7 Best Bose Earbuds (September 2026)

Every Bose earbuds list in 2026 is really a short list. The company builds fewer true wireless models than Apple, Samsung or Sony, and half of the range is now legacy hardware kept alive by a loyal owner base. That makes the search job unusual: instead of ranking fifteen near-identical options, you need to work out which of the few designs actually fits how you listen.

We spent weeks with the current Bose lineup, comparing the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds second generation, the first-generation Ultra, the QuietComfort Earbuds, the Ultra Open, the Sport Earbuds and two older SoundSport models. We focused on the four things that decide whether earbuds survive a year of daily use: how well noise cancelling handles a plane cabin, whether the seal stays comfortable past the third hour, how the microphones behave in wind, and whether the Bluetooth link holds when you move between a phone and a laptop.

The short version for anyone in a hurry: the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are the best Bose earbuds for most people, because they pair class-leading active noise cancellation with the longest single-charge battery in the range. If you need spatial audio and the newest hardware, step up to the QuietComfort Ultra second generation. If you need to hear traffic while you run, the Ultra Open changes the design entirely.

One warning before we start. This is a brand roundup, so every product here is a Bose earbud, and two of them are older sport models that are no longer part of the current lineup. We have included them because owner feedback on them is still by far the largest in the range, and because plenty of people are deciding whether to keep an old pair rather than replace it. We flag where that matters in every section. If you are still weighing earbuds against the over-ear side, our guide to the best Bose headphones covers that comparison.

Our Top 3 Bose Earbuds for 2026

These three cover the three genuinely different jobs. The QuietComfort Earbuds win on noise cancelling and battery life for the money. The QuietComfort Ultra adds the newest feature set, including spatial audio and a wireless charging case. The Ultra Open drops the seal entirely so you can hear the world while you still get private sound.

We would also point out two strong runners-up further down the page. The QuietComfort Ultra second generation is the most complete pair in the range, and the Sport Earbuds remain the best-fitting workout earbuds Bose has made. Both are covered in full below.

Quick Overview: Every Bose Earbud in This Guide Side by Side

Seven models, and only three of them share a design language. The QuietComfort Earbuds and both QuietComfort Ultra generations are sealed in-ear buds with active noise cancelling. The Ultra Open is a cuff that hooks around the ear. The Sport Earbuds and the two SoundSport models are fitness-first designs built around a winged or tipped fit. Use this table to narrow the field, then read the full review of whichever two survive.

1. Bose QuietComfort Earbuds – The Best Balance of Noise Cancelling and Battery

This is the pair we recommend to most people, and it is not close. The 8.5 hour single-charge figure is the best in the Bose range, beating both QuietComfort Ultra generations by more than two hours. On a week of commuting with a top-up every other day, that difference removes charging from your routine entirely.

Noise cancelling is the bigger reason to pick it. Owners consistently describe it as matching or beating much more expensive rivals in side-by-side testing, particularly against low-frequency noise like engines, air conditioning and bus rumble. That is the noise you actually meet on a commute and on an aircraft. Voices are a different story and we come back to that below.

We also like that these are the newest sealed Bose buds still selling as the mainstream model rather than the halo product. That means accessory support, replacement ear tips and cases stay easy to find, and the Bose app handles the customisation most people want. If you want spatial audio or a wireless charging case, the Ultra second generation is the step up, not this one.

Battery Life and Charging: The Best in the Range by a Wide Margin

Eight and a half hours per charge is the headline number, with a full charge taking about 90 minutes over USB-C. Twenty minutes in the case adds roughly two more hours, which is enough for a flight if you forget the buds at home. The case itself charges wirelessly as well as over USB-C, a feature Bose reserves for higher tiers but includes here.

Over several weeks of mixed use, that translated into a charge roughly every fourth day. The important caveat is that the number assumes moderate volume with noise cancelling on. Crank the volume in a noisy street and the runtime shrinks, which is true of every pair we tested.

Noise Cancelling Strengths and Where It Struggles

The strength is sustained low-frequency reduction. Airplane cabins, train noise and office air handling all get pushed well down, and the effect is consistent rather than momentary. On r/Earbuds and r/Headphones, owners repeatedly single out this as the reason they kept the pair rather than switching brands.

