Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd gen) can last for months on standby
Noise-cancelling headphones you’ll never have to turn off
📣 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd gen) arrive October 2 for $449
🎧 Design has been updated with polished metal yokes and two new Driftwood Sand and Midnight Violet colors
🔊 The sound profile has been improved with deeper bass and improved clarity at higher volumes, plus more natural highs
🚫 Active noise-cancelling will smoothly block sudden noise spikes and
🎬 Cinema sound adds spatial sound and brings the sound stage forward for cinematic listening over Bluetooth or USB-C
⏻ Never touch the power button again: a new low-power standby mode allows the headphones to last for months
🔋 Battery life is rated at 30 hours with ANC (45 hours without ANC)
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd gen) were just announced with a new polished design, smarter ANC, and lossless USB-C audio – but their most intriguing update is a low-power standby mode that supposedly lasts for months.
This basically allows you to press the power button once and simply put on and take off the headphones to put them into the low-power state. Thanks to improved on-head detection, the headphones automatically disconnect and switch into this low-power standby mode whenever you take them off or lay them down onto a flat surface. Then, as soon as you put them on, they’ll power back on and reconnect.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) Desert Gold - $449
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) White Smoke - $449
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) Driftwood Sand - $449
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) Midnight Violet - $449
The battery life of the headphones themselves is long, but not too impressive, at 30 hours with ANC enabled. It lasts a little longer at 45 hours with ANC turned off, or 23 hours with immersive audio. You can also use the headphones while they’re charging over USB-C.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd gen) upgrades
The headphones themselves feature new polished metal yokes that add a small highlight to the four new colors: Black, White Smoke, Driftwood Sand, and Midnight Violet. Aside from this minor detail, the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd gen) appear almost identical to their predecessor.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd generation) feature a new sound profile described as having deeper bass and improved clarity at higher volumes, along with more natural highs. Active noise-cancelling has also been enhanced with ActiveSense, which enables the headphones to effectively cancel out sudden noise spikes, such as the sound of a passing train or siren.
In a quieter listening environment, the headphones will also automatically lower the noise-cancelling level. Users will also be able to control the level of noise cancellation manually.
The headphones also now support wired USB-C audio for lossless listening. While plugged in, users will be able to enjoy 16-bit (44.1kHz or 48kHz) audio for higher fidelity sound.
Another new feature is Cinema Mode, which adds spatial sound and places the soundstage in front of the listener as if they’re sitting in their home theater. Bose tells us Cinema Mode will work for podcasts and audiobooks by making it seem as if we’re being spoken to. Cinema Mode will work while connected over Bluetooth or USB-C, which is already an improvement over the Cinema mode I tested on the Sony WH-1000XM6.
Bose’s new flagship noise-cancelling headphones are available to preorder now for $449 and they will be available on October 2.
Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam.