Bought this for my sister, was shipped to my house in great condition no damage to box or items inside. Connects easily, remembers devices, comes with wire as stated to connect devices. Very unique style of increasing or lowering the volume as you don't touch the outer layer where the label Bose is on both sides. Remove headphones from your head and it automatically pauses and resume once placed back on. Truly comparing the style of noise you want I can't tell the difference much form switching from aware to the others and I mean that in a good way! Obviously, the style aware sticks to its meaning and brings you back to the surroundings. I'm trying this by playing a video in the background at level 10 while playing music at a low level and I can hear my music clearly and what's playing in the background/same with conversing I can hear others and can hear my own voice. When changing to Immersion/Music/Quiet I can only notice slight differences Immersion- can feel the beat more like the vibration and not in a dangerous way if cautious with volume input. Music- feels more surrounding, engaging with the music more while Quiet feels like it gets louder, but it doesn't, just block outside noise more effectively. Others can't hear the music even when switching the modes only when you remove your headphones do others hear your music
Battery last longer when on aware mode but lasts around 6 hours for noise cancelling.
Overall, what I do enjoy about this purchase when folding it, they don't feel like they would break as its easy falls into place When extending the headphone for head size it's slow, but it's nice as it prevents yanking it easily.

I really wanted to like these headphones enough to keep them, (I have since returned them) and there are some things that I did really like so I’m going to start with those things.

The first thing that I enjoyed about these headphones is how light and comfortable they are! They weigh basically nothing. And they are cute. They have a very sleek design.

I also enjoyed how I could control my personal sound experience through the app. Mind you, it is a three band equalizer, so you don’t have much control over the sound but it’s enough to make a difference with your experience. Immersion mode was enjoyable, you could experience some cool things by selecting “still” mode and walking around, it would create a sort of “far away” experience, almost as if you’re at a concert and listening on a speaker. I also enjoyed how user-friendly and straight to the point the app was. I would describe the sound as very clean, although I did experience some weird audio / bluetooth glitches. The sound itself was partially enjoyable, I enjoyed hearing parts of songs I hadn’t noticed before and playing around with the EQ like I previously mentioned. I listen to a lot of music, and I enjoy feeling like I am part of the song when listening.

Here are some of my issues with the product and why I decided to return them:

Instantly when I first put the headphones on, the noise canceling had a certain frequency to it. I understand that all ANC headphones are going to emit some sort of white noise, however these headphones have a very specific sound to them.

It made my ears feel like they were being sucked outwards and it gave me a headache. The pressure was personally way too much for me. The issue is that you cannot fully turn off noise canceling, but these are $400 headphones (assuming you add a protection plan, it totals out to be around/above that price.) and I feel like if you’re spending that much, you should have the option to turn it on / off.

Because of the intensity of the ANC, it always felt like there was a gap between me and the song. Like the white noise/frequency/pressure almost made it hurt to listen and stood between me as the listener and the song itself.

Another thing that I noticed was when I would walk, I would sometimes hear the hardware of the headphones clicking and the stomp of my feet would overpower the music in my ears. I also found that wearing them around my neck was pretty uncomfortable for some reason. It felt like it was choking me so I would end up putting them away when not in use. But, putting them back in the case requires you to fold them, and you have to adjust them back to the smallest size every single time.

Going back to the options you have when listening, there are multiple settings that you can listen on - the main three being aware, quiet, and immersion (still mode or motion).

The aware mode is the closest you can get to having no noise canceling, aka no ear sucking, pressurized sensation. The issue with aware mode is that it amplifies the ambience around you, so no matter how loud your music is, the voices/sounds around you will also be very present. No matter how low I turned the noise cancelling feature, and it’s important to note that you CAN control how much there is - it still felt too intense for my ears. It seems that while you can control how much noise cancelling there is, you can’t really control how intense it is.

When I went to return these today, the man helping me actually told me that he had the same experience, except that after using these headphones for a few days - he had some hearing issues that lasted a couple weeks from the noise canceling feature.

Like I previously said, the sound is very clean, bright, and mostly enjoyable (I ended up listening mostly in aware mode in quiet settings.)

Something I did notice though, as I listen to a lot of R&B, Rap, bass heavy music… is that the bass felt a bit underwhelming for me. Even when turned all the way up, the bass sounded almost separate from the music. I wanted to like it at first, because I felt like I was hearing parts of the song that I had never heard before. After having them for almost 2 weeks, I just started to get annoyed by this. No matter how high I bass boosted the song, or turned up the actual volume - Yes, I could feel the bass and it was nice and clean but not really integrated into the music. It didn’t get me hype. If turned up all the way, It would overpower everything else in the song after a certain point. As I wrote previously, I like to feel like I am a part of the music and because of the white noise “gap” I was describing, and the bass situation… I just didn’t find it that enjoyable to listen. I read another review saying that it just didn’t “give them joy” or “pack the punch” they needed. I fully agree.

