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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless vs Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless
Apple AirPods (2nd generation)
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Apr 19, 2024 07:04 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Apr 19, 2024 06:39 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
TypeEarbuds
EnclosureSemi-Open
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
TypeEarbuds
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
Variants
- SoundSport Free (Black)
- SoundSport Free (Bright Orange)
- SoundSport Free (Midnight Blue)
- SoundSport Free Amazon Exclusive (Ultraviolet)
- AirPods (2nd generation) (With charging case)
- AirPods (2nd generation) (With wireless charging case)
Our Verdict
Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless
Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless
The Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless are better headphones than the Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless. The Bose have a much more neutral sound profile and deliver audio much more consistently between different people. They have a more stable fit, and you also get a better control scheme with volume control. However, they take a lot of time to charge for truly wireless earbuds, and they have a fairly short wireless range. Their case is also very bulky and doesn't support wireless charging like the Apple.
Check Price
Black
SoundSport Free
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comWith charging case
AirPods (2nd generation)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBright Orange
SoundSport Free
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comWith wireless charging case
AirPods (2nd generation)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comMidnight Blue
SoundSport Free
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comUltraviolet
SoundSport Free Amazon Exclusive
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comMain Differences for
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.8
6.6
Bass Accuracy
9.0
5.8
Frequency Response Consistency
8.6
5.6
Treble Accuracy
8.3
7.4
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Earbuds
Earbuds
Enclosure
Semi-Open
Open-Back
Wireless
Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
7.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.04 lbs
0.02 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs
0 lbs
Controls
5.7
4.3
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Poor
Subpar
Feedback
Mediocre
Subpar
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
No
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
No
No
Talk-Through
No
No
Additional Controls
No
Voice Assistant
Breathability
8.9
9.2
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
1.1 °C
0.8 °C
Portability
9.4
9.6
Portability Picture
L
0.9" (2.3 cm)
1.7" (4.3 cm)
W
1.8" (4.6 cm)
1.0" (2.5 cm)
H
0.9" (2.3 cm)
0.6" (1.5 cm)
Volume
1.50 in³ (24.58 cm³)
1.00 in³ (16.39 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
7.0
8.5
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
3.8" (9.7 cm)
2.1" (5.3 cm)
W
1.5" (3.8 cm)
1.7" (4.3 cm)
H
1.2" (3.0 cm)
0.7" (1.8 cm)
Volume
6.90 in³ (113.07 cm³)
2.50 in³ (40.97 cm³)
Build Quality
8.0
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.5
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
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
-0.46 dB
-8.65 dB
Treble Amount
-1.85 dB
0.39 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
8.6
5.6
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.29 dB
1.13 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
9.0
5.8
Std. Err.
1.34 dB
6.68 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
26.7 Hz
70.25 Hz
Low-Bass
-2.04 dB
-13.78 dB
Mid-Bass
0.4 dB
-1.58 dB
High-Bass
1.41 dB
2.09 dB
Mid Accuracy
8.7
8.4
Std. Err.
1.78 dB
2.17 dB
Low-Mid
-0.65 dB
1.31 dB
Mid-Mid
-2.69 dB
0.07 dB
High-Mid
-0.01 dB
3.01 dB
Treble Accuracy
8.3
7.4
Std. Err.
2.63 dB
3.89 dB
Low-Treble
-0.89 dB
3.83 dB
Mid-Treble
-3.97 dB
3.78 dB
High-Treble
-7.82 dB
-2.62 dB
Peaks/Dips
8.5
7.2
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1 dB
1.97 dB
Dips
0.83 dB
1.12 dB
Imaging
9.3
8.5
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.15
0.28
Weighted Phase Mismatch
1.19
2.28
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.6
1.37
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
0.69
1.28
Passive Soundstage
2.7
2.9
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
N/A
Openness
9.2
9.6
Acoustic Space Excitation
2.8
3.2
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
No
No
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
No
No
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.4
7.8
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.271
0.358
WHD @ 100
0.199
0.104
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
1A673
Power
On
On
Connection
Unknown
Bluetooth 4.0
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz
EQ
No EQ
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Silicone (small)
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation
1.9
1.0
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-4.66 dB
-1.95 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
-0.08 dB
0.32 dB
Mid
-2.38 dB
0.98 dB
Treble
-11.63 dB
-6.94 dB
Leakage
7.6
7.2
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
36.15 dB
38.25 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
5.0
6.4
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
285.09 Hz
261.43 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.27 dB
3.34 dB
HFE
1,733.45 Hz
3,319.91 Hz
Weighted THD
50.373
27.169
Gain
43.61 dB
38.23 dB
Noise Handling
6.8
6.9
SpNR
18.18 dB
13.93 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.0
7.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
6.5
6.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
6.2
6.6
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
4.8 hrs
4.1 hrs
Additional Charges
2.0
5.0
Total Battery Life
14.4 hrs
24.6 hrs
Charge Time
1.9 hrs
0.5 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
Standby mode
Audio While Charging
No
Yes
Passive Playback
No
No
Charging Port
micro-USB
Lightning
App Support
7.0
5.0
App Picture
App Name
Bose Connect
No App
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
No
macOS
No
Yes
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
No
No
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
Yes
No
Button Mapping
No
Yes
Surround Support
No
No
Connectivity
Bluetooth
6.5
6.8
Bluetooth Version
4.1
5.0+H1 chip
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
NFC Pairing
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
72.00 ft (21.95 m)
149.00 ft (45.42 m)
PC Latency (SBC)
555 ms
176 ms
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
N/A
iOS Latency
52 ms
80 ms
Android Latency
96 ms
165 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
No
No
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
No
No
Length
N/A
N/A
Connection
No Wired Option
No Wired Option
Analog/USB Audio Latency
N/A
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
No
No
Wired USB
No
No
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
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
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
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
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
USB
Lightning
Check Price
Black
SoundSport Free
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comWith charging case
AirPods (2nd generation)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBright Orange
SoundSport Free
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comWith wireless charging case
AirPods (2nd generation)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comMidnight Blue
SoundSport Free
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comUltraviolet
SoundSport Free Amazon Exclusive
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless
Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless
Comments
Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless vs Apple AirPods (2nd generation): Main Discussion
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