Reviews / Bose QC Earbuds Review: specs, ANC and battery, and Three Same-Price Rivals
Review · Bose

Bose QC Earbuds Review: specs, ANC and battery, and Three Same-Price Rivals

The reference price of the Bose QC Earbuds is $199(6.2 g / 24 hours). This review uses published specs and same-price comparisons only, to show where it sits and who it is for.

2026/10/7
  • In one line: The reference price of the Bose QC Earbuds is $199(6.2 g / 24 hours)。
  • Position: 2th most expensive of 18 models in the $100–200 band.
  • Commuting and office: ANC plus 24 hours of battery.
  • Long days out: the Marshall Motif II A.N.C. lasts 30 hours.

Headphone Product Library · Full specs

SeriesQuietComfort
FormTWS
Driver TypeDynamic
Weight6.2 g
Battery6/24 h
Bluetooth5.3
CodecsSBC,AAC
ANCYes
MicrophoneYes
WaterproofIPX4
Released2020

Acoustic specs

Impedance
Bose QC Earbuds · —Ω
Marshall Motif II A.N.C. · —Ω
Sony LinkBuds S · —Ω
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 · —Ω
Sensitivity
Bose QC Earbuds · —dB
Marshall Motif II A.N.C. · —dB
Sony LinkBuds S · —dB
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 · —dB
Weight
Bose QC Earbuds · 6.2g
Marshall Motif II A.N.C. · 4.3g
Sony LinkBuds S · 4.8g
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 · 5.8g
Battery
Bose QC Earbuds · 6h
Marshall Motif II A.N.C. · 6h
Sony LinkBuds S · 6h
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 · 6.5h

Spec comparison · relative to this model

Product DB Bose QC Earbuds ★Marshall Motif II A.N.C.Sony LinkBuds SHuawei FreeBuds Pro 3
Driver Dynamic Dynamic Dynamic Dynamic
Impedance — — — —
Sensitivity — — — —
Frequency — — — —
Weight 6.2 g 4.3 g↓-1.9 4.8 g↓-1.4 5.8 g↓-0.4
Battery 6/24 h 6/30 h 6/20 h 6.5/31 h↑+0.5
ANC Yes Adaptive Adaptive Adaptive
Year 2020 2023↑+3 2022↑+2 2023↑+3
Price $199 $199 $199 $199

↑↓ = difference vs the ★ model; lighter, longer battery and wider response are shown in green. “—” means the maker does not publish that figure.

Bose QC Earbuds is Bose’s true-wireless earbuds, released in 2020 at $199. The spec sheet lists dynamic、6.2 g、24 hours。Its value is not one dramatic number but where those specs land at this price.

1. Where it sits on the shelf

Bose QC Earbuds: its position on the shelf (price vs weight / impedance vs sensitivity)
★ is the model under review, hollow circles are the three closest rivals, grey dots are the rest of the same form factor. Top: price vs weight. Bottom: impedance vs sensitivity.

On this true-wireless earbuds shelf its price ranks 20th (45 models with a price), and 2th most expensive of the 18 models in the $100–200 band. At 6.2 g it ranks 36th lightest of the 40 models with weight data. The maker publishes neither impedance nor sensitivity — common in this form factor, so we compare only the checkable fields.

2. What the numbers change in daily use

Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC,AAC, with active noise cancelling. Rated battery is 6/24 hours including the charging case. There is no LDAC-class hi-res codec, so even Android cannot reach a high-bitrate path.At 2 hours of commuting a day that is roughly one charge every two weeks.

3. Fit, isolation and use cases

At 6.2 g it is on the heavy side for this form factor. In-ear tips give passive isolation, enough for commuting. No water-resistance rating is published, so sport and rain are out.

4. Head to head with its three closest rivals

Bose QC Earbuds against its three closest rivals, dimension by dimension
The ★ model against its three closest rivals, dimension by dimension. Dimensions no rival publishes are reduced to one line instead of an empty bar.

The three closest rivals at this price are the Marshall Motif II A.N.C., Sony LinkBuds S and Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3. Marshall Motif II A.N.C. ($199 (same price)):4.3 g、30 hours battery;Sony LinkBuds S ($199 (same price)):4.8 g、20 hours battery;Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3 ($199 (same price)):5.8 g、31 hours battery。

5. Weaknesses worth stating

  • Price position: of the 18 models in the $100–200 band, 0 cost more and 12 cost less.
  • Battery is not a strength: Marshall Motif II A.N.C.(30 hours)、Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3(31 hours) all last longer than its 24 hours.
  • It is an older release (2020); newer same-price models differ in codecs and ANC.

6. What to buy instead at the same price

  • The direct rivals are the three models from section 4 (Marshall Motif II A.N.C.、Sony LinkBuds S、Huawei FreeBuds Pro 3) — which to pick depends on the spec you care about.
  • Other checkable models in the $100–200 band: Sony LinkBuds Open($199、5.1 g)、Marshall Motif II A.N.C.($199、4.3 g)、Sony LinkBuds S($199、4.8 g).

7. Who it is for — and who it is not

  • Commuting and office: ANC plus 24 hours of battery.
  • Long days out: the Marshall Motif II A.N.C. lasts 30 hours.

Data note: every claim comes from maker-published specs in our own product database and same-price comparisons (price, weight, impedance, sensitivity, frequency response, codecs and battery are checkable fields). No unmeasured listening impressions are included; unpublished figures show as “—” in the table.

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