Quick Review: AirPods Pro vs. Bose Quiet Comfort 20

Have enjoyed the Bose Quiet Comfort 20i noise canceling earbuds (with Apple controls) for several years now. They've been an island of calm in a sea of noise at the coffee shop or on public transit. With the introduction of Apple's AirPods Pro, I was curious to see Apple's take in this product segment.

Initial Experience: AirPods Pro

• Unboxing and presentation was typical Apple - delight the customer
• Setup was intuitive and easy
• AirPods already had some charge, so ready-to-go out of the box
• Pop 'em in your ears, and they have noise cancellation activated by default

Sound

• Almost indistinguishable from the Bose QC 20's. The Bose may have a more defined bass.

When I first started testing, I thought the Bose had much more bass than the AirPods, so decided to play with EQ. I had "Acoustic" EQ set on my iPhone, which seemed to flatten/dull the AirPods but didn't seem to affect the Bose QC's, and the Bose seemed to have more pronounced bass. When I turned EQ off, both earbuds seemed about the same. 

Which is to say, they are each very listenable, handle instruments well and have nice sound stage.

I did an A/B comparison on an eclectic selection of music:

• Chris Botti in Boston: Hallelujah. This is a check for "Z-Axis" response, with Botti's horn floating over center. Each about the same, handling the sound stage well. 
• Cream: Sunshine of your Love, check for Ginger Baker's driving drum. Same
• AC/DC: Back in Black. Couldn't tell a difference
• Dire Straits: Money for Nothing. Sparkling, both.

Noise Cancellation

Bose QC20's the winner here, but only by a subjective 10%-20%. That's enough for a noticeable difference in a very noisy environment like a busy coffee shop, with music playing in the background. The QC20's had some bleed-through but it was less than the AirPods. You might be the type of person who can compensate for this just fine, by turning the volume up. 

Where the AirPods were about as good as the QC20's, was in handling continuous mechanical noises like large fans, AC units or other motors. I walked into the restroom at the coffee shop with the AirPods on and thought someone had left the faucet running. Tapped into Transparency Mode and boom! The sound was a very loud fan that the AirPods had reduced by a subjective, at least, 50%. I checked the Bose and they were about par on reducing that noise. 

Comfort

Each about the same, not completely comfortable - as in, you notice they are in your ears but kind of forget about them after awhile. For me, I didn't have any discomfort from either set of 'buds...until I took them off. Then, I noticed a very slight soreness that disappeared quickly. 

Required dongle on QC20's for lightning-only Apple devices

Differences

There's something to be said about the freedom of wireless. Once in awhile on the QC20's, I have accidentally yanked them out or got the cord stuck on something. The QC20's are a tiny bit more fussy to use: uncoil the cable, jack into the device, snug the 'buds in your ears, turn noise cancellation on. 

With the AirPods Pro's the convenience is very satisfying: open case, flick 'em out. pop in your ears. You're almost immediately listening with noise cancellation on by default. But the small size and convenience of the AirPods and their case has a downside - they're much easier to lose. It's become so common for people to lose AirPods on the NY Transit system, that the NY MTA is considering issuing a PSA advising riders not to drop their AirPods on the tracks!

UPDATE 12-13-2019: On the issue of the AirPods falling out: I kept having the left unit fall out of my ear. Even though I passed the "Ear Fit" test, the AirPods didn't sit securely in my ears, and didn't form that good a seal. There's a fix for that! See this thread on MacRumors. Worked for me...

The AirPods are rated for 4.5 hr with noise cancellation on, but you can get a quick charge good for an hour by placing them back in the case for 5 minutes or so. Charging the AirPods Pro's in the case (with timeouts to charge) gives you 24 hours of listening time. The Bose are rated for 16 hours continuous listening time. 

Which One?

• Cost - about the same. Sometimes Bose is $25 USD cheaper, but have already seen $15 off on AirPods Pro on limited sales. Bose needs a 3.5mm to lightning adapter for newer Apple devices, often 2 pack for $10 on Amazon
• Convenience - AirPods Pro
• Comfort - about equal
• Sound Quality - both are good
• Battery Life - slight edge to the Bose for continuous listening (like on a long flight)
• Noise Cancellation - Bose. But you may be able to live with AirPods slightly weaker NC