Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) vs Sony WF-1000XM6

Bose announced the second-generation QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds on 12 June 2025, and Sony followed eight months later, on 12 February 2026, with WF-1000XM6, the newest pair in its 1000X line. They go after quiet in different ways: Sony leans on processing, with a faster chip and a new driver, and Bose on fitting the buds to you, with CustomTune and stability bands.

Spec by spec

Spec	Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)	Sony WF-1000XM6
Announced	12 June 2025	12 February 2026
US price	$299 at launch	$329.99 list
Codecs	SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive	SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3
Music per charge	Up to 6 hours; 4 with Immersive Audio	Up to 8 hours with noise cancelling on; 12 off
With the case	Three extra charges; 18 hours in a full case	Up to 24 hours
Talk time	Not published	Up to 5 hours with noise cancelling on; 5.5 off
Quick charge	20 minutes for about 2 hours	Not published
Full charge	Buds about 2 hours; case about 3 hours	Buds about 1.5 hours; case about 2 hours
Processor	Not named	QN3e with Integrated Processor V2
Driver	Not published	0.33 inch
Microphones	Eight, 4 per bud	Four per bud, plus a bone-conduction sensor
Spatial audio	Immersive Audio	360 Reality Audio on compatible Android phones
Water	Buds IPX4; case not water resistant	Buds IPX4; case not rated
Bluetooth	5.3, multipoint, 30 ft range	5.3, multipoint, 32.80 ft range
Wireless charging	Built into the case	Qi case; pad sold separately
One bud	0.017 lb (0.016 lb on Bose’s US store)	About 0.23 oz with M tips
Case	0.132 lb; 2.61 × 2.35 × 1.06 in	About 1.66 oz; 2.43 × 1.62 × 1.04 in
Fit kit	Tips S, M, L; stability bands 1, 2, 3; wax guard	Noise Isolation tips in four sizes
Colors	Black, White Smoke, limited Deep Plum	Platinum Silver, Black

Your phone picks the codec

Bose supports SBC, AAC and aptX Adaptive. The aptX Adaptive link only works with a Snapdragon Sound phone; with anything else, the Bose pair falls back to AAC or SBC. Bose also supports Google Fast Pair for quick setup on Android.

Sony supports SBC, AAC, LDAC and LC3. LDAC needs Priority on Sound Quality switched on in Sony’s Sound Connect app and a phone that can play it. LC3 is the codec behind LE Audio, which Sony says the buds are ready for. On a supported Android phone, Sony’s buds also work with Gemini, including the “OK Google” hotword.

On an iPhone, both pairs connect over AAC, and neither adds LDAC or aptX Adaptive.

Battery: Sony lasts longer per charge

Sony rates WF-1000XM6 for up to 8 hours of music with noise cancelling on and 12 with it off. The most Bose quotes for the 2nd Gen is 6 hours with Immersive Audio off, and it drops to 4 with Immersive Audio on. So even with noise cancelling running, Sony’s buds go two hours longer than Bose’s best figure.

With the case, the totals come out level. Sony says up to 24 hours, which its European launch announcement splits into 8 in the buds and 16 from the case with noise cancelling on. Bose says the case holds three extra charges, or 18 hours when it’s charged to 100 percent; add the 6 in the buds and that’s 24 as well.

Bose rates a quick top-up, 20 minutes in the case for about 2 hours with Immersive Audio off; Sony doesn’t give a quick-charge figure for WF-1000XM6. A full charge takes about 2 hours for Bose’s buds and 3 for its case, against about 1.5 hours for Sony’s buds and 2 for its case over USB. Both cases also charge on a Qi wireless pad, which Sony says is sold separately.

Noise cancelling and sound: claims, not numbers

Sony says its HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3e is three times faster than the processor in WF-1000XM5, and pairs it with Integrated Processor V2 and an Adaptive NC Optimizer. Sony Europe adds that the 0.33-inch driver is newly developed, with mixed materials in the dome and the edge, and claims 25 percent further noise reduction than WF-1000XM5.

On the Bose side, CustomTune uses a calibration tone to adapt the sound and the noise cancelling to your ear. Bose calls the 2nd Gen’s noise cancelling enhanced and adaptive, and says ActiveSense now steps more smoothly in Aware Mode, the setting that lets the outside world in.

Neither company backs any of this with a decibel figure, so the specs can’t tell you which pair is quieter. For spatial audio, Bose has Immersive Audio, which cuts the battery rating from 6 hours to 4. Sony has 360 Reality Audio on compatible Android phones.

Calls

Bose puts four microphones in each bud, eight in all, and calls its voice pickup SpeechClarity. It says some of that processing grew out of hearing-aid research, but that’s about calls: neither pair has a hearing-aid mode.

Sony Europe counts four microphones per bud, plus a bone-conduction sensor. Sony also rates calls at up to 5 hours with noise cancelling on and 5.5 with it off. Bose gives no talk time at all, so if you spend hours on the phone, Sony is the pair with a number behind it.

Weight, size and fit

Each Sony bud weighs about 0.23 ounces with medium tips, and the case is about 1.66 ounces and 2.43 by 1.62 by 1.04 inches. Bose measures in pounds, and its own bud figures disagree: 0.017 pounds in its support specs, 0.016 on its US store. Its case is 0.132 pounds and 2.61 by 2.35 by 1.06 inches, and each bud is 1.18 by 0.49 by 0.98 inches. Convert the pounds to ounces and Sony comes out lighter, bud and case, whichever Bose figure you use, and its case is smaller in every dimension.

Bose packs small, medium and large tips, stability bands in sizes 1, 2 and 3 to help the buds stay put, and a wax guard. Sony packs its Noise Isolation tips, in four sizes according to Sony Europe.

What they share

Both run Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint, so two devices can stay connected, and Bose rates the range at 30 feet to Sony’s 32.80. Both charge over USB-C and set up through an app: the Bose app, where you can turn the touch controls off, and Sony’s Sound Connect, home to DSEE Extreme, Ambient Sound, Quick Attention and Speak-to-Chat. Neither has Find My or ultra-wideband for tracking down a lost bud.

Price

Bose launched the 2nd Gen at $299. Sony lists WF-1000XM6 at $329.99, about $30 more, though a 16 March 2026 snapshot of Sony’s US store showed it on sale at $299.99. When the two meet on price, Sony’s battery and LDAC cost nothing extra; when Bose is the one discounted, the gap widens. Bose comes in Black, White Smoke and a limited Deep Plum, Sony in Platinum Silver and Black. Prices move, so check Bose and Sony before you buy.

If an older pair at a discount is tempting, Sony WF-1000XM5 vs Sony WF-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) cover what each newer pair adds.