Another really important thing to note, is that you cannot use these headphones unless they are charged. Meaning, that you cannot use the aux cord unless the headphones are on. And even if you are listening with an aux cord, the noise canceling feature still cannot be turned off.

I think this product will be good for somebody who:

1. Isn’t bothered by this specific ANC feature. I know that everybody is different and that some people would probably really enjoy how quiet these get, even with no music playing.

2. I would recommend these for somebody who flies frequently, or genuinely needs this level of noise cancellation for school, work.

3. Doesn’t mind the fact that they are only usable when charged, regardless of aux cord usability.

I would not immediately recommend these for:

1. People with autism. Everyone is different like I said, but the pressure I experienced from the ANC was painful and distracting and uncomfortable. If you’re a person with autism, and are looking for something noise cancelling to help you function… just keep in mind that this feature may cause discomfort or further overstimulation.

2. Someone who listens to bass heavy music. I just think there’s better, less expensive options that sound better when it comes to bass. The selling point for these really seems to be the ANC and immersion mode features that add the extra price tag.

3. Someone who wants to be able to listen to music at any point, regardless of charge.

This is my personal experience as somebody who both listens to music and creates it. I also am autistic and often get overstimulated by my surroundings, and use music to retreat into my safe space. These headphones simply did not allow me to fully enjoy my music and so I decided to return them. Given all of this information, I encourage everybody to try out all of the options and make their own decisions based on their personal needs. I never write reviews, but I felt compelled to this time.

As for battery life, it was pretty good. However, the ANC uses a lot of battery life.

I had a few issues with connectivity, like I took them to the beach and was about 5 ft from my phone and they started glitching. It happened for about 5 mins and then stopped. I also recall trying to pair my phone with my partners pair (we got matching ones, black & white) and it was impossible for both of us to pair our phones with the others headphones.

I have since purchased the Sony XM5’s and am enjoying them so far, as the ANC on these is completely different and way less painful and uncomfortable. It’s barely noticeable compared to the bose, and I don’t really mind them being less “powerful” in that way. It just didn’t feel healthy for my ears.

I was on the fence about whether to purchase the Bose or the Sony WH1000XM5s but I am glad that I chose the Bose. In my opinion, the Bose look much better and classier than the Sonys as the ear cups are not as chunky.

The Bose QC Ultra Headphones are a vast improvement on my QC 35s which have served me well for over 6 years. The comfort of these new headphones allow me to wear them for hours with no discomfort. When I am wearing glasses the noise cancellation is still very effective and there doesn't appear to be any loss of effectiveness. The soft, luxe earcups appear to make a great seal.

Sound quality is excellent and the immersive sound function works a treat and at first is a bit unnerving with the sound direction always staying front and centre.

The ear cup controls are as intuitive and easy to use as the previous model I had, bluetooth connectivity is effortless, and the Bose app makes is easy to configure settings. I really feel it was well worth the price, and that I got it at a bit of a discount during EOFY sales just makes it all the much sweeter, Build quality is typical Bose with a quality look and feel of the materials and it is very light on my head.

One thing that I felt a bit disappointed with was that it doesn't come with an airplane adapter which came with my previous QC 35s, but I mitigated this by purchasing a bluetooth transmitter so I don't need to worry about wires. But for the price point you would think that Bose would include an airplane adapter.

The carry case is also great and feels nicer than the case that came with my QC 35s. Overall, very happy with this purchase and I highly rate these for travel and commuting.

My honest opinion is that I think these are overrated and overpriced. The most annoying thing to me is that it has to be powered on if you plan to use the 3.5mm wired connection. So if the battery dies on this thing which it likely will because the battery life ain’t wonderful then you can’t even use the standard wired connection because you’ll hear nothing through the headphones, ugh. I have a portable retro game that has headphone jack and I can’t use my Bose headphones if the battery dies, that really sucks. As for sound quality, it’s alright. Comfort is also good, not great. Although it can be connected to multiple devices via Bluetooth, it doesn’t switch seamlessly from one device to another like Apple AirPods or the Sony Mark 4. Another annoyance is that there is a delay when you power on the headphones which sometimes has me wondering if I pressed the right button. One area that I think it really shines is with the ANC. You can really block out your environment with these headphones and that’s the only really great thing about it. I had Sony Mark 4 before but the hinges were no good and broke with mild usage within 1-1/2 to 2 years. I should have enrolled in or taken an extended warranty on the Sony headphones . I love the Sony headphones plus the app too which was loaded with useful features and very intuitive. These Bose headphones have me missing my Sony Mark 4. I really hope Sony fixes the problem with those flimsy hinges. Anyhow, I don’t like wasting money so I’ll be sticking with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra until they go bad. Hopefully by then Sony will get its act together with those horrible cheaply made hinges.