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AirPods Pro 3 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen): A new noise canceling champion?
September 24, 2025
The Apple AirPods Pro 3 and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) are two of the most capable ANC earbuds of 2025, each targeting a slightly different audience. Both deliver premium feature sets, but which is the better buy for you? Let’s dive into the details.
This article was originally published on September 24, 2025, and this is the first version.
What’s it like to use the AirPods Pro 3 compared to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)?
Using the AirPods Pro 3 feels familiar if you’ve owned earlier AirPods, but Apple refined the design with a smaller bulb and new foam-infused silicone ear tips. These are meant to improve fit and stability, though team members in our office had mixed experiences with the AirPods staying in their ears.
By contrast, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) are bulkier but with a shorter stem. The included stability bands help keep the earbuds in place, and I find the fit very secure. For people with smaller ears, the Bose earbuds may feel oversized, but those with medium or large ears should find them comfortable for long sessions.
The longer stem of the AirPods lends itself to intuitive pinch controls, whereas the Bose earbuds use tap controls, which I find aren’t as reliable. When it comes to durability and water-resistance, the AirPods have a superior IP57 rating compared to the IPX4 rating of the Bose earbuds.
Do the AirPods Pro 3 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) have more features?
Apple turns the AirPods Pro 3 into a lifestyle device, with a heart rate monitor, clinical-grade hearing aid features, and even Live Translation. While not all of these features are perfectly reliable, they add clear value for iPhone users. Add in Personalized Spatial Audio, Conversation Awareness, and Find My integration, and you get one of the most versatile earbuds packages on the market. The major limitation is that nearly all of these features are locked to Apple devices.
Bose takes a more traditional route with customization options in a companion app. The app provides listening mode customization and ANC level control, and while its three-band EQ is limited, it’s still better than not having an EQ like the AirPods. In terms of raw breadth, Apple offers more, but Bose caters better to Android users.
How do the AirPods Pro 3 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) connect?
The AirPods Pro 3 use Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC and AAC codecs. Pairing is quick and easy with iOS devices, and the U2 chip in the case makes locating it simple via Find My. Automatic switching between Apple devices also works flawlessly in practice.
Bose also uses Bluetooth 5.3, but supports SBC, AAC, and aptX Adaptive for higher-quality streams, making them far more appealing to Android users. With a Snapdragon Sound-compatible phone, you even get near-lossless playback. Multipoint is another win here, so you can connect to your phone and laptop at the same time.
Is battery life better on the AirPods Pro 3 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)?
Battery life is a clear win for Apple. In our standardized test, the AirPods Pro 3 delivered 8 hours and 42 minutes with ANC on—enough to get through a full day of listening or several commutes. The case adds about 24 hours, and quick charging gives an hour of playback in just five minutes. You can charge up the case over USB-C, wireless charging, or even with an Apple Watch charger, which is a thoughtful touch.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), on the other hand, fell short of expectations at 5 hours and 34 minutes on a single charge. The case provides three additional recharges and supports Qi wireless charging, which is convenient, but the shorter runtime means you’ll need to top them up more often. For frequent travelers, that’s a disadvantage compared to Apple’s offering.
Do the AirPods Pro 3 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) block noise better?
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The AirPods Pro 3 boast the best ANC we’ve ever tested, reducing the loudness of external noise by an average of 90%. The fit improvements and foam-infused tips help with passive isolation as well.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) are also ANC powerhouses, cutting external noise by about 85%. The stability bands and ovoid nozzle ensure a tight seal, which contributes to solid isolation. However, Bose’s ANC introduces a faint noise floor when idle, something I only noticed in quiet rooms. It doesn’t affect music playback but slightly diminishes the otherwise excellent cancellation performance. Apple pulls ahead here, but both sets are among the best in the industry.
Transparency mode for the AirPods Pro 3 sounds impressively natural. I found voices easy to hear without the artificial hiss or muffling that plagues many competitors. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) are adequate when it comes to transparency mode.
Do the AirPods Pro 3 sound better than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)?
The AirPods Pro 3 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) have very different sound quality characteristics. Out of the box, the Bose earbuds have more of an emphasis on bass and treble, whereas the AirPods present more detail in the mids. You can tweak the sound of the Bose earbuds using the limited 3-band equalizer, whereas the AirPods use Adaptive EQ to adjust the sound of the earbuds each time you put them on. When it comes to spatial audio performance, I find the AirPods Pro 3 far exceed the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen).
Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)
- Timbre (MOS-T) represents how faithfully the headphones reproduce the frequency spectrum and temporal resolution (timing information).
- Distortion (MOS-D) represents non-linearities and added noise: higher scores mean cleaner reproduction.
- Immersiveness (MOS-I) represents perceived source width and positioning: how well virtual sound sources are defined in three-dimensional space.
Hold up! Something’s different. The Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores for the AirPods Pro 3 and Sony WF-1000XM5 are not directly comparable due to a version difference between each reading. We’re still crunching the numbers on all of our previous samples to rectify this inconsistency soon.
Objective Measurements
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The default frequency response of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) has a significant bass and treble emphasis. On the other hand, the AirPods Pro 3 more closely matches up with our SoundGuys Headphone Preference Curve. Keep in mind that you can adjust the frequency response of the Bose earbuds using the EQ, whereas the AirPods rely on Adaptive EQ to compensate the sound based on the fit of the earbuds in your ears.
Do the AirPods Pro 3 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) have a better microphone?
You can listen to our AirPods Pro 3 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) microphone samples below. Note that the AirPods rely on an Apple device for AI microphone processing, so the call quality will take a dip if you pair them to your Windows computer or Android device. That said, when connected to an iPhone, the AirPods Pro 3 microphones are top-notch.
AirPods Pro 3 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) microphone demo (Ideal conditions):
AirPods Pro 3 microphone demo (Street conditions):
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) microphone demo (Street conditions):
Which microphone sounds better to you?
AirPods Pro 3 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen): Price and availability
The AirPods Pro 3 launched in September 2025 at $249, making them the more affordable of the two. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) arrived in July 2025 at $299.99, which positions them at the higher end of the market.
Should you get the AirPods Pro 3 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)?
If you’re deep into Apple’s ecosystem and want earbuds that double as fitness trackers, hearing aids, and language translators, the AirPods Pro 3 are the clear choice. They deliver superb ANC, reliable sound, and better battery life for less money. The main downsides are the lack of EQ and the weak Android experience.
On the other hand, if you’re an Android user, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) make more sense.
Let us know in the poll below whether you would buy the AirPods Pro 3 or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen).
Which earbuds would you buy?
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