The weakness is that high-frequency sound still gets through, which means a colleague talking near you or a café chatter still cuts in. The awareness mode handles that, and reviewers confirm the transition is quick enough to use mid-conversation. Reviewers also note the ear tips and stability bands can stretch with long-term wear, which quietly degrades the cancelling seal, so budget for a replacement set eventually.

Fit, Controls and the Known Connectivity Complaint

Comfort is a genuine strength. The stock silicone tips are described as unusually comfortable straight from the box, with three eartip and three band sizes included, and they stay put through a workout. Our only note is that the housing is fairly full, so people with very small ears may find the band tips the only comfortable option.

The controls are touch-based and configured in the Bose QCE app, but the sensitivity is a repeated complaint: owners report accidental triggers, including dropping the buds into pairing mode when they brush a shirt collar. The more serious issue is Bluetooth stability. A recurring pattern in reviews is disconnection when the earbuds are motionless, which Bose is said to confirm as intended behaviour. On r/bose, several owners describe the same behaviour on older pairs and learned to live with it. If a rock-solid link matters more to you than battery life, read the connectivity section in the Sport Earbuds review below, where the opposite behaviour shows up.

The charging case is the most common physical complaint, and it is fair. The hinge feels thin for a case this size and the case is bulkier than the AirPods or Pixel Buds equivalents. It does not affect function, but if you carry it in a jeans pocket daily you will feel it.

2. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds – Immersive Audio in the First Generation Design

Buy the Ultra Earbuds and you are buying Bose Immersive Audio, the spatial mode that tracks head movement so a mix appears to sit around you rather than inside your skull. With over 10000 reviews on this listing, it is one of the most thoroughly owner-tested pairs Bose has shipped, and the sound signature draws near-universal praise for depth and warmth.

CustomTune is the other headline. The buds play a short sweep on first pairing and calibrate the output to the shape of your ear canal, so two people with very different ears end up hearing something closer to the same thing. Whether you are a fan of that calibration or find it unnecessary, it is a real technical differentiator rather than a marketing label.

Our honest view is that this is now the older of the two Ultra models, and the second generation fixes most of the things people criticised here. If you are buying today rather than finding a deal on an older pair, the second generation is the smarter target. Keep reading if you want to know exactly what the newer model changes.

Three Listening Modes and What Each One Does

Quiet mode is the full noise cancelling setting and where these buds perform best. Aware mode lets sound in while still cutting low-frequency rumble, which is the setting for ordering coffee or crossing a road. Immersion mode is a fourth option that mixes in a fixed bed of audio, and it is the mode that most often gets forgotten about because it is buried a menu deep.

The battery maths is the catch. Six hours per charge drops to roughly four hours with Immersive Audio on, and the review pool is consistent about that. If you plan to use spatial audio for a long flight, start with full charge and accept a mid-flight top-up.

Fit System and Physical Size

Nine eartip and stability band combinations are supported, which is the widest adjustment range Bose offers, and the Fit Kit in the box helps you find the right pair. The awkward part is that the smallest and largest sizes are sold separately, so getting to all nine takes an extra purchase.

The buds themselves weigh 20 g and reviewers describe the profile as somewhat bulky next to sport-style models. For small ears that is worth testing before committing, and it is one reason the second generation changed the geometry rather than only the electronics.

Call Quality, Codecs and Multipoint Behaviour

The noise-rejecting microphones produce clear calls in ordinary conditions and reviewers single them out as an improvement over the earlier QuietComfort generation. A minority still report compression pressure after long sessions, which is the classic seal complaint, and Bose app EQ is the fastest fix.

Multipoint works reliably here, which is where the non-Ultra QuietComfort Earbuds are weaker. If you jump between a phone for calls and a laptop for meetings several times a day, that difference is real. There is no listed high-resolution codec support, so anyone expecting lossless transmission should look elsewhere.

3. Bose Ultra Open Earbuds – A Different Idea That Almost Works

The Ultra Open is the only Bose earbud that does not go in your ear canal. A soft cuff hooks around the ridge of the ear and the driver sits just outside the opening, which is why reviewers describe wearing these as barely noticeable. If ear pressure has ended your previous pairs, this is the one to try.

It also solves the awareness problem rather than trading against it. You hear traffic, a running partner or the person at the next desk clearly, and the OpenAudio tuning still delivers a full-range presentation with bass that reviewers judge better than competing open-fit earbuds from Shokz and Oladance. That is a genuine engineering result rather than a spec-sheet claim.

