Bose has arguably approached the QC Ultra Headphones 2 as it should have, by plugging feature gaps and incrementally improving on the original’s strengths. Reasonable across-the-board refinements were expected and have indeed been delivered, making for a complete pair of headphones that justify ‘2nd Gen’ status.

Our experts ranked the Bose QuietComfort Ultras as best overall, and you can snag them on sale now for Black Friday.

Not only that, but such budget noise-canceling headphones often have features and specs that rival those of much more premium pairs. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones gen 2 are, right now, the best noise canceling headphones you can buy.

Cancel noise actively while adjusting EQ across 24 hours of wireless playback per charge.

Battery life and power management are crucial yet overlooked strengths, but they've always been Bose's weaknesses. Its 2019 flagship headphones, the NC700, delivered about 20 hours of battery life, and its 2023 QuietComfort Ultra headphones maxed out at 24 hours.

With Bluetooth 5.4 helping streamline power consumption, the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Gen 2 deliver a clear improvement in battery performance. The new model offers five to six hours more runtime than its predecessor, stretching total playback time to around 30 hours (up from 24 on the Gen 1).