Apple AirPods Pro 2 vs. Bose QC Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)

What actually differs

The Apple AirPods Pro 2 and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) are flagship noise-canceling earbuds that outlets treat as direct rivals: TechRadar names the AirPods Pro 2 first among the Bose’s competitors, and Tom’s Guide lists the AirPods Pro 2 beside the Bose on price 12. The practical differences come down to phone platform, price, multipoint pairing and spatial audio. Raw sound and noise-canceling performance are harder to separate.

Direct evidence is thinner than the rivalry suggests. The comparisons on record come from Tom’s Guide’s AirPods Pro 2 review and from the Bose reviews at Digital Trends, TechRadar, SoundGuys, What Hi-Fi? and Tom’s Guide, which mention the Apple earbuds mostly on price, battery and spatial audio 34156. Where the AirPods Pro 2 write-ups name a Bose rival, it is the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II, a different product, so those verdicts are not used as comparisons here 7891011.

Each section below separates three kinds of evidence: direct comparisons, single-product findings placed side by side, and manufacturer specs. The last kind lines up cleanly because the comparison is arithmetic. Where measurements disagree with a spec, the section says so.

Which one cancels more noise?

Only one outlet ranks the two on ANC, and it was not looking at the 2nd Gen. Tom’s Guide’s AirPods Pro 2 review says the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and the Sony WF-1000XM5 both outperform the AirPods Pro 2 for noise canceling, while still calling the Apple earbuds remarkably effective 3. That review describes the Bose as newly launched at $299, which points to the original model rather than the 2nd Gen that Bose announced in June 2025 312. Tom’s Guide’s separate 2nd Gen review says the first generation was its pick for best noise-canceling earbuds and that the 2nd Gen is better, by a tangible margin rather than an incremental one 2. Tom’s Guide never reruns the comparison with the AirPods Pro 2 and the 2nd Gen. The conclusion that the new model also beats Apple’s is an extrapolation that no source states.

Digital Trends sets the Bose’s standing without ranking the two. Its reviewer says Bose’s QuietComfort line has set the ANC benchmark for years, gives the 2nd Gen 10 out of 10 for noise canceling, and says the Bose and the AirPods Pro 2 were both on hand for direct ANC comparisons, but the review publishes no ordering between them 4. In Digital Trends’ own AirPods Pro 2 review, the rival was the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II, which it called too close to pick a winner on ANC 7. RTINGS rates the AirPods Pro 2’s ANC as stellar and the 2nd Gen’s as exceptional, but its Bose page compares noise canceling with the AirPods Pro 3 and the Sony WF-1000XM6, and mentions the AirPods Pro 2 only for Apple-device integration 1013.

Measurements come from separate tests. TechGearLab’s frequency table gives the Bose 26.0 at low, 31.2 at mid and 30.6 at high frequencies, and its AirPods Pro 2 review gives 28.9, 28.9 and 24.9 dB 1415. The Bose page does not state a unit, and the two pages list different group averages, so this is not a head-to-head table. Read loosely, the Bose figures are higher at mid and high frequencies and the Apple figure is higher at low frequencies. SoundGuys measured the Bose cutting the loudness of outside noise by 85 percent and the AirPods Pro 2 blocking 20 to 30 dB depending on frequency, which are different metrics and cannot be ranked against each other 516.

Self-noise is a separate question. Digital Trends reported an audible hiss from the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II in quiet rooms and none from the AirPods Pro 2 7. That says nothing about the Ultra model. SoundGuys relays a Bose statement that a faint noise floor is common to ANC devices and that the 2nd Gen runs a new algorithm to reduce it 5. No source in the records compares the hiss of the 2nd Gen with the AirPods Pro 2.

Winner: unresolved, with the indirect evidence leaning toward the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen). Tom’s Guide ranks the original Bose Ultra Earbuds ahead, no source ranks the AirPods Pro 2 ahead of any Bose Ultra model, and the measurements that can be placed side by side split by frequency.

Which one sounds better, and which has better spatial audio?

Nothing on record settles overall sound quality. What Hi-Fi? gave each model 5 out of 5 for sound in separate reviews: it calls the Bose punchy and full-bodied and the AirPods Pro 2 richer and more full-bodied than the Sony WF-1000XM4 68. Digital Trends lists entertaining and informative sound among the Bose’s pros and very good sound quality among the AirPods Pro 2’s 47. Tom’s Guide calls the Bose’s sound excellent in isolation, though it hears Sony’s buds as slightly more spacious, and lists audio that needs finessing as a con for the AirPods Pro 2 23. TechRadar says the Technics EAH-AZ100 beats the Bose on detail while the Bose wins on bass impact 1.

The numbers do not line up either. TechGearLab’s expert panel scored the Bose 8.7 for bass, 8.4 for mid-range and 9.0 for treble, and scored the AirPods Pro 2 7.7, 8.3 and 7.5 1415. The Bose figures are higher in all three bands, but the two scores were set against different group averages and TechGearLab compares neither with the other, so they are supporting data only. SoundGuys’ listening-panel scores and its frequency-response measurements for the two use different formats, with no published numeric score for the AirPods Pro 2 to set beside the Bose’s 4.8 overall 516.

