With their QuietComfort 45, Bose are committed to a consistent product: these new over-ears come with active noise cancelling (ANC, noise suppression), long battery life and great sound. Compared to the competition, however, they lack some important features. Will it be enough?

ANC still fantastic ; Very durable design; Good all-round sound; Great battery life;

Similarly priced alternatives offer more features for the money; Can’t turn noise-cancelling off without activating Aware Mode;

ANC still fantastic ; Very durable design; Good all-round sound; Great battery life;

Similarly priced alternatives offer more features for the money; Can’t turn noise-cancelling off without activating Aware Mode;

Bose’s QC45s are destined to be a big seller for all of the same reasons as their predecessors. They’re extremely comfortable, incredibly easy to use and if they’re not the very best noise-cancellers on the market then there isn’t a lot in it. Throw in great battery life and you can’t really go wrong. Critics argue that Bose’s signature sound lacks a bit of power and dynamism in comparison to some of its rivals, but we think most people will be really happy with the QC45’s sound, no matter what musical genre they throw at them. What is an issue, however, is the lack of features. No in-app EQ, no auto-pausing for speech or wear detection, and no customisation options for ANC or passthrough. They won’t even turn themselves off if you forget to do it. Sony’s XM4s, which are QC45s closest rival, can do all of that and they only cost an additional 30 sheets (and that’s if you can’t pick them up cheaper in deal). Some of this could surely be added in a future firmware update, but we do think that Bose might have gone a bit too far with its back-to-basics approach. This a far more competitive market than the one the QC35s arrived in. Still, if a big feature set doesn’t matter much to you then the QC45s are a very solid pair of headphones that do everything they can do very well, and will probably last you until the Q55s.

ANC still fantastic ; Very durable design; Good all-round sound; Great battery life;

Similarly priced alternatives offer more features for the money; Can’t turn noise-cancelling off without activating Aware Mode;

Great comfort, super sound, spectacular active noise-cancelling. These are ideal travel headphones. The only thingnot to love is the competition - which has grown stronger over the years, including from Bose itself.

Super sound quality with thumping bass; Always-on active noise-cancelling (ANC) - the noise reduction is stupendous; Foldable design and case included - ideal for travel;

Forget to switch them off and the battery will drain - really needs an auto-off option; Bose 700 NC look and feel and sound better; Control button too close to volume up/down;

Comfortable. USB-C! Excellent sound (if you like Bose's sound signature). Excellent noise canceling. Adds transparency mode. Improved battery life.

No EQ. Some interference when you simultaneously connect multiple devices.

The Bose QuietComfort 45 are a strong successor to the company’s 2019 flagship model, the Bose QuietComfort 35 II, and yet don’t quite have the refinement of last year’s Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. The QC45 are missing a few features like an EQ, adjustable noise reduction and their audio performance isn’t audiophile-quality. They’re comfortable for long periods of time, however, and are easy enough for anyone to use, which is enough to get them a tepid recommendation.

Fantastic noise cancellation; Intuitive control scheme; Lightweight and comfortable; New ambient aware mode;

Missing a few features; Lackluster clarity; Call quality isn’t great; Occasional dropout

“Bose's most popular headphones get a bigger battery, but drop some features.”

Bose’s Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, released in 2019 , are a perfectly fine pair of premium noise-canceling headphones. They’re Bose’s attempt to leapfrog Sony and other competitors with a revamped, sleek design and more powerful active noise cancellation.

Best-in-class comfort, Great active noise cancellation, Useful transparency mode, Improved battery life

They can’t be used while charging, No way to turn off ANC without switching to aware mode, EQ can’t be adjusted in Bose’s app, Lack support for audio over USB-C