Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless vs Apple AirPods Pro Side-by-Side Headphones Comparison

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Mar 18, 2024 07:06 PM

See Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless Review

Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless Picture

Apple AirPods Pro Truly Wireless Picture

TypeEarbuds

EnclosureSemi-Open

WirelessTruly Wireless

TransducerDynamic

Noise CancellingNo

MicYes

TypeIn-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

WirelessTruly Wireless

TransducerDynamic

Noise CancellingYes

MicYes

Variants

SoundSport Free (Black)
SoundSport Free (Bright Orange)
SoundSport Free (Midnight Blue)
SoundSport Free Amazon Exclusive (Ultraviolet)

AirPods Pro (White)

Review

See Apple AirPods Pro Truly Wireless Review

Our Verdict

Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless

Apple AirPods Pro Truly Wireless

The Apple AirPods Pro are better truly wireless headphones than the Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless. The Apple have a great ANC feature that blocks ambient noise, and their case is noticeably smaller and more portable. The Bose are bigger, have an earbud design, and aren't quite closed-backs, meaning you can monitor your surroundings, which is great for outdoor runners. The SoundSport also sound a bit more neutral with a more accurate bass performance.

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Black

SoundSport Free

White

AirPods Pro

Bright Orange

SoundSport Free

White

AirPods Pro

Midnight Blue

SoundSport Free

White

AirPods Pro

Ultraviolet

SoundSport Free Amazon Exclusive

White

AirPods Pro

White

AirPods Pro

Main Differences for
Neutral Sound

Threshold

0.10

Neutral Sound

7.8

7.4

Passive Soundstage

2.7

1.0

Bass Accuracy

9.0

8.4

Full Comparison

Neutral Sound

7.8

7.4

Commute/Travel

6.4

8.0

Sports/Fitness

8.1

8.3

Office

6.3

7.2

Wireless Gaming

5.9

5.7

Wired Gaming

5.8

5.5

Phone Calls

5.7

6.3

Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Type

Earbuds

In-ear

Enclosure

Semi-Open

Closed-Back

Wireless

Truly Wireless

Transducer

Dynamic

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Comfort

7.5

Comfort Picture

Weight

0.04 lbs

0.01 lbs

Clamping Force

0 lbs

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Controls

5.7

6.2

Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

Not OS specific

Ease Of Use

Poor

Good

Feedback

Mediocre

Decent

Call/Music Control

Yes

Volume Control

Yes

Microphone Control

Channel Mixing

Noise Cancelling Control

On/Off

Talk-Through

On/Off

Additional Controls

Voice Assistant

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Breathability

8.9

9.2

Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference

1.1 °C

0.8 °C

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Portability

9.4

9.6

Portability Picture

L

0.9" (2.3 cm)

1.2" (3.0 cm)

W

1.8" (4.6 cm)

0.9" (2.3 cm)

H

0.9" (2.3 cm)

Volume

1.50 in³ (24.58 cm³)

1.00 in³ (16.39 cm³)

Transmitter Required

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Case

7.0

8.5

Case Picture

Type

Hard case

L

3.8" (9.7 cm)

1.8" (4.6 cm)

W

1.5" (3.8 cm)

2.4" (6.1 cm)

H

1.2" (3.0 cm)

0.9" (2.3 cm)

Volume

6.90 in³ (113.07 cm³)

3.60 in³ (58.99 cm³)

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Build Quality

8.0

Build Quality Picture

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Stability

7.5

Stability Picture

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Headshots 1

Angled Picture

Side Picture

Headshots 2

Front Picture

Rear Picture

Top

Top Picture

In The Box

In The Box Picture

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Sound

Sound Profile

Frequency Response

Bass Amount

-0.46 dB

-2.57 dB

Treble Amount

-1.85 dB

-1.83 dB

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Frequency Response Consistency

8.6

9.3

Consistency L

Consistency R

Avg. Std. Deviation

0.29 dB

0.14 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Raw FR L

Raw FR R

Bass Accuracy

9.0

8.4

Bass

Std. Err.

1.34 dB

1.96 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

26.7 Hz

49.67 Hz

Low-Bass

-2.04 dB

-3.57 dB

Mid-Bass

0.4 dB

-1.63 dB

High-Bass

1.41 dB

0.36 dB

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Mid Accuracy

8.7

8.5

Mid

Std. Err.

1.78 dB

2.04 dB

Low-Mid

-0.65 dB

2.84 dB

Mid-Mid

-2.69 dB

0.9 dB

High-Mid

-0.01 dB

0.35 dB

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Treble Accuracy

8.3

8.7

Treble

Std. Err.

