Bose - QuietComfort 20 (Android) Wired Noise Cancelling In-Ear Earbuds - Black

Q: RE: noise cancellation quality when not listening to music

A: I found that voices will be muffled, but will still be able to hear them. The other incidental noises will be cut out. For example, on an airplane, when I turn them on without listing to any music all the sounds of the airplane itself go away, but unfortunately you can hear a baby crying or a loud passenger talking. It does reduce those sounds, but you can still hear the people and baby. When it gets like that, I put some relaxation music on really low, just enough to block out the voices and it seems to work.

Q: Plugging jack into devices -- or not -- for just using noise cancellation

A: Yes you can use the noise canceling by itself without having it plugged into a device. I will warn you however that when there is no sound coming out of the headphones and the noise canceling is engaged, there is a very quiet but noticeable hiss/high pitched whine that can be heard without some form of sound covering it up. Depending on your age you may not be able to hear the quiet whine, but you will probably notice the hiss.

Q: How does the QC 20 compares with the Qc 15? Can it be used in flight instead of the 15 with equal result?

A: I have the QC 3 and I have found the QC 20 just as effective on a plane with the benefit of better portability and better comfort.

Q: How many charges/recharges?

A: Hi Readycat. That is a great question. The QuietComfort 20i battery is rated at 500 charge cycles at 80% capacity and will last for many years. Over time, the amount of charge the battery can provide will go down. One charge cycle is equal to every 100% of the battery power being used. Whether you run it from 100% to 0% and then charge it, or let it run from 100% to 50% twice charging it in between, that is still only one charge cycle. What that means is that after 500 full charge cycles, the battery will still be operating, but may only have the ability to provide 80% of what it did originally. We hope that helps!

Q: Can these be used with iPod, Android or Windows?

A: Thanks for your question. If you plan to use a mix of Apple and Non-Apple devices, the standard QC20 headphones would be your best choice for a single headset to work with everything. The QC20i is designed with exclusive volume controls for Apple products and it may or may not work correctly on Android, windows or other mobile devices. The QC20 would have no problem working with your Apple devices also, however.

Q: Use while charging?

A: Great question! The QC20/QC20i headset can be used safely while the battery is charging. You may get some noticeable background noise if you attempt to play audio from the same computer you are currently charging from, but this not harmful to the headphones. Because this noise is undesirable, we do not suggest charging from the same device you are currently using to listen. Hope this helps!

Q: I got a Bose QC20 Grey - Android/Blackberry version. Does it work with Iphone 7 version?

A: Yes, but the mic and the remote won't work. The iOS version will have the same issue with Android/Microsoft gadgets.

Q: QC 20 - Android or Samsung version

A: The QC20 version for "Samsung Galaxy Devices" is the series II version of our noise cancelling in-ear headphones whereas the QC 20 version for "Android, Windows, and Blackberry" would be the series I of this model. This would go some way to explaining the difference in price as one product is the "previous" version of the headphones. Another significant difference between the series I and series II headphones is the addition of an inline mic and remote in the latest version allowing the user to control various functions of compatible Samsung Galaxy devices. The previous version has an answer/end button and mic only. With regards to the reported incidents of some handsets having full functionality with the older version, we simply could not guarantee this level of functionality with all Android, Windows and Blackberry handsets due to the difference between different models. However it is possible that some of the functionality of the inline mic and remote would work on a handset that is not officially supported. We hope this helps - Bose Support.