Bose promised that one day it would update its QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and Ultra Open Earbuds with Bluetooth Multipoint, and that day is finally here. Starting July 10, and rolling out gradually over the coming weeks, a software update containing the Multipoint feature is being pushed via the Bose app for all owners of these two Bose wireless earbuds models. The update also contains an improvement to voice pickup and “a few other bug fixes” for the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds.
Bluetooth Multipoint is the technology that lets a set of wireless earbuds or headphones connect to two (or more) different devices (like a smartphone and a laptop) simultaneously without having to sever the connection on the first device to switch to the second.
Bluetooth Multipoint has become a nearly ubiquitous feature on wireless earbuds across a variety of prices, which prompted many — myself included — to question why Bose chose to launch two flagship products without it. At the time, I was simply told the feature was “coming.”
Here’s how to check to see if the software update is available for your Bose product:
- Open the Bose app
- Connect the Ultra Open Earbuds or QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds to the app
- Go to the Settings gear > Product Update (for Ultra Open Earbuds, it’s v. 4.0.22; for QC Ultra Earbuds, it’s v. 4.0.20)
- An update should appear there (it may have already kicked off)
- Don’t force close the app until after the update has completed downloading (it can be backgrounded, but shouldn’t be closed altogether)