55 Best gifts for women 2025: Present ideas she will love

Best for: High fidelity highflyers

I’ve been a fan of Bose QuietComfort cans for many years. I once would never have even contemplated stepping foot on a long-haul flight without my QC 2s to keep me company and, of course, free from unwanted company as I ploughed my way through G&Ts and the air.

Things have come on considerably since my 2003-issue Bose, of course, and I’ve had the pleasure of testing each subsequent advance on its legendary tech since then, so it was with excited ears that I embraced the new face of this old friend when the slick new Ultra review model arrived.

Lightweight and designed to wrap around the head like a decidedly comfortable noise cancelling crown, the Ultra feature some truly world-class ANC that, at the touch of a button, turns the outside world off to your ears, setting you free to luxuriate in the personalised audio offered by the 35mm drivers and Bose’s Immersive Audio mode which brings spatial sound to your headspace, opening up your music in a manner that makes you experience it afresh.

As you might imagine, the ANC is exceptional. Flick it on and all else is gone, just like that. And you get a decent 24 hours of that ANC – enough to see you through even the most arduous, crying baby-laden, snoring adult full, long-haul flights – while the Bose app lets you adjust the EQ and set custom modes which you can later access directly from the cans themselves.

With calls also rendered as clear as though you were chatting to the person next to you, the Ultra came Bluetooth 5.1-enabled but also arrived supplied with an aux cable for times when only wired will do or, indeed, battery is precariously low.

Another absolute winner from this personal audio heavyweight, if I ever returned to the airborne business-heavy days of yore, I’d want these babies as my constant travel companion.

• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.1
• Drivers: 35mm
• Noise cancelling: ANC
• Mic: Yes
• Playtime ANC on: 24 hours
• Included: 3.5mm to 2.5mm cable, USB-C charging cable, carry case
• Weight: 240g