Comparison of Bose QuietComfort Ultra to older Bose QuietComfort 35.
Summary: QuietComfort 35 are better, I’d buy them again instead of Ultra.
Pros
- “Aware” mode (outside noises play inside the ear pads). So I don’t have to take off my headphones to walk around.
Cons
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The volume switch is now a touch-swipe sensor instead of two hardware buttons. The sensor doesn’t give you feedback, so it’s hard to understand whether you’re changing the volume. It’s also prone to accidental swipe.
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No “Default” or “Off” noise-canceling setting. You can either pick between “Active” noise-canceling or “Aware” mode (when outside noises play inside). Sometimes, I’d want just default “dumb” headphones with nor noise-canceling, nor noise replay. It seems like Bose got rid of the “Off” option even with the QC 45 model.
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$380 for Ultra vs. $250 for QC 45.
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The headphones system is very slow, turning on/off takes a few seconds.
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It’s not clear when the headphones are turned off. They are supposed to automatically turn off when taken off. But sometimes they do not. So when I think they are nicely packed in my backpack, only to find out they were connected to my phone and are now out of battery.
Not sure
Multipoint connection.
The Multipoint connection keeps multiple Bluetooth connections to different devices, which is nice to configure settings while listening to music from another device. However, it keeps disconnecting from my laptop when a notification sound comes in from the connected phone. So, I keep the Multipoint connection off.