Buying guide for best wireless earbuds
It's unusual to see someone wearing wired earbuds these days. In fact, most new phones don't even come with headphone ports, making wireless options even more vital.
When it comes to choosing a pair, sound quality is a key concern. While wireless earbuds won't rival the audio quality of bulky over-ear headphones due to their compact speakers and drivers, you can still find earbuds that pack a punch.
For many buyers, the fit is also important. If you've ever owned earbuds that have frustratingly slipped out of your ears at the most inconvenient moments, you'll understand why. You might also want features such as active noise cancellation or a waterproof design that allows you to wear them in all types of weather and when you’re working out.
After spending hours testing and researching wireless earbuds in the BestReviews Testing Lab, we found the Apple AirPods Pro to be the best. They impart excellent sound quality and impressive active noise cancellation, and the solid battery life is extended by the charging case. If you buy Apple AirPods Pro, they come with four pairs of silicone tips, which means it isn't hard to get the right fit.
Best wireless earbuds
With crisp highs and rumbling bass with low distortion, you get excellent sound quality in a small package with these earbuds. The microphone quality is top-notch, so you can expect crystal-clear phone calls, and your jokes won't get lost in background noise when sending voice notes to family and friends.
The batteries last for six hours on a full charge, and the charging case can fully recharge them four times, so you get 30 hours of playtime before you need to recharge the case. Active noise cancellation does a great job blocking out ambient noise, and four sizes of silicone tips are included, which means they comfortably fit a range of ear sizes.
Thanks to their custom-designed speaker drivers, these buds impart impressive audio quality. Music has clear highs and a decent low end, and crisp, clear voices are the norm whether you’re taking calls or listening to podcasts or audiobooks. Built-in beamforming mics help you hear loud and clear, even in noisy environments.
The Pixel Buds’ water resistance is great for workouts and on rainy days, and with three tip sizes included, it’s easy to find a comfortable and secure fit. The battery lasts for five hours if you’re listening or half that if you’re talking; the charging case extends your listening time to up to 24 hours.
Although they're priced firmly in the mid-range, these earbuds offer high-fidelity sound with bass richer and deeper than you might expect from such small speakers. The gel tips are comfortable to wear for long periods, though you don't get a range of tip sizes, which can be limiting for some.
The awareness mode lets you hear the world around you while still listening to audio, which is important when crossing roads or walking alone at night. They're waterproof, so there's no need to let rain stop you. They last up to eight continuous hours or, with help from the charging case, as long as 32 hours.
The balanced sound produced by these earbuds keeps most listeners happy whether they’re blasting tunes, listening to audiobooks or something more sedate. Spatial audio is supported for an immersive listening experience.
The built-in microphone is clear and high in quality, making it suitable for talking on the phone or making video calls. Three sizes of soft silicone ear tips are provided, which improves comfort and helps you find a secure fit. Active noise cancellation blocks out sounds around you so you can focus on what you're listening to.
These Beats last for eight continuous hours and a total of 24 hours when you factor in the charging case.
We tested the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live and found the audio quality to be particularly impressive. It was crisp and well-balanced whether we were listening to music or other audio, such as podcasts or TV shows. During phone calls, we heard the person we were chatting with clearly, and the built-in mic picked up our voice well — even in loud or otherwise suboptimal conditions.
These Samsung earbuds come with two sizes of silicone tips to suit most ears. Although we found them a little uncomfortable at first, we got used to them quickly and found they stayed in place surprisingly well. We were impressed with the battery life, which lasts up to eight hours, as well as the extra charge given by the case.
When testing the Echo Buds 2, we found the audio quality was solid for earbuds of this kind and at this price. We found the active noise cancellation effective and also took note of the passthrough audio mode, which lets you hear the world around you. This worked but made the audio a little buzzy at times.
The Echo Buds 2 have a built-in Amazon Alexa assistant and really come into their own when paired with other Alexa devices, as you can control them via voice commands through your buds. They provide five continuous hours of music playback per charge and up to 15 hours with the charging case.
With spatial audio, you get an immersive sound experience from these earbuds. The audio is well-balanced and of a level of quality you'd expect from Apple. Although they're Apple earbuds, they're also easy to pair with Android phones and other non-Apple devices.
You get up to six hours of continuous listening time or a total of 30 hours with the charging case. The Apple AirPods are water-resistant and sweat-resistant, so they're great for exercising and wearing on rainy-day walks. The integrated mics pick up your voice well for clear calls, even in loud environments. And while they don't come with extra tips, the angled design fits most ears well.
If you can't stand listening to music without rich bass, these buds are for you. Their sound is clear and well-balanced overall, but it's their booming bass that really makes them something special.
An array of four mics gives you excellent clarity for calls and voice notes, while the active noise cancellation helps block out the world around you. There's also an Ambient Aware mode for when you need to be more tuned into your surroundings and a Talk Through option to let you stop and chat without taking out your earbuds. The battery life is an impressive 10 hours without active noise cancellation engaged or eight hours with it engaged – and the charging case can fully charge the buds three times for up to 40 total hours of listening.
While these buds give you decent audio out of the box, anyone fussy about sound can use the Anker app to change the equalization settings for tailored sound. There's also a "BassUp" mode that boosts low-end frequencies. You can listen to audio for up to 10 continuous hours with a total battery life of 50 hours when you consider the charging case.
