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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018 vs Apple AirPods (3rd generation) Truly Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018
Apple AirPods (3rd generation)
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Mar 14, 2024 07:16 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Jan 17, 2025 08:32 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeEarbuds
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Variants
- QuietComfort 35 II (Black)
- QuietComfort 35 II (Rose Gold)
- QuietComfort 35 II (Silver)
- QuietComfort 35 II (Triple Midnight)
- AirPods (3rd generation) (Lightning Charging Case - White)
- AirPods (3rd generation) (White)
Our Verdict
Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018
Apple AirPods (3rd generation) Truly Wireless
The Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018 and the Apple AirPods (3rd generation) are very different headphones, and you may prefer either depending on what you're looking for. The Βose are over-ears with a superb ANC feature, a much more neutral sound profile, and a longer continuous battery life. They're also much more comfortable. On the other hand, the Apple are smaller, more portable earbuds. Their IPX4 rating is useful for water resistance, alongside a longer total battery life, thanks to their compact charging case.
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Black
QuietComfort 35 II
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Finding storeLightning Charging Case - White
AirPods (3rd generation)
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QuietComfort 35 II
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AirPods (3rd generation)
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QuietComfort 35 II
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QuietComfort 35 II
Searching
Finding storeMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
8.0
7.1
Bass Accuracy
8.2
6.3
Passive Soundstage
5.0
2.9
Treble Accuracy
8.3
7.5
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Earbuds
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Open-Back
Wireless
Yes
Truly Wireless
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
8.5
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.52 lbs
0.02 lbs
Clamping Force
0.69 lbs
N/A
Controls
7.6
5.5
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Great
Feedback
Good
Good
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
No
Microphone Control
Mute/Unmute
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
Adjustable
No
Talk-Through
No
No
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Breathability
6.3
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
6.2 °C
Portability
6.5
9.7
Portability Picture
L
6.5" (16.5 cm)
1.2" (3.1 cm)
W
6.1" (15.5 cm)
0.8" (2.1 cm)
H
1.5" (3.8 cm)
0.6" (1.6 cm)
Volume
59.20 in³ (970.11 cm³)
0.62 in³ (10.20 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.0
8.5
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
8.3" (21.1 cm)
2.1" (5.4 cm)
W
5.9" (15.0 cm)
1.8" (4.6 cm)
H
2.2" (5.6 cm)
0.8" (2.1 cm)
Volume
106.00 in³ (1,737.02 cm³)
3.28 in³ (53.80 cm³)
Build Quality
7.5
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.0
6.5
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
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
1,200 Hz
Bass Amount
2 dB
-5.1 dB
Treble Amount
-2.27 dB
-2.3 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
7.7
7.5
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.45 dB
0.5 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
8.2
6.3
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.54 dB
7.8 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
40.02 Hz
Low Bass
2.55 dB
-10.47 dB
Mid Bass
2.59 dB
-1.36 dB
High Bass
3.22 dB
-0.53 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
9.1
9.0
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.23 dB
1.13 dB
Low Mid
1.47 dB
-0.09 dB
Mid-Mid
0.01 dB
-1.29 dB
High Mid
0.15 dB
1.06 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
8.3
7.5
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.55 dB
2.9 dB
Low Treble
1.05 dB
-1.79 dB
Mid Treble
-1.23 dB
-2.93 dB
High Treble
-6.32 dB
-9.72 dB
Peaks/Dips
8.1
7.5
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.28 dB
1.39 dB
Dips
0.8 dB
2.08 dB
Imaging
9.0
9.2
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.1
0.25
Weighted Phase Mismatch
2.96
1.69
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.69
0.24
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.26
1.18
Passive Soundstage
5.0
2.9
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
2.96 dB
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
6.46 dB
N/A
PRTF Distance
10.6 dB
N/A
Openness
0.9
9.3
Acoustic Space Excitation
4.0
3.4
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
2.9
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
No
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
On/Off
Virtual Surround
No
Spatial Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.7
7.6
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.265
0.405
WHD @ 100
0.140
0.127
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
6F21.
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
No EQ
Adaptive EQ
ANC
Maximum
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
9.1
1.7
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
Yes
No
Overall Attenuation
-27.01 dB
-3.75 dB
Isolation Audio
Bass
-19.65 dB
-0.02 dB
Mid
-24.92 dB
-0.95 dB
Treble
-36.85 dB
-11.36 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
1.9
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-3.32 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-3.35 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-3.57 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
ANC Wind Handling
ANC Wind Handling Graph
ANC Wind Noise
N/A
Leakage
6.5
7.0
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
42.4 dB
39.46 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.0
6.0
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
320 Hz
67.27 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
1.73 dB
3.25 dB
HFE
2,061.43 Hz
1,659.96 Hz
Weighted THD
2.416
3.887
Gain
37.46 dB
18.34 dB
Noise Handling
7.5
5.5
SpNR
16.19 dB
12.16 dB
Noise Gate
No
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.5
5.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
7.5
5.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
8.4
7.2
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
20 hrs
6.8 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
5.0
Total Battery Life
20 hrs
40.8 hrs
Charge Time
2.1 hrs
0.8 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
Standby mode
Audio While Charging
No
Yes
Passive Playback
Yes
No
Charging Port
micro-USB
Lightning
App Support
7.0
5.0
App Picture
App Name
Bose Connect
iOS Interface
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
No
macOS
No
Yes
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
No
No
ANC Control
Adjustable
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
Yes
No
Button Mapping
Yes
No
Surround Support
No
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
9.5
0.0
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
No
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
Yes
No
Length
3.90 ft (1.19 m)
N/A
Connector
1/16" TRS
No Wired Option
Latency - Analog
N/A
Latency - USB
0 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
Recorded Latency Connection
No Wired Audio
Bluetooth Connection
8.6
7.2
Bluetooth Version
4.1
5.0+H1 chip
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
No
NFC Pairing
Yes
Quick Pair (Android)
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
Yes
Line Of Sight Range
122.00 ft (37.19 m)
205.05 ft (62.50 m)
Latency - SBC
239 ms
184 ms
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
AAC Support
Yes
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
79 ms
Android Latency
105 ms
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
No
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
No
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
0.0
2.2
Type
No Base/Dock
Charging Case
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
Yes
Power Supply
No Base/Dock
Lightning
Check Price
Black
QuietComfort 35 II
Searching
Finding storeLightning Charging Case - White
AirPods (3rd generation)
Searching
Finding storeRose Gold
QuietComfort 35 II
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Finding storeWhite
AirPods (3rd generation)
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QuietComfort 35 II
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QuietComfort 35 II
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Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018
Apple AirPods (3rd generation) Truly Wireless
Comments
Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018 vs Apple AirPods (3rd generation): Main Discussion
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