2.63 dB

2.06 dB

Low-Treble

-0.89 dB

-1.01 dB

Mid-Treble

-3.97 dB

-1.37 dB

High-Treble

-7.82 dB

-2.39 dB

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Peaks/Dips

8.5

8.8

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks

1 dB

0.85 dB

Dips

0.83 dB

0.71 dB

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Imaging

9.3

8.3

Group Delay

Phase Response Mismatch

Weighted Group Delay

0.15

0.12

Weighted Phase Mismatch

1.19

2.86

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

0.6

2.11

Weighted Frequency Mismatch

0.69

1.38

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Passive Soundstage

2.7

1.0

PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)

N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.)

N/A

PRTF Distance

N/A

Openness

9.2

2.0

Acoustic Space Excitation

2.8

2.1

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Virtual Soundstage

0.0

2.9

Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling

Speaker Modeling

On/Off

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

On/Off

Virtual Surround

Spatial Audio

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Weighted Harmonic Distortion

7.4

8.2

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

WHD @ 90

0.271

0.214

WHD @ 100

0.199

0.078

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Test Settings

Firmware

Unknown

2B584

Power

Connection

Unknown

Bluetooth 5.0

Codec

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ

No EQ

Adaptive EQ

ANC

No ANC

Tip/Pad

Silicone (small)

Microphone

Integrated

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Isolation

Noise Isolation

1.9

8.0

Noise Isolation

Isolation Audio

Overall Attenuation

-4.66 dB

-21.02 dB

Noise Cancelling

Yes

Bass

-0.08 dB

-16.34 dB

Mid

-2.38 dB

-22.6 dB

Treble

-11.63 dB

-24.81 dB

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Leakage

7.6

8.2

Leakage

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

36.15 dB

32.59 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

Yes

In-Line

Boom

Detachable Boom

Mic

Yes

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Recording Quality

5.0

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

LFE

285.09 Hz

630.82 Hz

FR Std. Dev.

3.27 dB

3.63 dB

HFE

1,733.45 Hz

7,896.12 Hz

Weighted THD

50.373

248.68

Gain

43.61 dB

7.31 dB

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Noise Handling

6.8

6.4

SpNR

SpNR

18.18 dB

16.18 dB

Noise Gate

Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling

7.0

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample

Speech + Subway Noise Handling

6.5

5.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample

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Active Features

Battery

6.2

6.9

Battery Type

Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life

4.8 hrs

5.3 hrs

Additional Charges

2.0

5.0

Total Battery Life

14.4 hrs

31.8 hrs

Charge Time

1.9 hrs

1.1 hrs

Power-Saving Feature

Auto-Off Timer

Standby mode

Audio While Charging

Yes

Passive Playback

Charging Port

micro-USB

Lightning

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App Support

7.0

5.5

App Picture

App Name

Bose Connect

iOS Interface

iOS

Yes

Android

Yes

macOS

Yes

Windows

Equalizer

ANC Control

On/Off

Mic Control

Room Effects

Playback Control

Yes

Button Mapping

Yes

Surround Support

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Connectivity

Bluetooth

6.5

6.9

Bluetooth Version

4.1

5.0+H1 chip

Multi-Device Pairing

NFC Pairing

Line Of Sight Range

72.00 ft (21.95 m)

171.00 ft (52.12 m)

PC Latency (SBC)

555 ms

188 ms

PC Latency (aptX)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL)

N/A

iOS Latency

52 ms

49 ms

Android Latency

96 ms

86 ms

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Non-Bluetooth Wireless

0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range

N/A

Non-BT Latency

N/A

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Wired

0.0

Cable Picture

Analog Audio

USB Audio

Detachable

Length

N/A

Connection

No Wired Option

Analog/USB Audio Latency

N/A

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PC Compatibility

Analog

Wired USB

Non-BT Wireless

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PlayStation Compatibility

PS4 Analog

PS4 Wired USB

PS4 Non-BT Wireless

PS5 Analog

PS5 Wired USB

PS5 Non-BT Wireless

Xbox Compatibility

Xbox One Analog

Xbox One Wired USB

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Xbox Series X|S Analog

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless

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Base/Dock

2.2

Type

Charging Case

USB Input

Line In

Line Out

Optical Input

RCA Input

Dock Charging

Yes

Power Supply

USB

Lightning

Show Text

Check Price

Black

SoundSport Free

White

AirPods Pro

Bright Orange

SoundSport Free

White

AirPods Pro

Midnight Blue

SoundSport Free

White

AirPods Pro

Ultraviolet

SoundSport Free Amazon Exclusive

White

AirPods Pro

White

AirPods Pro