Bose QuietComfort Ultra: Release date, price, rumors, features, and more

Feb 06, 2024

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Bose used to be the clear king of the hill regarding active noise canceling (ANC) headphones, but the competition has gotten much stiffer. The QuietComfort 45 are almost two years old, and it’s about time Bose released an upgrade. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra are shrouded in mystery, but some leaked images have helped us piece together what to expect from the company’s next headphones.

According to reliable leaker and Android Authority contributor Kamila Wojciechowska, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra are on the way. The internal project name for the QC Ultra is “Lone Starr.”

Above are the dates that Bose announced its past three over-ear headphones. Bose habitually releases over-ear headphones every other year. Should Bose follow that cadence, we’ll see the QuietComfort Ultra debut this fall. That said, Bose waited four years between the QuietComfort 35 II and QuietComfort 45. We may have to wait until 2024 to see the QC Ultra materialize.

The world doesn’t know much about the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. As it stands, we only have Wojciechowski’s leak and product renders to go off of.

Looking at the Bose QuietComfort Ultra renders, these headphones will fit right into the QuietComfort family. We’ve seen it before: Bose-branded ear cups and otherwise anonymous design. That said, there are some modest differences. The ear cups appear sleeker, and the headband’s adjustment mechanism is more refined. Hinges suggest that you can compact each ear cup toward the headband for storage.

While pre-release renders are always subject to change, we can see that the Bose QC Ultra will have a USB-C port for charging. Ideally, the cans will also support wired digital USB-C audio. The images don’t make it clear if there’s a headphone jack. It’s also unclear if the power switch will be a slider like previous QC models or a push switch like the NCH 700.

More evident in the leak of the black colorway, the QC Ultra will have two buttons to control the listening experience. Bose could supplement these buttons with touch controls like the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700.

In the past five years, Bose’s wireless headsets have come with a mobile app for iOS and Android. The Bose QC Ultra should include a few customization settings in the Bose Music app, which works across operating systems. Upon release, the QC 45 and Bose NCH 700 lacked a custom equalizer in the app, which Bose added later. We want Bose to release the QC Ultra with a user-adjustable EQ, but there’s still hope for one if it’s absent from the initial feature set.

Additionally, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra will likely use CustomTune, which debuted with the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II. CustomTune personalizes the sound and ANC performance to the unique ear anatomy of each user. To do this, it uses its internal microphones to assess how the wearer’s ears affect the welcome chime played by the headphones, then compensates accordingly.

Like the Bose QC 45 and NCH 700, the QuietComfort Ultra will have noise canceling. The QuietComfort 45 have better noise canceling than the older Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. We should see another improvement in ANC performance with the QC Ultra.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra will also have Bose’s Aware Mode (transparency) for pass-through listening. This lets you hear your environment while wearing the headphones. Bose may step up its Aware mode by adding ActiveSense, something the QC Earbuds II use. This combination works like Adaptive Transparency on the AirPods Pro 2, letting external noise through the headset while reducing the loudness of unexpected noises in real time.

Historically, Bose has tweaked the frequency response with each headphone release, but this hasn’t always been for the better in our experience. We lauded the NCH 700 for their excellent sound quality but derided the QC 45 for their odd treble response. The QC 45’s sound profile could make high-frequency content irritating to listen to. Bose will probably adjust the QuietComfort Ultra’s frequency response too. We only hope it mirrors the NCH 700 more than the QC 45.

At Qualcomm’s 2022 Snapdragon Summit, Bose announced the QC Earbuds II would receive a firmware update adding aptX Adaptive, which we can expect on the QC Ultra. Perhaps more exciting, Bose committed to using Qualcomm’s S5 Sound Platform in future products. If the QC Ultra houses the S5 chip, the headphones will support LE Audio. The chip will also enable lossless Bluetooth audio and improved ANC and call quality. To take advantage of the S5 chip, you’ll need a smartphone with the latest Snapdragon processor, like the ASUS Zenfone 9 ($599 at Amazon).

With the past two releases, Bose’s QuietComfort series have decreased in price. Although it would be great to see the QuietComfort Ultra continue this trend into $299 territory, we believe the retail price will fall between $329-349.

Regardless of the QC Ultra’s MSRP, Bose’s headphones regularly go on sale throughout the year. We’ve observed the NCH 700 drop to $299 and the QC 45 drop to $229, which are great deals for their respective cans. Today you can buy the NCH 700 for $379 at Amazon, and the QC 45 for $279 at Amazon.

True to their name, the QuietComfort 45 are some of the most comfortable headphones around, but there’s room for improvement. Hopefully, what we expect to see comes to fruition — better sound quality, LE Audio, CustomTune, and ActiveSense —but there are a few more items on our QC Ultra wish list too.

Although Bose’s noise canceling and Aware modes are great, we’d appreciate an “off” mode. With the Bose QC 45, turning off ANC automatically enables Aware mode. Strangely, you can’t disable ANC and Aware mode altogether. An “off” mode seems straightforward to add to the QC Ultra.

In our battery testing, we enabled ANC and subjected the QC 45 and NCH 700 to constant music output peaking at 75dB(SPL). Under these conditions, the Bose QC 45 lasted 24 hours, 49 minutes, and the NCH 700 lasted 21 hours, 25 minutes. This battery life is good but falls short of more modern flagship cans. For reference, the Sony WH-1000XM5 lasted 31 hours, 53 minutes in our testing, and the Sennheiser Momentum 4 lasted 56 hours, 21 minutes. We want the QC Ultra to have more stamina than their predecessors.

The NCH 700 and QuietComfort 45 lack proximity sensors for automatic wear detection. Nowadays, flagship headphones from Apple, Sony, and Sennheiser automatically pause or resume playback when you remove or wear the headphones. This is a premium convenience that the QC Ultra should have if Bose wants to remain in step with the best.

None of Bose’s over-ear headphones have an IP rating, but it would add versatility to the QC Ultra. Bose’s QC headphones are meant for daily use, but every day brings unforeseen events — particularly unforeseen weather events. Getting an IPX2 or IPX4 rating would protect the headphones from surprise downpours. Water resistance would also make the QC Ultra viable workout headphones.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra details are sparse, so if you’re in dire need of Bose cans, it may be worth it to grab the QC 45 now ($279 at Amazon). That said, the QC Ultra could have some enticing upgrades that future-proof them, like Qualcomm’s new S5 chip.

The Bose QuietComfort 45 have the best ANC of Bose’s headphones, blocking out up to 15dB more midrange frequency content than the NCH 700.