--- title: "Apple AirPods Max vs Bose: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Apple AirPods Max or Bose more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Over-ear headphone brands set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/apple-airpods-max-vs-bose" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Apple AirPods Max vs Bose: Which is searched more? Is Apple AirPods Max or Bose more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Over-ear headphone brands set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Apple AirPods Max and Bose - **Competitive set**: Over-ear headphone brands - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Apple AirPods Max Share of Search**: 29.3% - **Bose Share of Search**: 18.1% ## Is Apple AirPods Max or Bose more popular in search? - In September 2026, Apple AirPods Max had more branded searches than Bose among over-ear headphone brands worldwide. Apple AirPods Max had about 1 million branded searches, while Bose had 617,000. Apple AirPods Max made up 29.3% of all over-ear headphone brand searches we track, and Bose accounted for 18.1%. - Apple AirPods Max was ahead of Bose in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Apple AirPods Max’s share of searches among over-ear headphone brands worldwide moved from 31.5% to 29.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1.2M to 1M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Bose’s share of searches among over-ear headphone brands worldwide moved from 18% to 18.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 697K to 617K. ## Top over-ear headphone brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Bose appeared in all five answers. Apple AirPods Max was mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Bose was listed before Apple AirPods Max in every answer. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sony | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Bose | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Sennheiser | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Apple AirPods Max | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Bowers & Wilkins | 5th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Audio-Technica | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Beyerdynamic | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about over-ear headphone brands - Asked ChatGPT "Which over ear headphone brand should I buy?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best over ear headphone brands?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser, 4. Bowers & Wilkins, 5. Apple AirPods Max - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best over ear headphone brand for everyday listening?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser, 4. Apple AirPods Max - Searched Google, AI Overview "best over ear headphones": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser - Searched Google, AI Overview "wireless over ear headphones": 1. Sony, 2. Bose Not named in any answer: Audio-Technica and Beyerdynamic. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for over-ear headphone brands worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, Apple AirPods Max gained share of searches among over-ear headphone brands worldwide, from 28.7% to 29.3%. - In September 2026, Bose lost share of searches among over-ear headphone brands worldwide, from 19.9% to 18.1%. ## Month by month | Month | Apple AirPods Max estimated searches | Apple AirPods Max Share of Search | Apple AirPods Max rank | Bose estimated searches | Bose Share of Search | Bose rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 1.2M | 31.5% | 1 | 697K | 18% | 3 | | Nov 2025 | 1.8M | 33.2% | 1 | 1M | 18.8% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | 1.8M | 34.7% | 1 | 963K | 18.2% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | 1.5M | 35.8% | 1 | 644K | 15.4% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | 1M | 31% | 2 | 530K | 16.4% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | 1.2M | 34.1% | 1 | 572K | 16% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | 1M | 32.1% | 1 | 571K | 18.3% | 3 | | May 2026 | 1M | 29.2% | 2 | 640K | 18.7% | 3 | | Jun 2026 | 823K | 26.4% | 2 | 632K | 20.3% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | 823K | 26.6% | 2 | 639K | 20.7% | 3 | | Aug 2026 | 1M | 28.7% | 2 | 696K | 19.9% | 3 | | Sep 2026 | 1M | 29.3% | 2 | 617K | 18.1% | 3 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Apple AirPods Max’s and Bose’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Apple AirPods Max**: Measured on the search term “airpods max”. - **Bose**: Measured on the search terms “bluetooth speaker bose”, “bose bluetooth speaker”, “bose headphone”, “bose quietcomfort”, “bose soundlink”, “bose speaker” and “speaker bose”, summed into one figure. - [Apple AirPods Max profile](/demand/global-en/brands/apple-airpods-max) - [Bose profile](/demand/global-en/brands/bose) - [All over-ear headphone brands worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/over-ear-headphone-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Apple AirPods Max or Bose more popular in search? In September 2026, Apple AirPods Max had more branded searches than Bose among over-ear headphone brands worldwide. Apple AirPods Max had about 1 million branded searches, while Bose had 617,000. Apple AirPods Max made up 29.3% of all over-ear headphone brand searches we track, and Bose accounted for 18.1%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Apple AirPods Max vs Bose: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/apple-airpods-max-vs-bose This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/apple-airpods-max-vs-bose. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.