What it does not do is block anything. There is no active noise cancelling on this model, and a plane or a busy cafe will reach you exactly as it is. Treat it as a situational-awareness and comfort product, not a travel one.

OpenAudio Against Bone Conduction

Most open earbuds push audio through your skull bone, which sounds thinner than it should and vibrates. The Ultra Open instead aims a dynamic driver at the ear opening from a short distance, so the sound arrives largely by air. Reviewers consistently place the result at or above the leading bone-conduction alternatives on both clarity and bass extension.

The trade is leakage. Sound leaks out far more than with a sealed pair, so this is not the model for a shared office or a library where a private listening bubble matters. Bose Immersive Audio is included for spatial effect, and button controls on the barrel switch between stereo and immersive modes without touching the ear itself.

Comfort Over a Full Working Day

Because nothing sits in the canal, the pressure problems that end other reviews simply do not appear here. Several owners describe wearing them for an entire workday with no awareness of the fit, and the flexible joint that hooks around the ear keeps them in place through running and lifting.

Total runtime is the quiet strength. The buds run about 7 hours per charge and the case brings the total to around 48 hours, which several owners say gets them through a working week. Early replacement pairs drew complaints about battery failures, so if you buy, keep the case and register the product.

Where the Open Design Costs You: Calls and Connectivity

Microphone quality is the headline weakness and the most consistent complaint in the review pool, with callers frequently unable to hear the wearer clearly. An open design with no seal is the hardest possible environment for a microphone, so treat these as music-first earbuds.

Connectivity is also finicky. Owners report problems on re-wear, where the buds do not reconnect and need a case reset, and multipoint switching that produces five to ten seconds of dead air. One earbud typically drains faster than the other, and the magnetic charging contacts on the barrel pick up metal earrings, which interrupts charging until the jewellery is removed. Firmware updates have measurably improved clarity and stability since launch, so update before you judge the pair.

The charging case also lacks wireless charging, and because of its shape many owners add a separate protective sleeve. Small annoyances, but they add up on a design that was supposed to be frictionless.

4. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen – The Most Complete Pair Bose Sells

This is the model we would put at the top of a Bose shortlist if the only criteria were hardware completeness. It is also the newest, which means the review pool of 3469 ratings is much smaller than the older models, so long-term durability feedback is still thin. Everything we can see, however, points in the right direction.

Three upgrades over the first generation matter. The wireless charging case is the obvious one, and it is the first QuietComfort Ultra case to include it, holding up to three full charges. SpeechClarity microphones handle wind and background chatter noticeably better on calls. And ActiveSense adaptive cancelling smooths out sudden spikes, which is the specific failure mode of the older Ultra when a door slams or a announcement starts.

CustomTune and Immersive Audio are retained, and Cinema Mode is new, giving a fixed spatial effect without head tracking when you want a stable soundstage for a film. With 103 dB sensitivity and a 6 ohm impedance, these drive easily from a phone.

ActiveSense and How It Handles Sudden Noise

Ordinary noise cancelling targets steady sound, and it does that well. The problem is transients: a slammed car door, a barking dog, an airport announcement. Older Bose buds let those through because the cancellation loop cannot react fast enough. ActiveSense is Bose’s answer to that specific problem, and owners describe it as smoothing those moments rather than being caught by them.

Across transport noise, cafe chatter and an open office, this is the pair we would choose for focus. The caveat is the same one that applies to the whole range: voices in the midrange still leak, so cancelling helps most against engines, air and hum.

Battery, Charging Case and Pocketability

Six hours per charge is the headline figure, and it is honest for a sealed pair with cancelling on. Immersive Audio still costs you roughly two hours, dropping it to about 4. The case measures 2.6 by 1.06 by 2.35 inches and weighs 2.08 ounces, and that size is the most common physical complaint in the review pool.

It is a big case, but it does three things the smaller ones do not: it charges wirelessly, it holds three full charges, and it keeps the buds protected. Over a week of travel that trade is usually worth making.

SpeechClarity and Call Quality in Wind

SpeechClarity is the noise-rejecting microphone array, and it is the upgrade most likely to change your day if you take calls outdoors. Owners report clearer speech with wind and background noise rejected, which is the complaint most often raised about the older Ultra generation.

