Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen vs Sony WF-1000XM5

What actually differs

No publisher below has published a dedicated head-to-head of these two earbuds, so this page leans on the passages where a review of one names the other. Digital Trends, Tom’s Guide and RTINGS do this inside their Bose reviews, while What Hi-Fi? and TechGearLab do it inside their Sony reviews 12345. Where a dimension rests on separate single-product pieces, the text says so.

The pattern that emerges: the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) have a slight edge on noise cancelling, while the Sony WF-1000XM5 is ahead on battery life and street price. Sound, comfort and call quality are contested, and two of those three come down to individual ears and usage rather than a clear winner. Both are rated IPX4 by their makers, both list multipoint and wireless charging, and both list the same 24-hour total battery figure with the case 6789. Those items are ties and don’t need further discussion.

One timing point matters for the choice. The Sony launched in July 2023 and has a successor, the WF-1000XM6, while Bose announced the 2nd Gen in June 2025 and it is the current model 6108.

Which has the better noise cancelling?

This leans Bose, but not by much. What Hi-Fi?, in its Sony review, says Bose’s earbuds still have the edge and names both generations of the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. It says they remove even more external noise in general, but with a vacuum-like effect that not everyone likes, whereas on the Sony the effect is “much more subtle and a little less intrusive” 4. TechGearLab’s Sony review tells buyers who want great sound and noise cancellation to look at the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (Gen 2), and says several alternatives to the Sony offer better noise-canceling quality. Its scorecard for the same five-earbud group, which includes the Bose, points the other way by a small margin: noise cancellation 8.6 for the Sony and 8.4 for the Bose 5. RTINGS, in its Bose review, calls the noise cancellation of both products top-of-the-line without ranking them 3.

The remaining Sony coverage compares its ANC with the older Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II, not with this product. The Verge, Digital Trends and RTINGS each rate the Sony roughly on par with that earlier Bose model, and TechRadar says the older Bose beats it 11121013. Those findings do not carry over to the 2nd Gen model.

TechGearLab also published frequency-range attenuation figures in each review. Its Sony review lists 22.0 (low), 25.5 (mid) and 42.9 (high), and its Bose review lists 26.0, 31.2 and 30.6 514. Read side by side, the Bose is higher at low and mid frequencies and the Sony is higher at high frequencies. Treat that as indicative only: TechGearLab doesn’t state the unit, doesn’t present the pair as a head-to-head result, and its two reviews name different comparison groups 514. SoundGuys measured both products too, but with different methods (an 85% loudness reduction for the Bose, and over 30 dB of low-frequency attenuation for the Sony), so those numbers can’t be lined up 1516.

Verdict: a slight lean to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen). What Hi-Fi? favors the Bose and TechGearLab’s text recommends it, but TechGearLab’s scorecard has the Sony marginally ahead and RTINGS calls both top-of-the-line. TechGearLab’s frequency figures favor the Bose at low and mid frequencies and the Sony at high frequencies.

Which lasts longer on a charge?

Sony rates the WF-1000XM5 at 8 hours in the earbuds with ANC on 6. Bose rates the 2nd Gen at 6 hours with Immersive Audio off and 4 hours with it on 7. That is a two-hour gap on paper, which is simple arithmetic on two manufacturer figures. Digital Trends says the Sony offers around eight hours against the Bose’s six 1. Tom’s Guide puts the Sony at 7.5 hours against the Bose’s 6 and calls that a missed opportunity for Bose 2. What Hi-Fi? says the Sony delivers more hours from the buds than the Bose and lives up to its claimed figures in use 4.

Measurements point the same way. TechGearLab measured 14.0 hours on the Sony with ANC off at 75% volume, the longest of the five earbuds in its group, which includes the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (Gen 2) 5. That test used ANC off, while Sony’s 8-hour rating is with ANC on, so the two figures are not like for like 6. TechGearLab’s own Bose review measured 5.8 hours, and SoundGuys measured 5 hours 34 minutes 1415. TechRadar and Tom’s Guide matched Bose’s 6-hour claim 172. On the Sony side, SoundGuys measured 9 hours 32 minutes, though it doesn’t state the ANC condition 16.

