You can also toggle between Quiet and Aware noise cancelation modes, and you can remap all the commands via the app.

The Bose QCE companion app, available on iOS and Android, is perhaps the most detailed app I’ve seen for any product I’ve reviewed so far. You name it and the app does it. This includes choosing the level of noise cancelation, assigning voice commands and remapping touch controls, updating firmware, pairing devices, and even using the earbuds to take remote selfies. You can also customize the equalizer or choose an EQ preset, like bass boost or treble reduction.

One of my gripes with these earbuds though is just how sensitive the voice commands are. I noticed that when I was on a busy bus and the earbuds kept telling me that the noise cancelation mode had been changed without me having done or said anything. This did not happen in quiet environments though, like my home or the office. I ended up disabling voice control altogether because of how frustrating it was.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: Sound & performance

I used to own a pair of the original Bose QuietComfort Earbuds back in 2021, and I always said they were the most fantastic sounding earbuds I’d ever owned — and I feel similarly about the 2024 model. I was using the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 before, and I don’t want to go back. Like I do with other audio peripherals, I played my trusty playlist on Spotify Premium on my Google Pixel 7 Pro with ANC enabled to put the earbuds to the test. I played a variety of genres and I’m pleased to report that they all sounded phenomenal.

The earbuds are equipped with 10mm dynamic drivers which offer an outstanding listening experience. Mika’s high notes in ‘Grace Kelly’ sound controlled and never like they’re piercing your ears. I also noticed the very subtle clapping in the bridge that I’d missed the hundreds of times I’ve listened to the song, speaking to the fidelity of the QuietComfort Earbuds.

Lows, mids and highs are balanced very well, as I found while listening to Linkin Park’s ‘Two Faced.’ Emily Armstrong’s vocals in the bridge and breakdown sound clear as she goes from whispering to screaming and changes frequencies. The scratching of the turntable in the background is clear too and something you may not notice otherwise.

I then turned to softer tracks, first playing ‘Agatha’s Theme’ from the TV show Agatha All Along, and I could very clearly hear each guitar string being plucked as the violin dipped and became sharper. Meanwhile, Lana Del Rey’s vocals in ‘A&W’ sound soothing and almost like a lullaby.

I love playing with the equalizer when I’m testing earbuds or speakers, and bass boost is always the one I gravitate towards. It works exceptionally well on the QuietComfort Earbuds too. I enabled this via the app and listened to bass-heavy tracks like Pink Floyd’s ‘Money,’ MGMT’s ‘Little Dark Age’ and Twenty One Pilots’ ‘No Chances.’ In all three tracks, it never felt like the bass was overpowering the vocals or the other instruments. Listening to a not-so-bass-heavy track with bass boost on, like Porcupine Tree’s ‘Buying New Soul,’ enhanced the bass just how I wanted it to and it sounded very rich. There was no audio bleeding either — top-notch all around.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: ANC

• Stupidly good ANC
• Aware mode works really well
• Block out most sounds

As we noted in our original Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds review, Bose has been hard to beat in terms of active noise cancelation (ANC) for some years now. That hasn’t changed as the new Bose QuietComfort Earbuds also offer mindblowing ANC, so much so that you start feeling lonely. While not as customizable as the Ultras, you can set the ANC to off, Quiet and Aware. Quiet, as you can guess, blocks out most sounds while Aware is great if you want to be aware of your surroundings while walking down a street, for example.

I take the bus to and from work and I was so happy with how well the buds blocked out loud chatter on a packed bus, and even drowned out the vehicle’s rumbles and rattling. Loud action sounds from the TV were effectively blocked as well. The ANC feels superior compared to the OnePlus Buds Pro 3’s which I’ve often found a little lacking.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: Battery life

• Better battery life than competitors’
• Wireless charging
• Up to 31.5 hours of listening time

Bose claims that the QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) can last 8.5 hours on a single charge with ANC on, and the charging case can provide two and a half additional charges, resulting in a total of 31.5 hours of listening time. With ANC on, I was able to get nearly 9 hours of playback time before I got the low battery warning — that’s amazing. Also, the case can be charged wirelessly, and it takes just under an hour and a half to go from zero to 100%.

It’s actually better than the pricier QuietComfort Ultra’s battery life which is a measly six hours. The QuietComfort Earbuds also outclass the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 (six-hour) and the Apple AirPods 4 with NC (five-hour).

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: Verdict

I love the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024). If you’re looking for outstanding sound quality and effective ANC, you won’t go wrong with these. The Quiet and Aware modes work very well and the earbuds drown out most sounds. Sound quality is where these earbuds really come into their own as most genres sound balanced, and you can customize the EQ as you like via the very detailed companion app. The earbuds themselves are extremely comfortable to wear, and the long battery life means you don’t have to constantly worry about running out of juice.

That said, there are a few things that keep these earbuds from earning the coveted Editor’s Choice award. The charging case feels plasticky, and the earbuds are a little too sensitive to voice commands. They don’t support aptX or lossless either which may disappoint audiophiles.

Overall, though, testing the QuietComfort Earbuds has been one of the best things I’ve done this week. It might be a while until another pair comes along and replaces them.