Apple just took down Bose at their own game

Decades ago, Bose pioneered the first active noise canceling headphones. Frustrated by the loud noise experienced while flying, Dr. Amar Bose began developing the technology in 1978. Since then, the company has built a multi-billion-dollar headphone empire on the backs of this technology. For years, Bose has been synonymous with noise canceling–but that might be changing.

With the release of the AirPods Pro 3, Apple has taken a quantum leap forward in active noise canceling technology, easily surpassing the best that Bose has to offer. This isn’t conjecture–we tested the latest and greatest that Bose and Apple have to offer in our SoundGuys testing lab, and Apple has left Bose in the dust.

ANC test results

The chart above shows our noise canceling measurements for the AirPods Pro 3 compared to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen). As you can see, the AirPods Pro 3 block out more noise than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen). The difference is most prominent in the mid-range frequencies, around 200Hz-2kHz, where the AirPods block out as much as 15dB more noise than the Bose earbuds. This makes the AirPods especially effective for commuters, as they can block out a wider range of sounds, from cars honking to people chatting.

Altogether, our calculations show that the AirPods Pro 3 reduce the loudness of external noise by an average of 90%, whereas the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) only reduce the loudness of external noise by an average of 85%.

These earbuds are supposed to be the best that Bose has to offer. They were only released a couple of months ago, and they actually carry a higher price tag than the AirPods Pro 3. For more money, you are getting worse noise canceling if you go with Bose instead of Apple.

Are Bose’s best days in the past? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.