[Update 12/3] - They just added volume controls which is a really big deal. I'm leaving at 3 stars until they can add multi-point and because I discovered a super annoying "feature" that perhaps is only a problem with my pair. I've added it to my list of cons - Transparency Mode/ANC Level 0, Ouch my Ears!Disclosure: This review comes from someone that mainly listens to Hip Hop, Metal, Dubstep, or Reggaetón. So my standard for audio may differ from others.Also I will be comparing these to 4 other in-ear headphones.1. Bose SoundSport Wired In-Ear Headphones (Pictured far left)2. Google Pixel Buds (Pictured second from the left)3. Bose SoundSport Wireless (Pictured second from the right)4. AirPods Pro (not pictured)Let me start by saying that I want to give these a higher rating but 3 stars is how I honestly feel based on how they are priced and the gripes I have with them. My standards may be too high.PROS• Comfort. Just what you would expect from Bose. The new ear tips make them more comfortable than the SoundSport Wireless and just as comfortable as the SoundSport Wired. They are also very secure and not as heavy as I was expecting despite their size.• ANC. The Noise Cancelling is top notch! Arguably better than AirPods Pro. The transparency mode/passthrough is also great when ANC is set to 0. But I would argue that it sounds a bit more natural on the Air Pods Pro. THIS IS WHAT YOU’RE PAYING FOR, and it’s almost worth it.• Sound. For me, the sound is far superior to the Air Pods Pro. They have way better bass and the sound signature is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Bose. They sound way better than Bose SoundSport Wireless and are on par if not better than SoundSport Wired. It really depends on the device you are connected to though. For some reason the buds sound way better (louder) on my Pixel 4a than my iPhone Xr. I’m not 100% sure why but my guess would be that the iPhone Xr only supports Bluetooth 5.0.• Charging. Qi Wireless and USBC charging make these feel modern and extremely convenient. Making them on par to the Pixel Buds and AirPods Pro• Touch controls. Really nice to have feature and I am glad its there. But the execution is lacking compared to Pixel Buds. So much so, it's almost a con. [Update] 12/3. These now have volume control straight from the Ear Buds!CONS• The case. It’s unreasonably large and only offers 12 additional hours of charge. Compared to the Pixel Buds and AirPods Pro, which offer a significantly smaller case and longer charge times, this is a bit embarrassing for Bose to not offer something competitive in this area for the price point. I also prefer a magnetic lid vs a push button.• Independent use/functionality. I can confirm that you can use either bud independently. But you lose functionality depending on which one you are using. The touch controls are almost on par to the Airpods Pro, with one exception, you can’t go back a track. However, the Bose QC earbuds really start to show their poor execution when you use the buds individually. If you take one of the earbuds out, the music will stop as anticipated. When you place the removed earbud in the case, the bud still on ear will make a sound like it’s powered off; however, when you play your media on your device, the sound will come through the earbud still in your ear, even if the other bud is in the case. This sounds cool and all until you realize that certain touch controls are assigned to only one bud or the other. Only using the left bud causes you to lose the ability to answer calls, play/pause music through touch controls because those features are assigned to the right bud only. Only using the right ear causes you to lose the ability to forward a song/hear battery level or toggle between 3 customizable ANC settings because those features are assigned to the left bud only. The Pixel Buds have the best touch controls by far, which allow you to use basically all the same controls on either bud, and allows you to lower and increase volume while the Bose QC earbuds do not. With that said, you can still accomplish all of the above through the Bose Music App. [Update] everything I've said about this is still true but I left out one major limitation. The mic only works on the right earbud, making the left bud unusable on its own for phone calls. Which may be why you can only invoke the voice assistant with the right bud. Not a huge gripe for me, but I've seen a lot of contradicting statements on this functionality and wanted to provide as much detail as I could come up with.• Multipoint. This by far is my biggest gripe. This is such a great feature present in the Bose SoundSport Wireless, but the feature is sadly missing on the QC Earbuds. The feature allows you to seamlessly switch between two devices, and even toggle up to 7 devices right from the device. The new app required to use the QC Earbuds also doesn’t really make it easy to switch devices on the fly. This makes switching between devices feel cumbersome and not modern at all. Especially considering that Apple just added similar functionality to the AirPods Pro (only supported with other apple products).• Find my buds. Also missing here. I was really hoping these had this feature as I anticipate misplacing them often. Feature present in older Bose earbuds, Pixel Buds, and AirPod Pros.• Price. The pricepoint is way too high considering how much the AirPod Pros do better than the QC Earbuds. In a battle of Sound and ANC, Bose takes the clear win. But when it comes down to features/functionality, AirPods Pro is the clear winner for me.• [Update 12/3] Transparency Mode/ANC Level 0, Ouch my Ears! . I've discovered that some sounds are amplified through the earbuds when using them with Noise Cancelling set to 0. The setting is supposed to allow you to hear your surroundings which works fine. But if you leave them in your ear to and are not listening to music or on a call, some sounds are way too loud and kinda hurt my ear. 😢 (Examples. Shutting a car door, clinking sounds, or glass breaking). Basically I cannot leave them in my ear when not in use because I'm afraid one day some unknown sound will cause damage to my ear. This is very inconvenient, especially because carrying the case around is also inconvenient due to its size. So I basically only use them exclusively around my house when consuming media. I then immediately take them off. I honestly feel like taking another star off because of this.Conclusion: The perfect earbuds don’t exist. These almost checked all my boxes. I love the buds for their comfort, amazing sound, and superior ANC. I really like how they look despite their larger size. But for the price I expect to have all the features, with no compromises. I don’t really understand why Bose would release these with the present limitations and lack of features from previous devices. With all of that said, I would still rate these above the other earbuds solely based on Sound and ANC.My ratings based on these factors: Age, Form Factor, Sound, Price, Functionality1. Bose SoundSport Wired In-Ear Headphones (Pictured far left) – 5 Stars (not comparable), perfect wired in-ear headphones at the time with great sound and comfort. Worth every penny if you can find them at the original price.2. Google Pixel Buds (Pictured second from the left) – 2 Stars (somewhat comparable), Best touch controls by far, but they really hurt my ears, and the sound is just okay. Totally overpriced at $180.3. Bose SoundSport Wireless (Pictured second from the right) – 2 stars (not comparable), I loved having them around my neck at all times and the Multipoint feature is awesome. But the build quality was terrible, and the sound was okay. Pricing wasn’t terrible for what they offered, but the build quality makes them hard to recommend.4. AirPods Pro (not pictured) – 3 stars (Most Comparable), AirPods Pro are jam-packed with amazing features in such a tiny form factor. They truly are kind of magical. But for me the sound quality was not worth the price tag ($220).5. Bose QuietComfort Earbuds – 3 stars, amazing sound and ANC, but lacks in the features department quite considerably. I think pricing them at $220 would have easily bumped these up to 4 stars for me and would make them extremely competitive against the AirPods Pro. At that pricepoint I would gladly trad off features for better sound and ANC. If Bose is somehow able to patch in some of the missing features through software updates I will update my rating. But I'm thinking it may comedown to hardware limitations. So for now, it's 3 stars and I'm still on the hunt for the perfect earbuds. :(