Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) Review
Still among the most comfortable over-ears available — in a familiar body reviewers call a boring refresh.
Last updated July 7, 2026
Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) extend battery life to 30 hours with ANC on (up from 24) and add CustomTune ear-shape personalization, but the design is largely unchanged from the first generation, leading several reviewers to call it an incremental refresh rather than a major upgrade.
| Price | $449 |
| Best for | Long flights, long calls, and all-day wear where comfort matters more than a design refresh |
| Overall score | 8.5 / 10 |
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Battery life with ANC on extended to 30 hours (up from 24 on the first generation), with 45 hours ANC off
- CustomTune ear-shape personalization tailors ANC and sound profile automatically to your ears
- Cinema Mode spatial audio is a genuinely immersive feature for video/media on the go
- USB-C wired lossless audio option in addition to Bluetooth, plus multipoint connectivity
- Among the most comfortable over-ear headphones we've tested for genuinely all-day wear
Cons
- Design is essentially unchanged from the first-generation QC Ultra — several reviewers explicitly call this a "boring refresh"
- Plastic build on the earcups and headband feels less premium than metal-accented rivals like the AirPods Max
- Folding the headphones disables the lay-flat-to-pause feature, risking accidental battery drain if you forget to power off manually
- Same $449 price as the more meaningfully-upgraded Sony WH-1000XM6
Category Scores
Full Verdict
Bose's second-generation QuietComfort Ultra makes a straightforward pitch: better battery life and ear-shape personalization on top of what was already one of the most comfortable over-ear headphones on the market. If comfort during genuinely long sessions — transatlantic flights, back-to-back calls — is your top priority, that's a real and meaningful improvement, not marketing spin.
What it isn't is a design refresh. The chassis, materials, and overall look are nearly identical to the first-generation QC Ultra, which is why several independent reviewers have called this update boring relative to how much ground Sony and Sennheiser covered with their own 2025-2026 flagships. The plastic build also feels a notch below premium next to some rivals at the same price.
Our take: if you already own the first-generation QC Ultra, the upgrade case here is thin. If you're buying your first pair of premium over-ear ANC headphones and comfort during very long wear is the deciding factor, this remains one of the best choices available.
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