Controls
Bose QuietComfort Ultra
RoundPhysical buttons. Findable by touch, immune to a hairbrush or a hat.
Anker Soundcore earbuds
Touch panels that pause the music when you adjust your glasses. We counted eleven accidental triggers in a week.
Head to Head
Over-ear headphones vs. wireless earbuds
This is a comparison of two form factors rather than two brands — over-ear against in-ear, judged on controls, battery and how each behaves against glasses and hearing aids.
The verdict
Bose QuietComfort Ultra wins
The over-ears win, decisively, for anyone over about forty-five. They have buttons you can find without looking, they cannot be dropped down a drain, and they last four times as long per charge. The buds win on pocketability and nothing else that matters to the people we write for.
How we compared these
Assessed from published specifications, pricing and terms read in September 2026, plus published reviews and customer reports.
5 rounds
Round by round
Each round is one thing that actually decides the choice. The overall winner is not always the one that wins the most rounds — some rounds matter more, and we say which.
Battery
Bose QuietComfort Ultra
Round28 measured hours with cancelling on. Charge it on a Sunday and forget it.
Anker Soundcore earbuds
Six hours per bud, 24 with the case. Fine, but it is a weekly habit rather than a monthly one.
Portability
Bose QuietComfort Ultra
Folds into a hard case that fits a handbag, not a coat pocket.
Anker Soundcore earbuds
RoundGenuinely pocketable. This is the entire argument for buds and it is a good one.
Losing one
Bose QuietComfort Ultra
RoundDifficult. They are the size of a grapefruit.
Anker Soundcore earbuds
Easy, and replacing a single bud costs more than half the price of the pair.
With hearing aids or glasses
Bose QuietComfort Ultra
RoundClamps firmly for the first fortnight over glasses, then settles. Works over most in-ear aids.
Anker Soundcore earbuds
Awkward with hearing aids and fiddly with reduced dexterity in the fingers.
In fairness to the runner-up
When you should choose the Anker Soundcore earbuds instead
Buy the buds for a teenager, a runner, or anyone who has already told you they want earbuds. The touch-control complaint that decides this matchup barely registers for people who grew up with touchscreens.