Watch out Apple, it looks as though the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 could be coming to steal your thunder if a recent leak showing a set of 13 official-looking images and renders posted by German website WinFuture is to be believed.
The official-looking images supplied by leaker Roland Quandt suggest that the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 could arrive in a few weeks time as the successor to the company's highly-rated original QuietComfort Earbuds.
Although there's no official announcement from Bose just yet about a QuietComfort Earbuds successor, we suspect that the timing isn't a coincidence and that a launch could coincide with the rumored arrival of the AirPods Pro 2, which are widely anticipated to be announced at September's Apple Event.
Refreshed design
Traditionally, Bose earbuds have some of the best ANC tech around, and the arrival of a Bose QuietComfort Earbuds successor would be the latest in a recent rush of active-noise cancellation earbud launches.
One of the chief improvements we expect to see is improved ANC performance which, if their performance continues the trend for ANC advances seen elsewhere, they could rank alongside the top newcomers, including the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, Google Pixel Buds Pro and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3, as some of the best noise-cancelling earbuds we've heard.
According to WinFuture, the updated Bose QuietComfort Earbuds could be available in black or white options. The images appear to show a slightly more compact design than their predecessors, possibly enabling them to sit more discreetly in wearers' ears. It also looks like the wing tips and ear tips have been redesigned, no doubt to help improve the security of the fit and long-term comfort levels.
One of our main criticisms with the original Bose QuietComfort Earbuds was the battery life, which realistically gave 5.5 hours with ANC enabled. The WinFuture leak reports that the new model are unlikely to improve on battery life performance and will give the same six hours on a single charge.
We're hoping that the final battery life number will be a bit higher however, and would love to see them match up with the likes of Google's Pixel Buds Pro and Sennheiser's Momentum True Wireless 3, which are both rated at 7 hours with ANC enabled.
As for price, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II are expected to sell for $299 (around £279, AU$429), which is $20 more expensive than the previous model.
Update: Read the full Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 review to discover more and find out how they score in our test.
How will it stack up against the AirPods Pro 2?
Without having specs on hand about Apple's allegedly upcoming true wireless earbuds, it's hard to compare the two. However, using the AirPods Pro as a reference point we can see a few differences.
One of the major differences will be spatial audio support, something Apple has made some major progress on in the last two years. Thus far Bose hasn't announced plans to support any form of spatial audio, which might give Apple the edge there.
That said, Apple will have to ratchet up its battery life if it wants to stay on par with Bose. As it stands, the AirPods Pro only get around 4.5 hours of listening time per charge or 3.5 hours of talk time.
We'll have to wait for Apple's September event to give us the full low-down on the new model should they finally make an appearance at the event. Until then, however, the original Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are a great holdover.
