--- title: "Apple AirPods vs Bose: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is Apple AirPods or Bose more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Headphone brands set in the United States. 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/us/compare/airpods-vs-bose" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Apple AirPods vs Bose: Which is searched more in the United States? Is Apple AirPods or Bose more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Headphone brands set in the United States. 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 and Bose - **Competitive set**: Headphone brands - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Apple AirPods Share of Search**: 52.7% - **Bose Share of Search**: 10.5% ## Is Apple AirPods or Bose more popular in search? - In September 2026, Apple AirPods had more branded searches than Bose among headphone brands in the United States. Apple AirPods had about 1.5 million branded searches, while Bose had 300,000. Apple AirPods made up 52.7% of all headphone brand searches we track, and Bose accounted for 10.5%. - Apple AirPods was ahead of Bose in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Apple AirPods’ share of searches among headphone brands in the United States moved from 51.6% to 52.7%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 1.5M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Bose’s share of searches among headphone brands in the United States moved from 10% to 10.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 292K to 300K. ## Top 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 was mentioned in three out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Bose was listed before Apple AirPods in three out of five answers. 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 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Bose | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Soundcore | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Apple AirPods | 4th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Sennheiser | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | JLab | 6th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Beats | 7th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Audio-Technica | 8th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | JBL | 9th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Skullcandy | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Shokz | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Raycon | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Jabra | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Marshall | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Bowers & Wilkins | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about headphone brands - Asked ChatGPT "Which headphones should I buy?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best headphone brands?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser, 4. Apple AirPods, 5. Audio-Technica, 6. JBL, 7. Soundcore - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best wireless earbuds?": 1. Sony, 2. Apple AirPods, 3. Bose, 4. Soundcore - Searched Google, AI Overview "headphones": 1. Soundcore, 2. Beats, 3. Bose - Searched Google, AI Overview "wireless earbuds": 1. JLab, 2. Soundcore, 3. Apple AirPods, 4. Bose, 5. Sony Not named in any answer: Skullcandy, Shokz, Raycon, Jabra, Marshall and Bowers & Wilkins. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 26, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United States headphone brands in September 2026? - In September 2026, Beats overtook Bose to rank 2nd among headphone brands in the United States, with 10.6% of the searches. - In September 2026, Apple AirPods gained share of searches among headphone brands in the United States, from 50.7% to 52.7%. - In September 2026, Bose gained share of searches among headphone brands in the United States, from 8.7% to 10.5%. ## Month by month | Month | Apple AirPods estimated searches | Apple AirPods Share of Search | Apple AirPods rank | Bose estimated searches | Bose Share of Search | Bose rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 1.5M | 51.6% | 1 | 292K | 10% | 3 | | Nov 2025 | 2.2M | 50.2% | 1 | 503K | 11.3% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | 2.7M | 54.1% | 1 | 533K | 10.5% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | 1.2M | 45.9% | 1 | 292K | 11% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | 1.2M | 50.1% | 1 | 209K | 8.6% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | 1.2M | 49.5% | 1 | 209K | 8.5% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | 1M | 45.8% | 1 | 209K | 9.6% | 2 | | May 2026 | 1M | 45.8% | 1 | 209K | 9.6% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 1M | 46.7% | 1 | 209K | 9.8% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | 1M | 46.6% | 1 | 209K | 9.7% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | 1.2M | 50.7% | 1 | 209K | 8.7% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | 1.5M | 52.7% | 1 | 300K | 10.5% | 3 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Apple AirPods’ 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**: Measured on the search term “airpods”. - **Bose**: Measured on the search terms “bose earbuds” and “bose headphones”, summed into one figure. - [Apple AirPods profile](/demand/us/brands/airpods) - [Bose profile](/demand/us/brands/bose) - [All headphone brands in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-headphone-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 15 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 or Bose more popular in search? In September 2026, Apple AirPods had more branded searches than Bose among headphone brands in the United States. Apple AirPods had about 1.5 million branded searches, while Bose had 300,000. Apple AirPods made up 52.7% of all headphone brand searches we track, and Bose accounted for 10.5%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Apple AirPods vs Bose: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/airpods-vs-bose This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/airpods-vs-bose. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.