Bose Updates Its Iconic QuietComfort Headphones With Immersive Audio and Better ANC for Glasses Wearers

Bose announced the second-generation QuietComfort Headphones on August 6, 2026, with preorders opening two days later and shipping beginning August 13. At $359, the new model sits well below Bose's flagship QuietComfort Ultra Headphones while borrowing several features that used to be exclusive to that top-tier model.

QuietControl noise cancellation, built for glasses wearers

The new noise-cancellation system, which Bose calls QuietControl, uses a six-microphone array with adaptive feedforward controls specifically designed to compensate for gaps in the earcup seal — a detail Bose is pitching directly at glasses wearers and anyone who's struggled to get a consistent fit from over-ear headphones. Bose's proprietary SoundDesign digital signal processing handles the audio side, with support for lossless playback over wired USB-C audio at 24-bit/48kHz.

TrueSpatial Immersive Audio arrives from the Ultra line

The bigger news for anyone who's compared Bose's tiers in the past is TrueSpatial Technology, Bose's Immersive Audio system, which previously shipped only on the pricier QuietComfort Ultra Headphones. The 2nd Gen model gets three listening modes — Still, Motion, and Cinema — tuned for stationary listening, movement, and video respectively. Physical buttons on the earcups handle playback, volume, call management, listening-mode switching, and voice assistant activation, alongside an updated headband with smoother adjustable sliders and oval-shaped earcups.

Battery life and colors

Bose rates the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) for up to 24 hours of standard listening, or 18 hours with Immersive Audio switched on, and a 15-minute quick charge adds roughly 2.5 hours of playback. Bluetooth Core 5.4 brings multipoint connectivity and Google Fast Pair support on Android, and an included USB-C-to-3.5mm adapter covers wired listening on devices without a headphone jack.

The headphones ship in Black and White Smoke as standing colors, with Eucalyptus Green, Dewdrop Mint, and Rosewood Mauve available as limited-edition finishes. Bose's original QuietComfort Ultra Headphones remain on sale for buyers who want the top-tier model, but the 2nd Gen QuietComfort now makes most of that experience available for $90 less.