One of the first pairs of headphones I tested for Mashable was the Bose QuietComfort Ultras, the gold standard for the brand. They serve all-day comfort with stellar audio quality. By the time I got around to testing Bose’s more affordable QuietComfort headphones, I wasn’t expecting much, and certainly not to find my all-time favorite headphones.
I’ve had the Bose QuietComfort headphones for over a year, and I’ve used them daily since I got them. They’re comfortable, have actually intuitive controls, and boast impressive noise cancellation and sound.
All-day comfort and battery life
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable
These are my go-to headphones for everything: going on afternoon walks, running errands, writing from a café, or traveling. They’re reliable and, most importantly, comfortable. I can wear these headphones all day with earrings and my glasses on and not experience any ear fatigue. Bose says that the QuietComfort headphones are on-ear headphones compared to the QC Ultras’ over-ear design, but I find that the comfort and fit are nearly identical; the most significant difference is just the price you pay for that comfort.
Being able to wear them all day is one thing, but having them run all day is equally important. These are reliable headphones. When I wear them for a couple of hours per day, I can go a couple of weeks without charging them. On a trip to New York, their battery lasted from the time I left my house at the crack of dawn, through the train ride into the city, and into the next day.
The best controls on any headphones I’ve used
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable
I almost always hate the controls on over-the-ear headphones. Touch controls are often unreliable, and the small control buttons can be confusing if you’re not looking directly at them. In fact, that was my biggest complaint about the Bose QuietComfort Ultras; I found the buttons on the headphones to be finicky, inconsistent, and confusing to use.
The standard QuietComforts have the perfect controls. The best part is that, rather than a power button, it’s a switch. It sits on one of the ear cups, and you can tell when the headphones are on or off just by touch. For me, that means fewer instances of accidentally leaving them on and having the battery run out.
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Sound that delivers — most of the time
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable
Sound is crucial, and the audio quality on the Bose QuietComforts is stellar. It showcases the epic haunting notes of Max Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight” and the thumping beats of Charli XCX’s “Everything is Romantic” in equal measure. Plus, they immerse you in sound. While they don’t have the spatial audio capabilities of the QuietComfort Ultra headphones, I don’t miss it, as I find that their active noise cancellation is enough to keep me in the zone, and the audio feels robust.
The ANC on this pair of headphones is just right, too. It isn’t the best I’ve ever experienced, which isn’t entirely surprising since the ear cups aren’t particularly snug; that’s great for comfort, but less effective for passive noise cancellation. But I find that its ANC easily blocks out the noise of busy city streets and the clink and clatter of my local coffee shop.
It tends to falter in the presence of extremely loud noises. While wearing them on a train platform, the sound of the incoming train caused a staticky, high-pitched noise in the headphones.
The more affordable option is the better choice
A more expensive product doesn’t always mean a better product, and I find that to be the case with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra and standard QuietComfort headphones. For $70 less than the Ultras, the standard QuietComforts are my preferred pick in the Bose lineup. They’re comfortable and have intuitive controls and a long battery life.
While I think they’re worth buying at full price, keep your eye out for sales. During Black Friday 2025, we saw them reach their lowest price ever of $159.
