A new pair of Bose earbuds is on the way replacing the Ultra from a few years ago, and that’s not the only upgrade the inventor of active noise cancellation has in store.
It’s an interesting time to be considering a new pair of headphones or earphones, as everyone seems to be releasing new gear. There’s plenty for all price points, but if you’re looking at premium gear from the best brands, there is a lot happening there, as well.
While an update is expected for the likes of Sony’s WF-XM5 now that the headphone variety in the WH-1000XM6 has arrived, not to mention a likely update on the cards for Apple’s AirPods Pro 2nd-gen, Bose is applying some tweaks to its QuietComfort earbuds formula.
In fact, one of this reviewer’s favourite pairs is getting an update, as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra hits second-gen, bringing the same design with a few tweaks.
Upon first glance, the QuietComfort Ultra Earbud 2nd-gen looks identical to its first-gen sibling, though Bose has gone beyond the surface for changes.
There’s an updated algorithm for adaptive noise cancellation with changes in the noise cancellation apparently smoother than before. Meanwhile, AI is being used for the sound to focus on voice when talking to people over the phone.
Wireless charging is also in the case, something we noted was missing in our QC Ultra Earbuds review, and interestingly, Bose has even made a change on the design to prevent earwax buildup with a little physical guard.
The changes appear minor but still useful, with the sound and support for spatial still key parts, priced much the same, too. Australians can expect to find the QC Ultra Earbuds 2nd-gen locally for $450 in stores across the country now.
Meanwhile, Bose is also updating two of its speakers, as the Soundlink series gets a bit of a refresh. Last year’s SoundLink Max is still the big model, but the SoundLink Plus will provide a little less size with plenty of sound.
It’s a little bigger than the Flex — which is also in second-gen — but offers more oomph, the portable wireless speaker boasting a internal design featuring one tweeter, four passive radiators, and one subwoofer in a 2kg design.
Water resistant and featuring a small rope handle to hold it by, the SoundLink Plus is a model that little bit smaller than the Max, and priced at $429 in Australia.
If you need a much smaller speaker, Bose is also updating the “Micro”, an almost square speaker of roughly 10x10cm made to cling to things. Belts, handle bars, and more, the Bose SoundLink Micro 2nd-gen brings a single driver and two passive radiators to a speaker package designed to be compact and convenient.
Interestingly, Bose is also updating its app to support playback across multiple speakers. While the idea of a party mode linking up speakers isn’t anything new — UE has offered a party mode that required the same speaker — Bose’s approach will mean a SoundLink Max can talk to a SoundLink Micro, and both speakers can play the same music.
Essentially, you can own several speakers of different sizes and Bose’s app will let you stream your music to all of them at once.
Given how the price of Bluetooth speakers differs, that’s sure to be handy, and with the SoundLink Micro priced at $179, could make it much easier to build a multi-room system of your own making for shindigs at home and on the go.