Codecs add a spec difference that depends on the phone. Bose lists SBC, AAC and aptX Adaptive, and SoundGuys lists only SBC and AAC for the AirPods Pro 2 1216. TechRadar says using aptX Adaptive requires a non-Samsung Android phone with a suitable Qualcomm chip, which rules out iPhones 1.

Spatial audio is the one place where an outlet compares the two directly. Digital Trends rates Bose’s Immersive Audio among the best implementations it has heard, second only to Apple’s, and says the AirPods Pro 2 have “the only spatial audio I’ve heard that beats the Bose’s Immersive Audio effect” 4. What Hi-Fi? says its team is split on whether the Bose’s effect improves music at all 6. TechRadar praises the Bose’s head-tracked spatial audio for working across devices 1. Tom’s Guide lists Dolby Atmos spatial audio among the AirPods Pro 2’s pros, while What Hi-Fi? says it still prefers the original stereo mix over Apple’s spatial effect 38.

Winner: unresolved on overall sound, since no source compares the two and the single-product praise is similar. On spatial audio, the Apple AirPods Pro 2, on Digital Trends’ direct comparison alone.

Which is better for phone calls?

No outlet compares the two on calls, so this section sets separate verdicts side by side. For the Bose, What Hi-Fi? lists excellent voice-call clarity as a pro, Digital Trends says callers heard it clearly even in windy conditions, and Tom’s Guide lists clear call quality as a pro 642. TechGearLab calls its testing a mixed bag: live calls in varied noise left both parties hearing clear voices, but its prerecorded lab test produced significantly distorted, often garbled voices that got harder to hear as background noise rose. It still scored call quality 8.0 out of 10 and rated the result above average 14. RTINGS calls the microphone okay, with clean voices but a struggle against loud sustained noise such as a subway train 13. SoundGuys says an August 2025 firmware update enabled bone-conduction pickups that reject noise better than digital noise reduction, but that the update complicated its own mic testing 5.

For the AirPods Pro 2, opinion splits. Digital Trends lists great call quality as a pro, and TechGearLab calls it some of the best in its test group, while seeing room for improvement in challenging environments 715. Tom’s Guide lists lackluster call quality as a con, and RTINGS lists sub-par overall microphone performance 310. SoundGuys found the mic sounded quite good in ideal conditions but dropped voices in noisy ones 16.

These verdicts date from different periods, and the Bose’s firmware changes make older testing a less certain guide 5.

Winner: unresolved, since no source compares them.

Which is more comfortable, and which fits more securely?

Comfort is the dimension with the most contradictory findings. Digital Trends credits the Bose’s shape, a middle ground between the Sony WF-1000XM5’s bulbous body and the AirPods Pro 2’s stem, plus its light weight and three sizes each of tips and stability bands, for fit among the most secure it has tested outside sport-specific earbuds 4. RTINGS and What Hi-Fi? also rate the Bose’s comfort and stability highly, and Tom’s Guide calls it still extremely comfortable 1362. TechGearLab disagrees: it managed about five hours of wear and scored comfort and fit 6.2 out of 10 14. Size is a separate complaint, with TechRadar and Tom’s Guide both listing the buds as still large and SoundGuys advising small-eared buyers to avoid them 125.

For the AirPods Pro 2, TechGearLab says it could wear them for up to eight hours and calls them among the most comfortable in-ear buds it has tested, so the same outlet’s two reviews point in opposite directions, although the two used different test groups 1514. What Hi-Fi? gave the AirPods Pro 2 5 out of 5 for comfort, and RTINGS calls the design comfortable 810. For hard exercise, RTINGS says the tips can wiggle out during intense workouts, and Tom’s Guide says it would not wear them for sports 103.

On weight, Apple lists 5.3 g per earbud 17. Bose publishes no per-earbud weight, and the outlets disagree: TechGearLab weighed 7.09 g, while TechRadar and What Hi-Fi? list 7.7 g 181416. Digital Trends gives 0.2 ounces for the Bose, which is too coarse a figure to compare against grams 4.

Winner: unresolved on comfort; the evidence on the Bose is split between Digital Trends and TechGearLab 414. The Apple AirPods Pro 2 are lighter on paper than either gram figure listed for the Bose.

Which lasts longer on a charge?

Per charge, the earbuds tie. Apple rates the AirPods Pro 2 at up to 6 hours with ANC on, and Bose rates the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) at 6 hours with Immersive Audio off 1718. Digital Trends calls the Bose’s six hours on par with the AirPods Pro 2, and Tom’s Guide says it is about the same 42. Spatial audio opens a gap. Apple rates 5.5 hours with Spatial Audio and head tracking on, while Bose rates 4 hours with Immersive Audio on, and Tom’s Guide puts it at only about 3 hours 17182. Digital Trends says Apple’s spatial mode does not cost nearly as much battery 4.

With the case, Apple rates the AirPods Pro 2 at 30 hours total, and Bose’s case holds 18 hours on top of the earbuds’ six, for 24 1718. Apple publishes only the combined total, so the totals are the like-for-like figures. What Hi-Fi? lists 24 hours for the AirPods Pro 2, which conflicts with Apple’s 30, so the 30-hour rating is the less certain half of this comparison 6.

