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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless vs Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple AirPods (1st generation)
Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.3.1
Updated Jan 15, 2024 03:46 PM
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Finding storeTested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Apr 19, 2024 07:04 PM
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TypeEarbuds
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
TypeEarbuds
EnclosureSemi-Open
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
Variants
- AirPods (1st generation) (White)
- SoundSport Free (Black)
- SoundSport Free (Bright Orange)
- SoundSport Free (Midnight Blue)
- SoundSport Free Amazon Exclusive (Ultraviolet)
Our Verdict
Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless
Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless
The Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless are slightly better truly wireless headphones than the Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless. The Bose have a more stable fit for sports and a better-balanced sound quality that delivers a lot more bass than the Apple. On the other hand, the Apple have a better wireless performance with a more stable connection and a lot less latency when watching videos on PCs. They also have a longer cumulative battery life of more than 24 hours when you include the additional recharges from the case.
Main Differences forMixed Usage
Mixed Usage
Threshold
Mixed Usage
6.4
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Earbuds
Earbuds
Enclosure
Open-Back
Semi-Open
Wireless
Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
8.0
7.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.02 lbs
0.04 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs
0 lbs
Controls
4.7
5.7
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
N/A
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Subpar
Poor
Feedback
Subpar
Mediocre
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
No
Yes
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
N/A
No
Noise Cancelling Control
N/A
No
Talk-Through
N/A
No
Additional Controls
Voice enabled controls
No
Breathability
9.6
8.9
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
0.4 °C
1.1 °C
Portability
9.6
9.4
Portability Picture
L
1.72"
0.9" (2.3 cm)
W
1"
1.8" (4.6 cm)
H
0.6"
0.9" (2.3 cm)
Volume
1.03 in³
1.50 in³ (24.58 cm³)
Transmitter Required
N/A
No
Case
8.5
7.0
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
2.06"
3.8" (9.7 cm)
W
1.69"
1.5" (3.8 cm)
H
0.74"
1.2" (3.0 cm)
Volume
2.58 in³
6.90 in³ (113.07 cm³)
Build Quality
8.0
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
6.5
7.5
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
-7.73 dB
-0.46 dB
Treble Amount
0.61 dB
-1.85 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
6.4
8.6
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.8 dB
0.29 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Raw FR L
Raw FR L
Raw FR R
Raw FR R
Bass Accuracy
6.0
9.0
Std. Err.
5.27 dB
1.34 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
64.42 Hz
26.7 Hz
Low-Bass
-10.94 dB
-2.04 dB
Mid-Bass
-0.79 dB
0.4 dB
High-Bass
1.62 dB
1.41 dB
Mid Accuracy
7.9
8.7
Std. Err.
2.78 dB
1.78 dB
Low-Mid
1.7 dB
-0.65 dB
Mid-Mid
0.55 dB
-2.69 dB
High-Mid
3.62 dB
-0.01 dB
Treble Accuracy
7.2
8.3
Treble
Treble
Std. Err.
4.18 dB
2.63 dB
Low-Treble
4.46 dB
-0.89 dB
Mid-Treble
4.26 dB
-3.97 dB
High-Treble
0.57 dB
-7.82 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.3
8.5
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.83 dB
1 dB
Dips
1.13 dB
0.83 dB
Imaging
8.4
9.3
Phase Response
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.31
0.15
Weighted Phase Mismatch
5.76
1.19
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.04
0.6
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.5
0.69
Passive Soundstage
2.6
2.7
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
N/A
Openness
9.7
9.2
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.4
2.8
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
Speaker Modeling
No
Room Ambience
No
Head Tracking
No
Virtual Surround
No
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.9
7.4
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.177
0.271
WHD @ 100
0.128
0.199
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Power
On
Connection
Unknown
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
EQ
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Silicone (small)
Microphone
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation
1.3
1.9
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-2.64 dB
-4.66 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
-0.01 dB
-0.08 dB
Mid
1.1 dB
-2.38 dB
Treble
-8.72 dB
-11.63 dB
Leakage
7.3
7.6
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
37.73 dB
36.15 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
N/A
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.2
5.0
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
354.04 Hz
285.09 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.83 dB
3.27 dB
HFE
3,368.2 Hz
1,733.45 Hz
Weighted THD
31.268
50.373
Gain
28.6 dB
43.61 dB
Noise Handling
6.2
6.8
SpNR
14.85 dB
18.18 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
6.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
7.1
6.2
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
4.8 hrs
4.8 hrs
Additional Charges
5
2.0
Total Battery Life
27 hrs
14.4 hrs
Charge Time
0.5 hrs
1.9 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Yes
Auto-Off Timer
Audio While Charging
Yes
No
Passive Playback
No
No
Charging Port
Lightning
micro-USB
App Support
5.5
7.0
App Picture
App Name
N/A
Bose Connect
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
No
Yes
macOS
N/A
No
Windows
N/A
No
Equalizer
No
No
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
N/A
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
Yes
Button Mapping
Yes
No
Surround Sound
N/A
Surround Support
No
Connectivity
Bluetooth
6.9
6.5
Bluetooth Version
4.2 + W1 chip
4.1
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
NFC Pairing
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
91 ft
72.00 ft (21.95 m)
PC Latency (SBC)
168 ms
555 ms
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
N/A
iOS Latency
52 ms
Android Latency
96 ms
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
0.0
0.0
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
N/A
Wired
0.0
0.0
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
N/A
No
USB Audio
N/A
No
Detachable
N/A
No
Length
N/A
N/A
Connection
N/A
No Wired Option
Wired Latency
N/A
Analog/USB Audio Latency
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
No
Wired USB
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC / PS4 Analog
No
No
PC / PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
No
No
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
Base/Dock
2.2
2.2
Type
Charging Case
Charging Case
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
Yes
Yes
Power Supply
Lightning
USB
Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless
Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless
Comments
Apple AirPods (1st generation) vs Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless: Main Discussion
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