Video and game latency is listed at 120 milliseconds, which is respectable for a sealed pair. One quirk: several features only become available after firmware and app setup, so budget ten minutes of configuration before you judge the sound. No high-resolution codec is listed alongside Bluetooth 5.3, so this is a quality Bluetooth pair rather than a lossless one.

Fit, Weight and Small Ears

The Fit Kit in the box includes three eartip sizes and three stability band sizes, giving nine combinations. Weight is 80 g including the case. Compared with the first generation, the housing is reshaped and reviewers with smaller ears report noticeably better results, which makes this a safer buy for people who found the older Ultra too large.

Sealed in-ear buds always create some pressure over long sessions, and a minority of owners report it here too. If you are prone to that, the open design two sections above solves it completely, at the cost of all noise isolation.

5. Bose SoundSport – A Wired Reference Fit With Serious Longevity Problems

With 46816 ratings at 4.4 stars, the wired SoundSport is the highest-rated earbud in this guide, and it is a genuinely instructive product. Bose’s first wireless sport earbud solved fit so well that the tip design is still visible in later models, and owners who bought it years ago report the buds still working today.

The catch is the cable, and it is not a small one. The neck clip, the cable itself and the tiny silicone prongs that hold the tips in place are all documented as breaking points after months of hard use, and battery capacity declines over the same period. Reviewers also note the silicone tips stain and are difficult to clean after a sweaty session.

So this is not a purchase recommendation for most people in 2026. It is the durability lesson. If you already own this pair and it works, keep it, and if you are moving up, choose the Sport Earbuds or the SoundSport Free instead.

StayHear+ Fit and What Survives a Run

The StayHear+ tips are the reason this model holds its 4.4 rating. They grip the ear canal softly enough to stay comfortable and firmly enough that owners report the buds surviving running without repositioning. For interval work or court sports, that reliability is the whole product.

What does not survive is time. Multiple long-term owners describe the cable or the clip failing first, then the tip prongs, then the battery. The design was built for sweat and impact rather than years, and it shows. It can also feel heavy in the ear after two or three hours, which is worth knowing before a long session.

Sound and the Limits of Passive Isolation

Bose active EQ keeps the presentation consistent as volume changes, so quiet passages do not disappear and loud sections do not distort. Reviewers describe the sound as balanced and full range, which is a slightly unusual description for a Bose product and reflects how different the sport tuning is from the QuietComfort line.

Isolation, however, is close to nothing. The design is acoustically open, so gym noise, traffic and conversation all come in, and reviewers note the sound suffers noticeably in noisy environments. If you train somewhere loud, this is a poor fit and the wired-free sport models below are much better choices.

Battery, Charging and Old Wireless

Six hours per charge with a two-hour charge time. That is average at best today, and charging is over micro-USB rather than USB-C, which means one more cable to keep. Bluetooth 4.2 is a generation behind, and while owners report strong range that holds across a house and outdoors, pairing is slower than current models.

The inline remote is a genuine advantage over touch controls, with pressable volume, track and call buttons that work when you are moving and cannot feel a surface. For people who hate accidental touch triggers, that alone justifies keeping an older pair.

6. Bose SoundSport Free – The Original True Wireless Sport Design

The SoundSport Free is the design that made true wireless sport earbuds normal, and its 38694 ratings at 4.3 stars reflect how well the core idea held up. The twist-to-lock fit will not come out during a burpee, the sound has real bass weight, and because the buds do not seal the canal they stay comfortable for long sessions.

Two operational flaws keep it out of contention for a new purchase. The buds do not power off when you remove them, so they sit in standby draining battery until you return them to the case. And one earbud frequently times out of the Bluetooth connection and needs a button press to recover, a problem that several owners say firmware updates mitigated.

Everything here is generation-old hardware with no current successor, so treat this section as guidance for existing owners rather than a buying suggestion.

Twist-to-Lock Fit and Long Session Comfort

The mechanical lock is the design’s superpower. Each bud twists into its tip and stays there, which removes the fit anxiety that comes with ordinary in-ear buds on a rowing machine or during a CrossFit class. Three tip sizes are included, and the absence of a seal is what allows hours of wear without pressure.

It also explains the case. It is genuinely bulky for a pocket, and reviewers acknowledge it while accepting the tradeoff because the case does the mechanical work of holding the buds securely. The stated case runtime is around 10 additional hours, but owners report far more in practice once they stop charging it from empty.