Measured results scatter around the ratings and use different conditions. SoundGuys got 5 hours 34 minutes from the Bose and 5 hours 43 minutes from the AirPods Pro 2 516. TechGearLab measured 5.8 hours for the Bose and 8.5 hours at 75 percent volume for the AirPods Pro 2 1415. TechRadar reached six hours on the Bose in a custom mode and matched Apple’s six-hour ANC-on rating on the AirPods Pro 2 19. Tom’s Guide found the Bose matched its claim and the AirPods Pro 2 landed closer to five hours 23. These tests do not share a method, so they do not rank the two.

Winner: a tie per charge at the rated six hours. The Apple AirPods Pro 2 lead with spatial audio enabled and, on rated totals, with the case.

Which works better with your phone?

Platform is the clearest dividing line. SoundGuys recommends the AirPods Pro 2 only for iPhone owners, since Spatial Audio personalization, battery optimization, Find My and hearing-aid functions don’t work outside Apple devices, and TechRadar and Digital Trends both list weak Android support as a con 1697. In its Bose review, SoundGuys says Apple users will likely want to stay with the AirPods Pro 2. Digital Trends makes an exceptionally strong case for the Bose for Android users who put ANC first 54.

Multipoint is a spec difference. Bose says its earbuds support Bluetooth 5.3 multipoint, staying connected to two source devices at once, and SoundGuys says linked devices are managed through the Bose app 125. Digital Trends says the AirPods Pro 2 lack multipoint but that automatic switching across Apple devices on one iCloud account works almost as well, and SoundGuys confirms that switching between Apple devices 716. Both earbuds charge wirelessly: Bose added wireless charging for the 2nd Gen, and Apple lists Qi-certified chargers 1217.

Tuning differs too. Digital Trends lists the AirPods Pro 2’s lack of EQ adjustment as a con, while Bose’s app offers EQ adjustment, though TechRadar calls the three-tab EQ limited and SoundGuys says its bands are unlabeled 71215. TechRadar says buyers who want to take an active part in sound personalization are better served by the AirPods Pro 2 than by the Bose, which has no guided hearing test 1.

Winner: the Bose for Android users and for anyone who wants multipoint or an equalizer. The Apple AirPods Pro 2 for iPhone owners.

Which is more water resistant?

Bose’s specification page lists IPX4 for the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) 18. Apple’s tech-specs page for the original AirPods Pro 2 with the Lightning case lists IPX4 for the earbuds and case 17. Apple says the USB-C-case version added dust resistance, and RTINGS, SoundGuys and TechGearLab report IP54 for that version, with SoundGuys and TechGearLab covering both earbuds and case and RTINGS reporting it for the earbuds only 19101615. On splash and sweat, the two ratings match. Only the current Apple model adds a dust rating.

Winner: a tie on water resistance, with the USB-C-case AirPods Pro 2 ahead on dust.

Which costs less?

On list price, the Apple AirPods Pro 2. Bose announced $299 for the 2nd Gen in June 2025, and Apple priced the AirPods Pro 2 at $249 in September 2022 and again for the USB-C-case version in 2023 122019. TechRadar, Tom’s Guide and SoundGuys, writing from the Bose side, all place the AirPods Pro 2 as the cheaper option 125. TechRadar says the AirPods Pro 2 cost around $50 less and often drop to much cheaper, Tom’s Guide calls them $50 cheaper while noting that they are old, and SoundGuys says they are generally cheaper save for extreme sales 125. TechRadar reported in January 2024 that $189 was a common sale price for the AirPods Pro 2 9. No current street price for either earbud is on record.

Age matters to the value question. RTINGS and TechGearLab both say the AirPods Pro 3 is better than the AirPods Pro 2, and TechGearLab tells iOS users to consider the Pro 3 instead of the Bose 101514. A buyer weighing these two is therefore also weighing an older Apple model against a current Bose.

Winner: the Apple AirPods Pro 2 on MSRP. Current street pricing is unresolved.

Which one to buy

The dimension results do not add up to an overall winner. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) has the indirect lead on noise canceling, which stays unresolved, and took multipoint, equalizer and Android support 3124. The Apple AirPods Pro 2 took list price and spatial audio and are the better fit for iPhone owners 145. Water resistance and per-charge battery are ties. Overall sound quality, call quality and comfort stay unresolved.

An iPhone owner who wants to spend less has the stronger case for the AirPods Pro 2, since SoundGuys says Apple users will likely want to stay with them, and the price gap is about $50 at list 51. An Android owner, or anyone who wants to pair two devices at once, has the stronger case for the Bose, as Digital Trends and Bose’s own specifications indicate 412. Someone who ranks noise cancellation above everything should note that Tom’s Guide’s ranking covers the original Bose model, and that TechGearLab found the Bose uncomfortable over long wear 314. Anyone buying an iPhone-compatible pair today should also price the AirPods Pro 3, which two outlets rate above the AirPods Pro 2 1015.