Both QuietComfort 35 headphones II and Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are wireless Bluetooth headphones. For music, both are engineered with proprietary active equalization, so they avoid boosted bass, vocals, and treble that create listener fatigue over time, opting instead for faithful reproduction that’s clear, natural, and balanced. Both headphones also feature controllable noise cancelling; however, while QuietComfort 35 offers two settings, Headphones 700 offers 11 — including a full-transparency experience that gives the term “off” an entirely new meaning. While the highest setting delivers the most powerful silence, the lowest lets your surroundings pass-through the earcups fully — so with the flick of a switch, you hear yourself, others, and everything else like you aren’t wearing a headset at all. Conversation Mode lets you gain the same awareness while enjoying content — so you can pause entertainment and noise cancelling simultaneously, chat face-to-face, or listen for announcements, and resume where you left off when you’re done. 

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 use both active and passive noise reduction technologies. Active noise cancelling relies on a sophisticated proprietary electronics approach using microphones both inside and outside the earcups to monitor the sounds around you and instantly produces an opposite signal to cancel the noise. Meanwhile, passive noise reduction is achieved by the combination of the acoustic structure and the earcup fit. 

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 feature Bose’s proprietary TriPort acoustic headphone structure, which uses external ports to vent the earcups and maximize the acoustic space inside, so your audio content sounds big and bold. 

Bose Noise Cancelling 700 feature a total of eight microphones. Six microphones dramatically cancel noise, so it doesn’t reach your ears. Two of those microphones combine with two others to dramatically improve voice pickup. A beamform-array isolates your speech, suppressing everything else that’s audible. A rejection-array adds a second line of defense, tracking then blocking the most disruptive remaining sound — from a coffee grinder to other dialogue nearby. It all happens in real-time, adapting as you move or your environment changes. It works with any VPA, any phone paired to the 700s, or any phone or phone/headphone combination on the far-end.

Yes. Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 have an adaptive microphone system that allows you to use the headphones during calls when connected to any smartphone. In addition to traditional calls, the headphones will work with many apps that use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), such as Skype or FaceTime.

First, make sure your headphones are turned on with a single press of the upper button on the back of the right earcup. Next, press and hold the power button for 3 seconds to put the headphones into pairing mode. Please note, if this is your first time connecting the headphones, they will automatically turn on right into this pairing mode. Voice prompts will provide you with additional guidance. You should use the Bose Music app to complete the pairing process, however, you can also use the Bluetooth settings on your device.

Yes. Multi-point technology allows Bose Headphones 700 to maintain a wireless Bluetooth connection to two devices at the same time — for example, an iPad and a smartphone. So while you’re watching video on the connected iPad, the headphones will automatically pause the video to answer a call from the connected smartphone. When the call is finished, the headphones switch back to the video on the iPad.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 have a range of up to 33 ft (10 meters) from the source device. It is realistic to describe the range as being the room the user is in and the adjacent room. This range may be reduced by physical obstructions, such as walls and doors, or by interference from other electronic devices. Pops or a crackling noise may be heard if there’s interference with the Bluetooth connection. If that happens, move away from wireless routers or microwaves and bring your headphones closer to the Bluetooth device.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 use a custom-designed lithium-ion rechargeable battery that provides up to 20 hours of full-featured audio playback.

The front half of the right earcup houses a touch interface for basic controls. This includes intuitive gestures like slide up and down for volume control and slide forward and back for track forward/back controls. In additional, a double tap will pause or play your content and also answer or hang up a call.

Bose Headphones 700 also give you two options when it comes to audio EQ. Do nothing and the bass, midrange, and treble of whatever you’re listening to will be adjusted automatically to make it sound great. Or choose Equalizer in the settings of the Bose Music app to change the audio levels yourself to however you like them best. Either way, you’ll enjoy immersive sound at any volume.

Bose Headphones 700 are carefully engineered to be compatible with future innovations. Through a series of software updates, Bose plans to add new features and even more impressive sound management features over time. Simply register your new headphones on the Bose Music app and Bose will alert you as each new feature becomes available.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 utilize a hidden pivot design to quickly fold flat with one twist of the earcups, and store neatly in a thin, tapered hard case. Inside the case, there is a dedicated cable management compartment with a magnetic cover. This design improves ease of use and utility, while the thin wedge shape also facilitates storage in tight locations, including seat pockets, backpacks, and bags.

Spotify One Touch is a special feature that lets you instantly listen to your last Spotify session by tapping and holding the right earcup on the Bose Headphones 700. You can keep repeating this step to get brand new playlists based off of Spotify’s algorithm and your listening history. An active Spotify account is needed to use this feature.

To start using this feature, you’ll need to download the latest version of the Bose Music app and update your Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. Then enable Spotify under Shortcuts in the Bose Music app. You will also need an active Spotify account.

Using the lower button on the back of the right earcup, Bose Headphones 700 give you access to your phone’s default virtual assistant, like Siri.

Use the Bose Music app to set up one of the Bose voice assistant partners. It will guide you through the setup process, allowing you to set up an integrated button access feature that will automatically connect to your voice assistant app.

*Voice services (Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant) may vary and may not be available in all languages and countries.

The Bose Music app will guide you to select from a given region’s available features. For regions where only one is available, the app will automatically display the one you can select. In regions where neither is available, the voice assistant button will default to the native voice assistant available on your mobile device.

Once you’ve set it up, just press and release the voice assistant button and start talking. Alexa can help you manage your music and get things done — like start a playlist, play a favorite song, order products from Amazon, and control Alexa-enabled devices in your home. It can help you get notifications from Alexa about when your Amazon order has shipped. You can ask things like:

“Alexa, play ’90s pop.”
“Alexa, read a book from Audible.”
“Alexa, add milk to my shopping list.”

Once you’ve set it up, to access Google Assistant, simply press and hold the voice assistant button to talk, and release it when you’re done. Google Assistant will read you your notifications, like an audio lock screen. Google Assistant also provides you with proactive notifications, such as an incoming text message, a meeting reminder, and many others. You can have Google Assistant expand on these notifications with a single press or reject them with a double press. You can ask for things like:

“Tell me the latest news.”
“Call Thomas.”
“Set a timer for 35 minutes.”
“Add olive oil to my shopping list.”