The Bose gives up more when its spatial mode is on: Bose lists 4 hours with Immersive Audio enabled, and Tom’s Guide reports about 3 72. The case narrows the gap. Sony lists 16 hours from the case alone and Bose lists 18, and What Hi-Fi? notes both come to a 24-hour total 679. The difference shows up on a single charge, which matters for long flights and workdays away from the case.

Verdict: Sony WF-1000XM5 on earbud battery life. Total with the case is a tie.

Which sounds better?

The evidence points in different directions here. Tom’s Guide, in its Bose review, says Sony’s buds are “slightly more spacious and offer up a little more detail” 2. It calls the gap small, says both still sound excellent, and adds that the Bose’s bass is thick and dynamic 2. What Hi-Fi?, reviewing the Bose, says the Sony took the sound accolade over the first-generation Bose Ultra Earbuds, though it makes no equivalent statement about the 2nd Gen 9. Its Sony review lists class-leading detail and clarity among the pros and more bass from some rivals as a con 4.

TechGearLab leans the other way. Its Sony review says several alternatives offer better audio quality and recommends the Bose for buyers whose goal is great sound 5. It scored the Sony’s sound 7.4, the lowest of its five-earbud group, which includes the Bose at 8.7, and found the tuning pleasant but a little flat with weak bass on EDM and hip-hop 5. TechGearLab’s panel rated the Bose’s bass 8.7, mid-range 8.4 and treble 9.0 out of 10, in a review with a different comparison group 14. Digital Trends says the Sony delivers “9/10 or 10/10 performance across the board” 1 for less money, which is praise for the Sony but not a ranking against the Bose’s sound.

So detail-focused listeners have Tom’s Guide pointing to the Sony, and TechGearLab pointing to the Bose 25.

Verdict: unresolved. Tom’s Guide leans Sony on detail; TechGearLab leans Bose overall. Listeners who prize detail have a reason to try the Sony, and listeners who prize bass impact have a reason to try the Bose.

Which is more comfortable and secure?

This is also unsettled. Digital Trends describes the Bose’s shape as sitting between the bulbous Sony WF-1000XM5 and the stemmed Apple AirPods Pro 2, and credits the earbud shape, low weight and three sizes each of tips and stability bands for a secure fit 1. Its separate Sony review lists “Fit isn’t super secure” as the Sony’s only con 12. What Hi-Fi? says the first-generation Bose was comfortable and secure in ways that outclassed the slightly more finicky Sony, though that observation concerns the older Bose model 9.

Two direct comparisons point in opposite directions. RTINGS, in its Bose review, says the Bose are more comfortable and don’t sit as deep in the ear, though they protrude more and can get in the way if you have piercings 3. TechGearLab’s Sony review scorecard, covering a five-earbud group that includes the Bose, gives the Sony 8.0 out of 10 for comfort and fit against 6.2 for the Bose, and 7.5 hours comfortable against 6, and it says the Sonys suit buyers who prioritize comfort and all-day battery life 5. Its separate Bose review says its testers managed about five hours of wear and felt the new generation was no more comfortable than the old one 14. Ear size complicates both: Tom’s Guide’s reviewer needed the largest eartip on the Sony to get a seal 18, while SoundGuys says the Bose suits larger ears better and small-eared listeners should avoid it 15.

Weight is a narrower question with numbers. Sony’s help guide lists 5.9 g per earbud, and TechGearLab measured 5.95 g for the Sony and 7.09 g for the Bose on its own scale 19514. Bose publishes no per-earbud weight 7. Other published figures disagree: TechRadar and What Hi-Fi? list 7.7 g for the Bose, Digital Trends lists 0.2 oz, and TechRadar lists 4.2 g for the Sony 179113. The Sony is lighter in the two measurements TechGearLab took on the same scale 514.

Verdict: unresolved on comfort and fit; Sony on weight. RTINGS’ comparison favors the Bose, while TechGearLab’s same-table scores favor the Sony 35.

Which is better for calls?

