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Battery life and power management are crucial, if overlooked, strengths, but they have always been one of Bose’s weaknesses. Its 2019 flagship earbuds, the NC700, offered around 20 hours of battery life, and its 2023 QuietComfort Ultra earbuds maxed out at 24 hours.
Review: Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Gen 2)
The new from Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) borrow one of the AirPods Max’s best power management features – but run it better. While the new headphones’ expanded 30-hour battery capacity is great, their efficiency is more valuable.
In addition to Bose’s undeniable strength in producing best-in-class noise cancellation and comfort, the new low power feature may be the most significant and useful improvement Bose has implemented in its latest headphones. Here’s why.
Intuitive automatic standby for victory
Most premium headphones have gyroscopes or motion detection systems that enable their wear detection features. Wear detection pauses audio content when the headphones detect that you’ve removed them from your head, and resumes content when you put them back on.
Apple’s AirPods Max and Bose’s QC Ultra 2 perform this feature best by pausing content when you remove the headphones and disconnect them from your phone’s Bluetooth. This lets you switch audio from your headphones to your phone without pressing a button. Both earbuds go into low power consumption mode when inactive for a specified period of time.
Plus: I’ve used the best headphones from Sony, Bose, Apple, and Sonos: See how the AirPods Max win
However, Bose’s QC Ultra 2 enters a low-power state faster than Apple’s AirPods Max, and you don’t need to put them in a case to achieve this. Simply place the QC Ultra 2 horizontally – earbuds facing up or down – and they’ll start saving battery.
On the other hand, the AirPods Max have Find My compatibility, which requires the earbuds to stay on to find your real-time location. This feature must be disabled for the AirPods Max to save as much power as possible.
As a result, the AirPods Max eventually enter the same low-power state as the Bose headphones, but this doesn’t happen until 72 hours outside the Smart Case or after 18 hours inside it. Apple allows constant access to the nearby location of your headphones, but this comes at the cost of slow battery drain.
To power button or not to power button
The lack of a power button on the AirPods Max was a hot topic shortly after its release in 2020, as many people prefer to have full control over their devices. Bose realized this feature gap, offering users an intuitive automatic standby mode and a dedicated power button.
The specs also show Bose’s power advantage, promising 30 hours of playback with ANC on and 45 hours with it off. On the other hand, Apple headphones have a maximum battery life of 20 hours, regardless of the audio mode.
Also: I tried the AI noise cancellation of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones and can’t go back to normal ANC
The QC Ultra 2’s low-power out-of-the-box mode, along with generational improvements in battery life, means you’ll likely spend fewer days of the week plugging them into the wall. For travelers, office headset users, and frequent flyers, this smarter energy-saving design could be a game changer.
The auto-sleep feature is my favorite thing about both the AirPods Max and the Bose QC Ultra. I love taking out my headphones and taking a call without having to fiddle with the power button.
Final result
I’ll admit that I’m impressed with Bose’s execution of this feature – I’ve always appreciated the Bose brand aesthetically more than I’ve ever applauded the company for its software and firmware prowess. But the feature works well; there is a brief delay after a few hours of inactivity and a slightly longer delay after a few days.
Also: Should you buy AirPods Max in 2025? A long-awaited update will attract professionals
While Bose doesn’t offer advanced Bluetooth codecs like Sony or as many convenient device features as Apple, the second generation of QC Ultra headphones and earbuds demonstrates the company’s advancements in producing more practical flagship products. What’s most impressive is that this happens without imposing a single barrier to the device ecosystem.
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