Real owners rate these about evenly: 34% of 50 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) owners recommend it, vs 39% of 483 for the Sony WF-1000XM5.
Verdicts aggregated from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube owner comments — affiliate reviews excluded. Sample sizes differ; judge accordingly. How we score
“I will be returning my AP3 and just sticking with the Bose gen 2.”— @triniflyer8685 on YouTube
“They’re my instant new favorite.”— @Thegonagle on YouTube
“I wish Bose would fix the microphone during calls most people tell me they hear excessive noise when I am on a call if I am in a noisy environment”— @ait0317 on YouTube
“Llevo 1 mes y es lo mejor de lo mejor, vengo de los samsung buds 2 pro y se los lleva por mucho, la cancelación de ruido una barbaridad.”— @lIObiIl on YouTube
“I bought a second pair and gotta say I’m pleased.”— @GriffithFromBerk on YouTube
“mic quality is crap in a slightly noisy environment”— @av365 on YouTube