Not only do these have active noise-cancellation properties, but they have three modes: indoor, outdoor and transport. With six mics and the help of an AI algorithm, you'll be heard clearly on phone calls, even in loud environments.
How we tested
We tested out the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live and the Echo Buds 2. Here's how we evaluated them.
Ease of use
- Bluetooth pairing: We tested how easy it was to pair these earbuds with a range of devices.
- Charging: We evaluated the charging process and how user-friendly it was.
Quality
- Sound quality: Audio quality is a major concern when buying earbuds, so we carefully considered the sound quality of the earbuds we tested.
- Fit and comfort: Nobody likes earbuds that fall out of their ears or don't feel right, so we evaluated fit and comfort.
Other features
- Noise cancellation: We tried out the noise-cancelling features of these earbuds to see how they performed.
- Onboard controls: As these earbuds had onboard gestural controls, we investigated this feature and checked whether they were straightforward to use.
What to know before buying wireless earbuds
Audio quality
The most important aspect of any set of earbuds is how good they sound. A quality set of wireless earbuds will produce plenty of bass and make dialogue-based audio, like podcasts or phone calls, sound crisp and clear.
To get a sense of how good a pair of wireless earbuds sounds, check user reviews and, in general, be aware that less-expensive earbuds don’t sound as good as pricier models.
Built-in microphone
Most wireless earbuds feature built-in microphones. Not only do these let you talk on phone calls and video chats and record voice notes, but they also pick up the voice commands that some earbuds use. While it might be a common feature, microphone quality varies widely. If you'll regularly be using your wireless earbuds to chat, make sure you choose ones with a decent mic.
Water resistance
If you're the sort of person who's happy to walk outdoors in all weather, it's annoying when your earbuds can't keep up. When rain inevitably comes, you might be forced to put away your earbuds and walk in silence. However, with waterproof earbuds, you won't have this issue. Water-resistant earbuds are also sweat-resistant, so they're great for intense workouts.
Battery life
You'll generally get somewhere between two and eight hours of listening time from wireless earbuds before they need to be recharged. Think about how long you generally need to listen to audio continuously. If you only ever use earbuds on your hour-long commute or for short walks around the neighborhood, an impressive battery life might not be important to you. On the other hand, you'd need a longer continuous battery life for extra-long hikes and marathon phone calls.
Charging case
Although you won't get many continuous hours of battery life, most wireless earbuds come with charging cases. These cases have an internal battery that charges when you charge the earbuds in the case. They hold enough power to fully recharge your earbuds three to five times, increasing the use you get out of them before you must plug them into an outlet to charge them.
For instance, if your earbuds run for four continuous hours, you could use them for two hours and then pop them into their charging case for a short period so they’d reach full power. Then, you could use them for another four hours before they ran out of juice.
Fit
If you find earbuds are always falling out of your ears, you understand that the right fit is important. Those that come with silicone or memory foam tips usually provide a better fit. Some also come with ear hooks to keep them in place on your ears, although not all buyers like the added bulk.
Noise cancellation
Noise-cancelling earbuds are a modern miracle. They use an algorithm to generate tones that cancel out the sounds around you so all you hear is what comes through each earbud.
Noise cancellation can be a pricey feature, so don’t expect to find it on budget models. In our book, however, it’s worth it.
Tips
- Consider memory foam earbud tips. Most wireless earbuds include multiple sizes of silicone tips to help users of all kinds find a good fit. However, some users struggle to find the right silicone tips and opt for memory foam tips instead. Memory foam expands to create the perfect fit each time you put the earbuds in.
- Practice connecting and disconnecting your earbuds with your phone. Using Bluetooth to connect and disconnect wireless earbuds isn’t complicated, but it can look and feel a little different on each device. When you first get your wireless earbuds, connect and disconnect them until you’re familiar with the process. That way, you won’t struggle with it while on the go.
- Get a carrying case. Most wireless earbuds are fairly durable, but at the end of the day, they do have sensitive technology on board that could use protection. Check the product details for the wireless earbuds you buy to see if a case is included, and pick one up separately if you need to.
FAQ
Q. How much do wireless earbuds cost?
A. While you can find some wireless earbuds for as little as $20 to $50, don't expect much from their audio quality or microphone quality. You can find some decent mid-range models for $50 to $90, but if you're looking for the best sound quality, expect to pay roughly $100 to $200.
Q. If I get a pair of wireless earbuds with ear hooks, can I remove the hooks?
A. It depends on the pair. Most, but not all, wireless earbuds with ear hooks include them as optional attachments. If you’re thinking of buying a pair with ear hooks, check the product page or user reviews to be sure they come off. We recommend going with removable ear hooks just in case you run into a situation where you don’t need them.
Q. How long does it take to recharge a pair of wireless earbuds?
A. It depends on the pair, but in general, recharging a pair of wireless earbuds takes an hour or two. Wireless earbuds charge much faster than truly wireless earbuds and deliver roughly the same amount of battery life.
Q. Can I replace the battery on a pair of wireless earbuds?
A. No. Wireless earbuds have built-in rechargeable batteries that aren’t meant to be replaced. All batteries stop accepting a charge eventually, so this means that someday, you’ll need to replace your wireless earbuds. That said, most pairs last for several years before that’s necessary.
