The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are TWS headphones that offer outstanding sound quality, are very comfortable and also have the best active noise cancellation on the market. However, they are big and bulky and the touch controls are not the most practical.
Samsung has made the Galaxy Buds + a very good purchase option. They sound good, they are comfortable, the microphone works well, and they have exceptional battery life. In addition, they have advanced functions and the app for iOS and Android provides very useful functions.
General
| QuietComfort Earbuds | Galaxy Buds Plus | |
 |  | |
| $ | CHECK PRICE | CHECK PRICE |
| Brand | Bose | Samsung |
| Type | In Ear | In Ear |
| Colors | Soapstone, Triple Black | Cosmic Black, White, Cloud Blue |
| Battery life | 6 Hours | 11 Hours |
| Weight | 381 g | 142 grams |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth | Bluetooth |
Design
| QuietComfort Earbuds | Galaxy Buds Plus | |
| Type | In Ear | In Ear |
| Touch | No | Yes |
| Wireless | Yes | Yes |
| Noise Cancelling | Yes | No |
| Weight | 381 g | 142 grams |
| Foldable Design | No | No |
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds
The TWS Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are huge. If you have already seen my review on the Sony WF-1000XM3, you will know that Sony is big, however, the Bose QCs manage to be even bigger and bulkier. Placed in the ear they bulge almost the same as two normal headphones and in a way, they remind us of Cyberpunk 2077 characters with implants in place.
The headphones are available in beige and black, and while they are bulky, they are quite light. The fit uses double ear cushions that have a tip that goes into the ear and a kind of hook that is placed on the inside of the ear. The result is that the headphones are very comfortable and do not move or give the impression that they are going to fall even when we are playing sports or running.
Like the AirPods Pro, the QuietComfort Earbuds have an IPX4 rating for water resistance. This means that the headphones are protected against light rain and splashes, but cannot be submerged or exposed to the pressure of tap water.
On the outside of the headphones we have a touch panel:
- A double-tap on the left earbud toggles between ANC preset modes
- A double-tap on the right ear plays or pauses the audio
- By holding down the surface of the left earphone, a voice will be heard that tells us the battery life, although it can be changed to advance the song through the mobile app
- Holding down the right earbud will activate the device’s voice assistant.
- In addition, while we receive a call, a double-tap will answer or hang up the same
Missing? We cannot control the volume with the headphones nor can we go back to the previous song. It seems that Bose has tried to leave some very simple controls, but has left the options that are most often used in the pipeline and wants us to use the voice assistant to modify them.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus
At first glance, the Galaxy Buds + are virtually identical to the previous Galaxy Buds. Of course, this year the pearlescent finishes are available in blue (blue is new from the first generation, and replaces the neon yellow version), white, black, red and pink. Be careful because the yellow ones are the old ones.
Therefore, the Buds + remain TWS Bluetooth earbuds that are held in place thanks to the earwings , a small piece of rubber of different sizes that is wrapped around the headphones and makes the headphones stay perfectly attached.
At 17.5 x 22.5 x 19.2mm in size, they are relatively large as they feature a generous 85mAh internal battery. However, they are not bulky or annoying either. As there are pads, both ear tips (the one that fits into the ear) and earwings (the one that fits the ear), of different sizes they adapt perfectly to most ears.
On the outside of the headphones, under the pearlescent surface, we find the triangular-shaped touch button that responds perfectly to all touches. However, they can be too sensitive and easy to touch when putting on the headphones. The buttons are used to:
- With a tap on any earphone let’s pause or resume playback.
- With two taps we will jump to the next song. Either we will answer or end a call that is currently in progress.
- With three taps we will return to the previous song.
- We can configure (with the Galaxy Buds + application available for iOS and Android) that by holding down we call the phone’s voice assistant, activate the ambient sound mode or lower the volume (left earphone) and raise it (right earphone).
They have the IPX2 water resistance certificate, which means that they are resistant to splashes and it is perfect for training. We also don’t have to worry if two drops of rainfall, but I wouldn’t risk taking them if it rains a lot. In comparison, most TWS headsets are IPX4 or IPX5 certified.
