Bose recently refreshed its popular QuietComfort lineup with the second-gen QuietComfort Earbuds.
Theyre priced at $180 andavailable inthree colorways: Black, Chilled Lilac, and White Smoke.
This is the second iteration of the massively popular QuietComfort buds released in 2020.
Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Bose continued its legacy of providing rich, detailed sound and powerful noise-canceling on these buds, too.
However, the unwieldy fit of these buds made it difficult for me to enjoy them properly.
They felt bulky in my ears and large enough for my coworker to point their huge size out.
Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
The all-plastic body also didnt help their aesthetic and gave them a boring, bland look.
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds
Excellent sound and noise canceling hidden behind an unwieldy, bulky design.
Theyre massive oval plastic peripherals that looked quite unwieldy plugged into my modestly-sized ears.
Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Master & Dynamic is proof of that.
But Ive reviewed far better-looking buds in the same price range.
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The bulky body has another disadvantage, too: an uncomfortable fit.
Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
These buds weigh a whopping nine grams each.
Googles flagshipPixel Buds Pro 2are a recent example.
My ears were very unhappy with the new Bose buds, though.
Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
All gestures are customizable on the companion app, Bose QCE.
I tried adding onboard volume controls via the app and picked hold as the gesture.
It worked when I changed the gesture to a double or triple tap, though.
Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
But those werent as intuitive as volume controls.
Due to the unintuitive controls, I ended up controlling the volume on my phone, which wasnt ideal.
We crowned theQuietComfort II(now renamed QuietComfort Ultra) one of thebest noise-canceling earbuds.
Hearing how well these buds did that for me was pleasantly surprising.
The Aware or Ambient Mode lets me hear the outside world again but in the most natural way.
The Aware mode on the QuietComfort keeps your outside noise real.
The sound profile on these buds didnt require me to reach for the EQ tweaks on the companion app.
Usually, I mess around on the equalizer a bit, sometimes just out of curiosity.
But when you come across a profile as balanced as this, you dont want to tinker with it.
The treble, even at the highest notes, retained its crispness.
Sometimes, cranking the volume up on earbuds makes the high-end come off as too harsh and sharp.
The QuietComfort buds also maintained the brightness and richness it delivered at lower volumes.
Interestingly, I enjoyed the midrange the most.
These buds emphasized vocals incredibly well and put them on a separate layer before the high and low ends.
The X indicates a blank space, which means theres no dust resistance on these buds.
I expected a slightly improved water resistance on a version launched four years after the first generation.
The buds last around eight hours on a single charge, which is standard for wireless earbuds.
They support wireless and quick charging, giving you three hours out of a 20-minute charge.
Its QuietComfort line is one of the most popular wireless earbuds.
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