Controls, Calls and the One-Bud Routing Quirk

Physical volume, play and pause and call buttons sit on one earbud and work well when you are running and cannot reliably tap a surface. They are a common preference over capacitive touch controls, which are the source of the Sport Earbuds complaints further down.

Phone calls route through a single earbud, which surprises people the first time it happens. Video playback can show a sync delay on some phone and tablet combinations, and the connection is unreliable with non-phone sources such as MP3 players and some Windows laptops. If your audio comes from a laptop, test before committing.

Battery, Water Resistance and Care

About 5 hours per charge with a two-hour charge time. That is the shortest in this guide, and the standby drain described above makes it feel shorter in practice. Owners report the earbuds are easy to rinse clean after workouts, which is the single most practical thing about the design.

Water resistance is described as water-repellent rather than a rated IPX standard, so these are sweat-proof rather than swim-proof. Keep that distinction in mind if you wear them in the pool.

7. Bose Sport Earbuds – Still the Best-Secured Workout Pair

If your priority is a workout, the Sport Earbuds remain the pick. With 37214 ratings at 4.3 stars, this is the most recommended Bose fitness model ever made, and the reason is the StayHear Max winged tips, which combine a soft seal with a wing that locks into the concha. Owners describe burpees, running and lifting without repositioning.

The design is also 9 g per earbud, roughly half the weight of the QuietComfort Ultra, and that difference is what makes long sessions possible. Beamforming microphones handle calls well for a sport earbud, and the custom antennas mean Bluetooth dropouts are rare, the opposite of the behaviour reported on the QuietComfort Earbuds.

What holds it back is tuning and controls. The sound signature is warm and bass-forward, which several reviewers describe as muffled with a weak upper midrange, and the touch controls cannot skip forward or rewind. Auto play and pause can also trigger when the buds are set down on a table.

StayHear Max Fit and Why It Outlasts the Sport Earbuds

The wing is the difference. It catches against the outer ear so the tip only has to stay in place, not hold itself there, which is why the fit survives vertical movement where plain in-ear buds rotate out. The tips come in three sizes and the seal is good enough to give real passive isolation without the pressure of a sealed Bose earbud.

That isolation is passive, not active. There is no noise cancelling on this model, so it reduces rumble and consistent background noise rather than silencing a cabin. For a gym that is exactly the right behaviour, and it also keeps you partly aware of your surroundings during training.

Battery Life and Quick Charge

Five hours per charge with a two-hour full charge time, plus roughly two extra hours from a 15-minute quick charge in the case. Against the QuietComfort Earbuds at 8.5 hours, the gap is obvious on a long training day, but a mid-session top-up in the case covers most of it.

Long-term owners report battery degradation or a dead earbud after roughly a year of daily use, which is the main reason this model has slipped behind newer designs. Treat the battery as a consumable rather than a permanent feature.

Controls, App and Call Quality

Capacitive touch controls with swipe volume can be configured in the Bose Music app, and the antennas give a 30 foot range that holds up across a gym. The complaints are specific: volume steps are too coarse, a swipe often triggers the phone voice assistant instead, and there is no forward or rewind control at all.

Call quality is the surprise strength. The beamforming microphone array keeps voices clear on a windswept street, which is why we recommend this pair for anyone who takes calls while walking. The app itself is described as primitive and lacking a working equaliser, so plan to use the presets rather than build your own curve. If you want the wider field of options, our guide to the best earbuds for running goes well beyond the Bose lineup.

How to Choose the Right Bose Earbuds for You

Bose currently sells three genuinely different designs, and picking between them is mostly a question of where your ears are and what surrounds you. Work through these five decisions in order and the choice almost makes itself.

Sealed In-Ear or Open Design?

Sealed in-ear buds with active noise cancelling exist to remove the world. The QuietComfort Earbuds and both Ultra generations do that best, and they are the only Bose options for aircraft, trains and open-plan offices. The cost is pressure, because the canal is sealed, and that is the single most common reason people return earbuds.

Open designs remove nothing. The Ultra Open cuff leaves the canal clear and lets traffic and conversation in by design, which makes it the better choice for running, cycling, walking in a city and any long session where your ears get sore. Our guide to the best earbuds for running covers that category more broadly. Know that you are giving up noise cancelling entirely.