Features
| QuietComfort Earbuds | Galaxy Buds Plus | |
| USB | USB-C | USB-C |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| Dimension | 175 x 163 x 69 mm(Box) | 104 x 94 x 41 mm (Each) |
| Music Controls | Yes | Yes |
| Quick Charge | Yes | Yes |
| Stereo speakers | No | No |
Battery
| QuietComfort Earbuds | Galaxy Buds Plus | |
| Battery Type | Lithium-Ion | Lithium-Ion |
| Battery Life | 6 Hours Buds | 11 Hours Buds |
| Charging Time | 15 Min for 2 Hours | 3 Minutes for 1 Hour |
| Charging Port | Pins | USB Type-C, Qi |
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds
The headphones have a battery life of about 6 hours with the ANC activated, 1 hour more than the AirPods Pro. With the carrying case, we can charge the headphones twice more so the total battery life is around 18 hours. Not bad and the headphones have a fast charge and are able to get a range of two hours by putting them in the box for only 15 minutes.
The box has LEDs that indicate its charge level and can be charged via USB-C or Qi wireless charging. Everything is quite good, however, the box is quite large and it is not too comfortable to carry in a trouser pocket. Ok, we understand that it has to be big because the headphones are big, but since you make it big, make it have a little more capacity.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus
The Galaxy Buds Plus have a much larger battery (85 mAh) than the original Buds. Thanks to that, they manage to have an autonomy that reaches 11 hours at medium volume, something impressive when most similar headphones barely reach 5 hours. Also, the battery is so large because it will undergo fewer charge cycles and its condition will be better preserved over time.
As we have seen, the charging case is quite compact and does not have too much battery so it will only allow us to fully charge the headphones once, bringing the total autonomy to 22 hours. This number is more normal, however, I think the combination is ideal.
In addition to all that, the headphones have fast charged and putting them in the box for 10 minutes they charge enough to be able to play music for 3 hours.
Connectivity
| QuietComfort Earbuds | Galaxy Buds Plus | |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Bluetooth Range | Approx. 10 meter | Approx. 10 meter |
| NFC | No | No |
| Multi-Device Connection | No | Yes |
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds
The headphones have a proximity sensor that serves to pause or resume the music when we take off or put the headphones on and it also has other interesting functions such as activating the transparency mode when we take off a headset or automatically answer a call when we put the headset on. right.
The QuietComfort use Bluetooth 5.1 and support AAC and SBC codecs. Nothing too flashy, but quite interesting because, as we will see below, with the worst available codecs they achieve spectacular sound quality. I say this because there are many people who attach too much importance to codecs and think that if headphones do not have aptX (or similar) they cannot be heard well. And the thing is. It is not the same to listen to headphones for 10 euros per SBC as the Bose QuietComfort.
As for the connection, it is totally stable and I have not had any cut or instability. In addition, both headphones connect directly to the mobile so we can use one or both of them fully automatically. Of course, like most TWS headphones, the QuietComfort Earbuds do not have multipoint Bluetooth.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus
Inside, they have a proximity sensor so they pause and resume music automatically when we remove the headphones. The box itself is quite compact and lightweight. Its rounded edges make it very comfortable to put in and take out of pockets.
They have Bluetooth 5.0 that provides a very stable and seamless wireless connection, even in spaces with interference. Unfortunately, the only codec options are SBC and AAC. They do not support better audio codecs like aptX, aptX Low Latency or LDAC. However, if they are paired with a Samsung mobile with Android 7.0 or higher, you can use Samsung’s scalable audio codec option that offers a higher bitrate and better stability.
Pairing the headphones is very easy with any mobile, be it Android or iPhone. In addition, we can download the Galaxy Wearable or Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus application from Google Play and the Apple App Store, which will allow us to configure the equalization, activate the ambient noise and the functions of the buttons. The app also allows advanced functions such as updating the firmware of the headphones (to improve its features in the future), they find my headphones mode, etc.
Which is better!
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are far from perfect at the moment (perhaps a firmware update will give us more options when it comes to button settings). They are big and bulky, the touch buttons do not allow you to control the volume. However, we consider them to be the best TWS headphones we have tried since they excel in the areas that are most important to me: comfort, sound quality and ANC.
The Galaxy Buds + are very complete headphones that do not fail in anything and that comply with remarkable in everything, except in battery and comfort that they get outstanding. However, they come at a price that puts them in a difficult position because there are somewhat cheaper headphones that sound as good as they do. However, no headset in its price range offers so many advanced features.
In addition, they are headphones that will last much longer than the large 85 mAh battery that each headset mounts. This means that they will undergo fewer charge and discharge cycles over time. For example, Apple AirPods have suffered a lot of criticism from users because AirPods are practically unusable after 2 years of use.
Finally, Galaxy Buds + have the advantage of working somewhat better on Samsung phones (animations, more advanced codec, etc.), however, they work perfectly well on all Android phones and even iPhones. The thing that cannot be said of the AirPods that lose almost all their functionality in Android.
