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ZDNET's key takeaways
Bose's second-generation QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2 debut with one major AI-powered upgrade.
Adaptive ANC powered by AI may not sound the most exciting, but it's incredibly useful.
Bose's improved noise-canceling algorithm points it absorbing most of the company's AI budget.
In the fast-paced race to load AI into every smartphone, laptop, tablet, and earbud, the flashiest AI-powered features usually receive the most attention. When your earbuds use AI to perform real-time translation services or allow hands-free access to a gen AI chatbot, you'll know. There's another way your earbuds use AI that isn't as exciting to talk about, but when it's done well, it's incredibly valuable: AI-powered adaptive noise cancellation.
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All of the heavy hitters, Apple's AirPods Pro 2, Google's Pixel Buds Pro 2, Samsung's Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, and Sony's WF-1000XM5, advertise adaptive noise-canceling technology. Adaptive active noise cancellation uses trained algorithms to classify, predict, and cancel external noises, adapting to the volume levels in your environment.
But not everyone's algorithm is created equal, and Bose's new QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2 prove it. Although the earbuds may not have live transcription, translation, or chatbot compatibility, Bose placed all of its AI eggs in the adaptive noise cancellation basket, and doing so makes a big difference.
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