The new Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones replace the venerable QuietComfort 35 IIs and boast a number of improvements

Great comfort, super sound, spectacular active noise-cancelling. These are ideal travel headphones. The only thingnot to love is the competition - which has grown stronger over the years, including from Bose itself.

Super sound quality with thumping bass; Always-on active noise-cancelling (ANC) - the noise reduction is stupendous; Foldable design and case included - ideal for travel;

Forget to switch them off and the battery will drain - really needs an auto-off option; Bose 700 NC look and feel and sound better; Control button too close to volume up/down;

The Bose QuietComfort 45 are a strong successor to the company’s 2019 flagship model, the Bose QuietComfort 35 II, and yet don’t quite have the refinement of last year’s Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. The QC45 are missing a few features like an EQ, adjustable noise reduction and their audio performance isn’t audiophile-quality. They’re comfortable for long periods of time, however, and are easy enough for anyone to use, which is enough to get them a tepid recommendation.

Fantastic noise cancellation; Intuitive control scheme; Lightweight and comfortable; New ambient aware mode;

Missing a few features; Lackluster clarity; Call quality isn’t great; Occasional dropout

Bose’s QC45s are destined to be a big seller for all of the same reasons as their predecessors. They’re extremely comfortable, incredibly easy to use and if they’re not the very best noise-cancellers on the market then there isn’t a lot in it. Throw in great battery life and you can’t really go wrong. Critics argue that Bose’s signature sound lacks a bit of power and dynamism in comparison to some of its rivals, but we think most people will be really happy with the QC45’s sound, no matter what musical genre they throw at them. What is an issue, however, is the lack of features. No in-app EQ, no auto-pausing for speech or wear detection, and no customisation options for ANC or passthrough. They won’t even turn themselves off if you forget to do it. Sony’s XM4s, which are QC45s closest rival, can do all of that and they only cost an additional 30 sheets (and that’s if you can’t pick them up cheaper in deal). Some of this could surely be added in a future firmware update, but we do think that Bose might have gone a bit too far with its back-to-basics approach. This a far more competitive market than the one the QC35s arrived in. Still, if a big feature set doesn’t matter much to you then the QC45s are a very solid pair of headphones that do everything they can do very well, and will probably last you until the Q55s.

ANC still fantastic ; Very durable design; Good all-round sound; Great battery life;

Similarly priced alternatives offer more features for the money; Can’t turn noise-cancelling off without activating Aware Mode;

ANC still fantastic ; Very durable design; Good all-round sound; Great battery life;

Similarly priced alternatives offer more features for the money; Can’t turn noise-cancelling off without activating Aware Mode;

While the QuietComfort 45 are good in many ways, particularly comfort and noise cancelling performance, they are missing a lot of features we'd expect from a pair of flagship headphones.

Light and comfortable; Effective noise cancelling; Solid battery life;

No ANC adjustment; Lacking smart features; Plasticky build;

Excellent noise cancellation ; Good comfort ; Improved battery life;

Rather sparse for features; Lacks musicality of rivals;

The Bose QuietComfort 45 deliver on their promise of quiet and comfort but are light on smart features

Class-leading comfort; Highly effective noise cancellation; Aware mode works well;

ANC can’t be adjusted;