I've rarely been as impressed by in-ear wireless headphones as Bose's second-gen QuietComfort Earbuds. Having already netted a lucrative five-star review on this very site, owners are about to receive a cool free upgrade in early 2023.
At the Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit 2022 – where the company revealed its flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor – Bose's SVP of strategy and business development, Nick Smith, dialled into the keynote to deliver a pre-recorded video of the good news for Bose QC Earbuds II owners.
So just what can you expect? Smith confirmed that the QC Earbuds 2 will receive over-the-air upgrades to deliver aptX Lossless and new low-latency capabilities, part of the Snapdragon Sound suite of features that the chip-maker bakes into its products.
That means the already stellar sound quality of the QuietComfort Buds will step up a grade if you're listening to the correct source material. Qualcomm's aptX Lossless can deliver signals up to 16-bit/44.1kHz, which is a big upgrade (although not top-drawer 24-bit/192kHz, which I'm sure will be featured in future products and platforms' wireless capabilities – just not quite yet).
Exactly when to expect this update to roll out is as-yet unknown, only that it's a 2023 benefit to Bose's QC Earbuds 2 owners. Smith did also confirm that the audio company will be using Snapdragon Sound in its future products, so expect heightened quality from Bose to become the norm.
Editor's note: this article has been edited to clarify that aptX Lossless is lossless to 16-bit/44.1kHz.