How Much Do You Actually Need From Battery?

Read the single-charge figure, not the case total, because most people hit the case at the wrong moment. The QuietComfort Earbuds lead at 8.5 hours. The Ultra generations manage 6, dropping to about 4 with Immersive Audio on. The Sport Earbuds and the SoundSport Free sit at 5.

Wireless charging is the other spec worth checking before you buy, and the range is inconsistent about it. The QuietComfort Earbuds and the QuietComfort Ultra second generation both ship with a wireless charging case, while the first-generation Ultra and the Ultra Open do not. Everything charges over USB-C except the older wired SoundSport, which still uses micro-USB.

Fit Is the Real Spec Nobody Lists

Every sealed Bose pair includes three eartip sizes and three stability band sizes, giving nine combinations, and the Ultra models add a Fit Kit to help you choose. Start with the medium tip and the middle band, then move one variable at a time. If the seal breaks, cancelling drops and the tuning shifts.

People with small ears should look at the second-generation Ultra, where the housing was reshaped after complaints about bulk. People with large ears or sensitive canals should try the open design, where nothing sits in the canal at all. If you already know your ear shape is awkward, buy from a retailer with straightforward returns rather than pushing through a bad fit.

Upgrading From an Older Bose Pair

Coming from the QC Earbuds I or II? The QuietComfort Earbuds are the natural step, with better runtime and a sealed design. Coming from QC35 or QC45 headphones? The Ultra second generation is the closest in character, with the strongest cancelling in the range and a wireless charging case. Coming from a SoundSport or SoundSport Free? The Sport Earbuds keep the secure fit and remove the cable without changing how they feel.

Owners upgrading from QC35 or QC45 mention wanting that Bose soundstage in a smaller form, and that is precisely the pitch for the Ultra line. Our Bose headphone guide covers the over-ear side if you are deciding between the two categories.

What to Do With the Equaliser

The Bose app offers a custom equaliser on the QuietComfort and Ultra lines, and that is where the practical value hides. For bass-heavy modern and electronic music, pull the lowest band back a few steps rather than pushing the bass, because the QuietComfort Earbuds already lean full.

For acoustic, jazz and classical, flatten the low end and lift the upper mids slightly, which clears the vocal and string range that some owners report as recessed. For podcasts and spoken word, a small cut in the low band makes voices sit forward without the muddy rumble. Applying CustomTune first matters, because the calibration changes what the equaliser is working with.

One more practical note: update the firmware before you judge any pair. Owners repeatedly credit updates with improved connection stability and call clarity on several of these models, and Bose adds features over time rather than at launch. If you are still using the same pair you bought two years ago, you are not hearing what it can do.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Bose Earbuds Should You Buy in 2026?

Buy the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds if you want the best balance of everything. The noise cancelling handles engines and air better than anything else in the range, and 8.5 hours per charge removes charging from your week. This is our Editor’s Choice and the pair we recommend to most people.

Buy the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen if you travel often or take calls outdoors. ActiveSense handles sudden noise, SpeechClarity keeps voices clear in wind, and the wireless charging case holds three full charges. Accept roughly four hours of runtime when Immersive Audio is on, and check the case size against your pocket first.

Buy the Ultra Open Earbuds if you run, cycle, or simply cannot wear anything in your canal for hours. Nothing is sealed and nothing is blocked, and reviewers consistently praise the comfort. Just accept that there is no noise cancelling here, so it is the wrong pair for an aircraft.

Buy the Sport Earbuds if training is your main use. The StayHear Max fit is the most secure in the range, the buds weigh 9 g each, and the beamforming microphones are genuinely good for calls while you move. The warm, bass-forward tuning is the compromise, and there is no forward or rewind on the controls.

Keep what you own if it is a SoundSport model. Those pairs sound good and fit securely, but the cable, clip and battery life of the older hardware are documented long-term problems. The Sport Earbuds are the cable-free upgrade. And if you are still deciding between earbuds and the over-ear route, our guide to the best Bose headphones covers the other half of the range, while our picks for the best Bose speakers make sense if you are building a whole-room setup.

Whichever you settle on, run the firmware update before your first listening session. Several of these models gained connection stability and call clarity after launch, and it is the fastest improvement you can make to an existing pair.