There are numerous wireless earbuds to choose from nowadays, but you’ll find that there’s only one name at the top of the list when noise cancellation is your top priority: Bose.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds are the flagship in-ear wireless model from the brand. While pricey at £299, they’re the best way to get the brand’s class-leading noise-cancelling tech in a compact size.
Bose hasn’t overcomplicated the product, they’re a bit like slightly chunkier AirPods, with a greater amount of customisability for the fit that creates a passive seal to keep a lot of external distractions out even before the active noise-cancelling (ANC) gets to work.
With a name like “QuietComfort Ultra”, you’d expect them to be great at delivering “quiet” and “comfort”, and I’m happy to confirm they’re excellent in both areas. First, let’s focus on noise-cancelling performance, as that’s the real headline feature.
The Ultra buds are like the QuietComfort Earbuds II that Bose launched in 2022. Those were the best noise-cancelling buds at the time, and still are great if you can find them, but it’s the Ultra that I now recommend as the undisputed king of ANC.
Pros
- Top noise-cancelling performance
- Intuitive and simple control system
- Rich and detailed sound
- Splash and sweat-resistant
- Immersive audio
- Secure and comfortable to wear
Cons
- Expensive at £299
- No wireless charging support
- Very similar to the predecessor pair
- The charging case has a plastic hinge
Key specifications
| Noise-cancelling | Yes |
|---|---|
| Battery life | 24 hours (6 hours on a single charge) |
| Charging | USB-C |
| Weight | 6.24g per earbud (73g with the case) |
It’s worth knowing a little about how the feature works. Any “active” noise-cancelling constantly monitors exterior noise with microphones on the headphones. It then takes that sound wave and inverts it for “anti-noise” that eliminates constant droning sounds. In general, it’s better at dealing with low-frequency rumbles and from a train engine or spinning fan.
However, in recent years, the best noise-cancelling headphones have got better at combating noises you’d expect them to struggle with, like more sudden and unpredictable high-frequency chatter, car alarms or the din of a coffee shop.
A good fit and in-ear seal are essential, something the Ultra earbud design helps you to achieve. Once in properly, I can confirm I’ve only heard better noise-cancelling from over-ear models. These are unrivalled earphones, handily beating rivals from Apple, Sony, Sennheiser and Technics.
The way I test earbuds involves wearing them in a wide range of scenarios, including at the office, while walking and in the screeching roar of the London Underground during the morning commute. The Central and Northern Lines can reach a deafening 95 decibels, and while wearing these I didn’t hear almost any of that.
They left me in almost complete silence, and that’s true whether my colleagues are particularly chatty, when I’m getting around the supermarket, or on a flight – where ambient noise is around 75 decibels – and at the gym (these have an IPX4 rating for sweat and splash resistance).
Now, let’s talk comfort. The design is straightforward; they’ve got oval-shaped ear tips for a great seal. You can customise the fit of the “ear fin” with three options provided in the box.
It didn’t take me long to get a super comfy fit, and you won’t feel them when you’re wearing them. That means they’re great for extended use, like on a long-haul flight or to keep in for a long workday.
On the buds, you get full control with a multi-functional flat touch surface. A single tap controls play and pause, with two taps to skip forward and three to go back. A long hold will switch you between noise-cancelling and ambient awareness modes while swiping up or down controls the volume. It’s all intuitive and simple.
The sound quality is also impressive, delivering the detail and dynamism I’d hope for from my playlists. They’re great whether you’re listening to music or podcasts, and through the Bose app they have an “immersive” spatial audio mode that you might want to use for movies and TV shows too.
While incredibly pricey and lacking a handful of our favourite features from more well-rounded buds (like multipoint connections and wireless charging), these are by far the best earbuds for noise-cancelling that you can buy right now.
They deliver a fantastic noise-eliminating experience that adapts to your surroundings, and if you want better than this, you’ll need to pick an over-ear pair of headphones such as the Bose QuietComfort or Bose QuietComfort Ultra.
Simon Cocks is Good Housekeeping UK’s Technology Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy for the title. He previously also worked across other titles including Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.
Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, e-book readers and smartphones. He's reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.
A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.
He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and money-saving advice guides and edited thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.
He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.
You can follow Simon on Instagram, on Bluesky, on LinkedIn and on Threads.