The Sony’s call quality is rated both ways. Digital Trends and The Verge call its call quality a strength 1211, while RTINGS calls the microphone mediocre and TechGearLab scored its call quality 5.1 out of 10, the lowest of the five earbuds in its group, which includes the Bose 105. The Bose draws more consistent praise: What Hi-Fi? lists excellent voice-call clarity, Digital Trends credits a new AI-powered noise-suppression system, and Tom’s Guide lists clear call quality as a pro 912. TechGearLab scored the Bose’s call quality 8.0 out of 10 in its own review, with the caveat that live outdoor calls sounded clear but its lab call test was only middling 14. RTINGS calls the Bose’s microphone merely okay 3.

TechGearLab is the only outlet whose Sony review includes the Bose in its test group, and it ranks the Sony last on calls 5. The other call-quality remarks above come from separate pieces on each product, so they can’t be joined into a ranking. RTINGS’ direct comparison of the Bose with the Sony WF-1000XM5 doesn’t discuss microphones or calls 3.

Verdict: Bose, on TechGearLab’s evidence alone. Reviewers’ separate verdicts on the Sony’s calls are split.

Which has better features and connectivity?

On specifications, the two are close. Both list multipoint, wireless charging and IPX4 687. The codec lists differ: Sony supports SBC, AAC, LDAC and LC3, and Bose supports SBC, AAC and aptX Adaptive 198. For iPhone users, both support AAC. Android users get LDAC on the Sony and, with a compatible Qualcomm-based phone, aptX Adaptive on the Bose; TechRadar notes the Bose’s aptX options need such a phone and calls the lack of LDAC a missed opportunity 17. Tom’s Guide found the Sony’s sound over AAC on an iPhone wasn’t quite as good as over LDAC on an Android phone 18.

On the apps, Tom’s Guide says the Bose app is one of the easiest to navigate compared with Sony’s, but that the Bose’s EQ has only three bands, seven fewer than Sony’s 2. For spatial audio, TechRadar praises the Bose’s head-tracked Immersive Audio as device-agnostic, and Digital Trends ranks it second only to Apple’s 171. Digital Trends found the Sony’s head tracking worked only with Netflix on a supporting Android phone, and The Verge couldn’t get it working in Netflix or YouTube on a Pixel Fold 1211. The spatial-audio remarks come from separate pieces on each product, not a comparison. Nothing here compares the stability of the two Bluetooth connections; TechRadar’s reported drop-outs on the Sony were set against control sets that did not include this Bose model 13.

Verdict: tie on core features. Bose has the simpler app and, per separate reviews, the better spatial audio; Sony has the finer EQ and LDAC.

Which is the better value?

At list price the two are a tie: Sony’s launch MSRP was $299.99 in July 2023, and Bose’s was $299 in June 2025 68. Street prices are where they part. Tom’s Guide says the Sony has been seen as low as $210 in sales events and that the Bose is the most expensive of the group it names 2. Digital Trends points out that buying the Sony saves money 1. What Hi-Fi?’s Bose review lists the Sony at around $299 in the US at that time, so the discount is not constant 9.

Age cuts the other way. RTINGS says the Sony WF-1000XM5 has been replaced by the WF-1000XM6, and TechGearLab calls the newer model better than the XM5 in almost every way, though less comfortable 105. Digital Trends suggested waiting for the XM6 before buying a Bose 1.

Verdict: Sony WF-1000XM5 on price, as long as a discount is available.

Which one to buy

Choose the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) if you ride trains, fly or work in noisy rooms. It is the one What Hi-Fi? and TechGearLab’s text favor for noise cancelling, though the Bose’s edge is slight: TechGearLab’s scorecard has the Sony marginally ahead and RTINGS calls both top-of-the-line 453. Its call quality is better regarded by TechGearLab 514. Expect shorter battery life, especially with Immersive Audio on 7.

Choose the Sony WF-1000XM5 if you want more hours per charge, a lighter earbud and the lower price when it’s on sale 125. It also gives Android users LDAC 19. Consider the newer WF-1000XM6 as well, since RTINGS reports it has succeeded the XM5 10.

Neither earbud wins every category, and the evidence doesn’t support naming an overall winner. Sound and comfort are where the evidence splits, and call quality rests on a single outlet’s comparison, so decide those by what you value and, where possible, by trying the fit 251.