Bose’s QuietComfort range needs no further fanfare from us – although if you’d like more hoots and hollers, see our Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II review, our Bose QuietComfort 45 review, Bose QuietComfort 35 II review, Bose QuietComfort 35 review, Bose QuietComfort Earbuds review and Bose QuietComfort 25 review.
Suffice to say, Bose makes some of the best noise-cancelling earbuds and best noise cancelling headphones in the game, largely because the company pioneered active noise cancellation technology.
And now, it seems two more QuietComfort over-ear models and a set of QuietComfort earbuds are on the way – two of them with an “Ultra” suffix! How do we know about this? It’s all thanks to leak that sprang up on Dealabs.
According to the leak, the first over-ear model will simply be called Bose QuietComfort Headphones – a wise move since, honestly, Bose’s numbering (and “II”) monikers are becoming a little confusing – and these will be circumaural (read: over-ear) wireless headphones with noise cancellation.
And the leak even includes colorways and pricing for all three models. This non-Ultra set of cans will apparently come to market in Black, Cloud White and Cypress Green, with a starting price of €399.95 (which is around $439, £345 or AU$675).
Now, the (purported) Ultra models: the Bose QuietComfort Ultra over-ears will arrive in black and white, priced €499.95 according to the leak. That’s roughly $540, £430 or AU$840, so we’re slap bang into AirPods Max territory here, if not quite into the Bowers & Wilkins PX8‘s price-range.
The third and final model would be the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds; yes, the successors to the very talented Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II which remain in my top three noise-cancelling earbuds roundup for 2023.
Pricing? Apparently we’re looking at €349.95, or around $385, £300, AU$590. Not exactly affordable, I think you’ll agree (remember, the QCE II launched in September 2022 at $299 / £279 / AU$429) although this asking fee would still make them cheaper than the launch price of the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2.
Analysis: Bose isn’t famed for affordability, it’s famed for talent
Bose kit is rarely budget-friendly, especially when it comes to the company’s headphones and earbuds.
That said, even for Bose those potential prices are pretty steep and we’d expect upgrades such us selectable gradients for noise cancellation (the kind found in the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700), multipoint connectivity, Bluetooth 5.2 with scope for Auracast and LE Audio, support for higher-res codecs, some kind of spatial audio solution and an IP rating for dust and water ingress to factor here.
So, what have we actually got specs wise on these purported Ultra offerings? Not a lot; a February leak from Twitter user (do we really have to call it X now?) Kamila Wojciechowska did show a claimed render of the QuietComfort Ultra with a USB-C input on the right ear cup and two buttons on the left, but the image has been removed “in response to a report from the copyright holder”, which is perhaps proof that it was indeed legit.
Remember, this is unofficial information and as such should be treated with caution, but as soon as we know more, so shall you. For now, we wait…