With Bose’s successor to its five-star QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds in the aptly named QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen lined up, you’re likely considering you true wireless options.
To help you decide, we’ve compared the QC Ultra Earbuds II to the five-star Sony WF-1000XM5 and noted the key differences below.
If you’re considering other options than these two fair earbuds, visit our best headphones and best noise cancelling headphones lists to find a better suited pair for you.
Bose is more expensive
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds II launch on 26th June with an RRP of £299 / $299. They’ll be available in Black, White Smoke and a limited-edition Deep Plum colour.
SQUIRREL_PLAYLIST_10207708
The Sony WF-1000XM5 launched all the way back in 2023, and until the WF-1000XM6 launch, they remain Sony’s flagship earbuds. They’re less expensive Bose’s new flagship model at £219, and it’s possible to find them for less if you look around.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen have ActiveSense technology
Like their predecessors, the QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen come fitted with Bose’s ActiveSense technology. When the earbuds are in Aware mode, the ActiveSense technology listens for loud and sudden sounds and automatically adjusts the level of noise cancellation. This means that you can both remain aware of your environment without being disturbed.
The WF-1000XM5 take a different approach to real-time noise-cancelling processing which optimises the buds’ performance to your surroundings in the Adaptive Sound Control feature. It allows you to geofence an area and set the earbuds to automatically adjust the noise cancelling when you enter that location.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen
Sony WF-1000XM5
Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen has a wax-guard
Each QC Ultra 2nd Gen earbud sports an embedded wax-guard, which Bose promises will make it easier for you to remove earwax from the buds and keep them protected from poor audio quality.
Comparatively, the Sony WF-1000XM5 doesn’t have a similar guard. While this shouldn’t necessarily be a dealbreaker, it’s worth keeping this in mind.
Both offer noise cancelling technology
Arguably one of the main reasons to opt for either the QC Ultra 2nd Gen or Sony WF-1000XM5 is their respective ANC ability. At the most basic level, both offer noise cancelling and transparency modes with the latter allowing outside sounds in.
Bose promises that the QC Ultra 2nd Gens build upon the foundation of the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds while offering “new and improved AI algorithms” to help enhance the aforementioned ActiveSense technology and to provide an overall elevated listening experience.
Considering we praised the original earbuds as offering “the noise-cancellation of any true wireless on the market”, this bodes well for the QC Ultra 2nd Gen.
Otherwise, we found the WF-1000XM5’s noise cancellation to be “powerful” and was better than the WF-1000XM4 for “suppressing general noise and people’s voices”. Not only that but we also found the likes of public transport and wind noise to be “much more effectively coped with” too.
However. Bose’s solution was slightly better with the original QC Ultra Earbuds, it’s likely this new version will continue to eke out that advantage.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen
Sony WF-1000XM5
Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen promise improved call quality
One of our biggest issues with the QC Ultra Earbuds was their call quality. While Bose rolled out an update, we were still left disappointed with the performance.
Bose promises that the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds 2 call quality will benefit from a new AI-powered noise suppression system for “clearer conversations on-the-go”. Originally developed for hearing aids, Bose explains this technology reduces background distractions while keeping the speaker’s voice clear.
We found that the WF-1000XM5 offered call quality that was “fairly strong but also a little odd” call as although vocal pick-up and clarity was good, they had a tendency to pick up background noises in the same manner as the Bose. In our view, both the next earbuds need to improve their performance.
Sony WF-1000XM5 have longer battery life
We found that the WF-1000XM5 offered a solid eight hours of battery life from the earbuds alongside an additional 24-hours with the charging case. The QC Ultra 2nd Gen, on the other hand, has less with just six hours.
Even so, it’s worth noting that both cases for the earbuds support wireless charging if you can’t find a USB charging port.
Early Verdict
With improved call quality and noise-cancelling, alongside a brand new wireless charging case, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen look like promising pair update.
However, as the Sony WF-1000XM5 remains an impressive pair of ANC earbuds. Though you may want to hold off on a purchase until the WF-1000XM6, which are rumoured to launch later in 2025, appear on the scene.
