When it comes to true wireless earbuds, two brands often cited as flagship-performers are Jabra and Bose. Both companies are major innovators in the world of audio, delivering top-quality sound, excellent features, and some of the most ergonomic and comfortable wearable packages.
Jabra’s latest set of true wireless buds is the Elite 7 Pro. Improving on the Elite 75t and 85t designs in a number of ways, the Elite 7 Pro promises big things and executes on most of its claims — but can this new set of buds stand toe-to-toe with the mighty reputation of the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds? Let’s find out.
Fit, build, and comfort
Right off the bat, let us say that the Elite 7 Pro buds are above-and-beyond cozy for your ears. A slightly refined design of the Elite 75t build brings a tighter fit to the buds overall, along with a smaller lighter design. The 7 Pros are snug and have little to no movement when you’re jostling around. Package that with the IP57-rating and you’ve got the perfect set of earbuds for working out — indoors or outdoors. Manual control options are unmistakable, too. The bud buttons are easy to press, with single-, double-, triple-, and long-presses allowing you to control everything from calls to levels of noise-cancellation. And with the Sound+ app, you’ll be able to map out any control scheme that you’d like.
In terms of color options, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro buds are available in titanium black, gold beige, black, mint, and navy.
The Bose QC Earbuds, on the other hand, are a bit on the heavy-duty side. Both the physical design and fit are a bit on the bulky side, although the non-removable security fin helps to lock down the buds for longer listening periods. Then again, the fin design does tend to cut down on comfort, too. In terms of controls, you’ll be able to cycle between play/pause, noise-canceling adjustments, and call-answering by tapping the QC buds. While the Bose Connect app will allow you to change the mapping to some extent, the control suite isn’t as extensive as the Sound+ app.
For colors, the Bose QC buds are available in triple black, soapstone, stone blue, and sandstone.
Comfort is all-essential when it comes to popping in a set of earbuds for any length of time. Thus, we award the Elite 7 Pro buds for their incredible fit and near-perfect in-ear feel.
Winner: Jabra Elite 7 Pro
Read our full review of the Jabra Elite 7 Pro
Battery life
In terms of performance longevity, both the Elite 7 Pro and QC Earbuds dish out a decent amount of playtime. In our tests (with ANC on and the volume turned up to 50%), the Elite 7 Pro edged close to its advertised eight-hour runtime, with the right bud dropping out at around 7.5 hours. Seeing as we used the right bud as the “primary” bud during setup, this wasn’t totally out of the ordinary.
In our testing of the Bose QC Earbuds (ANC on and volume cranked to about two-thirds the available limit), we got about seven hours of battery — a solid hour-plus over the advertised six-hour runtime.
With the Bose QC charge case, you can expect to gain an additional 12 hours of battery, although the case itself is rather bulky and cumbersome. Compared to the 22 additional hours of charge you’ll get with the Elite 7 Pro buds charging case (for a total of up to 30 hours), along with the slimmer case design, it’s clear who claims the laurel in this category.
Winner: Jabra Elite 7 Pro
Sound and call quality
The Elite 7 Pro and Bose QC buds are both phenomenal when it comes to audio performance, but let’s dig a little deeper to see exactly where they shine. For the Jabra fans that relished the punchy bass profile of buds like the Elite 75t, that same low-frequency staging returns but with a bit more balance between the deeper registers and the mid- and high ranges above. The result (for most songs): Pronounced bass with articulate vocals — a great profile that’s hard to beat. If you want to dial in the sound a little more to your own tastes, you can manually adjust the EQ of the buds using the Jabra Sound+ app.
On the other end of the ring, the Bose QC earbuds pack just as much performance. In terms of balance and accuracy, the glisten of the treble levels is loud and proud, with the bass tones punching through. In fact, those looking for a step-up in the lower frequencies will be impressed with the QC buds have in store. The bass on these buds is tweaked just a hair hotter in the mix, delivering rich, full-throttle lows that elevate the underneath of all your favorite tracks.
In terms of call quality, the Elite 7 Pro utilizes Jabra’s MultiSensor Voice technology to make your speaking voice clearer for the person you’re talking to. Furthermore, sound compression is barely noticeable, even in some of the loudest speaking environments. We also love the microphone-mute feature you can toggle on/off — a simple feature that’s missing on the Bose buds.
That’s not to say the Bose QC buds are lackluster in any way when it comes to calls. Caller voices are pronounced and spot-on, even in noisy environments. The same goes for your own speaking voice, and like the Elite 7 Pro package, compression for the QC buds is minimal.
That being said, we think the Elite 7 Pro buds take home the gold in this category. While the mic-mute button is a nice benefit, the ability to adjust the EQ is a big one — a feature that the Bose QC buds lack.
Winner: Jabra Elite 7 Pro
Noise cancellation and transparency
One of the most essential features of a quality set of earbuds is the ability to actively cancel out noise from whatever environment you’re in — whether an office, on a train, or airborne. The Elite 7 Pro buds offer strong active noise-cancellation (ANC), a feature you can further tweak in the Sound+ app. We did think the transparency mode was a bit stronger on the Elite 85t buds, which is likely due to the semi-open design.
That being said, the Bose QC buds deliver some of the greatest active noise-canceling we’ve seen in any set of wireless earbuds. The closed design helps to block out more sound, covering high frequencies from cars and hard-working AC units.
While switching between the various ANC/transparency modes is a little easier with the Elite 7 Pro (one-tap versus the three required from the QC buds), there’s no beating the stronger noise-cutoff you’ll get with the Bose buds.
Winner: Bose QuietComfort Earbuds
Price and warranty
The Jabra Elite 7 Pro buds sell for $200 and include a two-year warranty (you must register the buds in the Sound+ app). The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds go for $280 and include a one-year limited warranty.
Based on pure value alone (and a longer warranty period), the Elite 7 Pro buds win this category, too.
Winner: Jabra Elite 7 Pro
Conclusion
Look, we’re not Bose naysayers by any means. The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are incredible earbuds that deliver high marks across all criteria, and it’s hard to argue with the brand name. Bose devotees know what to expect, and the QC buds do not disappoint.
That being said, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro buds are simply better across the board. Not by a long shot, but enough to win us over in nearly every review category. Plus, the lower cost for performance and quality on-par or better than the Bose buds is hard to argue with.
Winner: Jabra Elite 7 Pro
