Now that wireless earbuds are everywhere, it's not easy to decide which ones to buy. The best wireless earbuds will offer seamless connectivity to your phone and smart controls in a compact, cordless design, as well as at least 5 hours of battery life. But premium wireless earbuds go a step further.
Depending on how much you're willing to pay, you can also get wireless earbuds that offer effective noise cancellation. The noise cancelling won't be as good as what you would find on traditional ANC headphones, but it works surprisingly well on the top models. The best wireless earbuds also include a transparency mode so you can let the outside world in with a tap.
The best wireless earbuds now
Say hello to the king of wireless earbuds. The AirPods Pro improve on Apple's iconic wireless buds with a water-resistant design, a wide range of handy touch controls, and active noise cancelling. The AirPods Pro do a great job blocking out everyday noise with ANC on, and feature a handy Transparency Mode for when you want to be able to hear your surroundings.
Apple's high-end buds also include three pairs of swappable silicon ear tips, making it easy to find a great fit. The stems themselves are also shorter than the ones found on the original AirPods. Blend all of these premium features with clean, powerful audio that suits all genres of music, and you have the ultimate wireless earbuds.
Those who loved the critically acclaimed Elite 65t will find its successor to be a notable upgrade. Jabra manages to squeeze its powerful drivers, strong passive noise cancellation, and more battery life into an even smaller design. Listeners can expect bass-forward sound that is customizable through the Sound+ app, which also has extra presets and other unique features; Soundscapes is amazing for drowning out distractions and regaining focus. What you’ll really want the Elite 75t for is its near-perfect charging case that holds up to 20.5 hours of portable juice and takes up very little space in any pocket.
The best wireless earbuds for working out, the Powerbeats Pro from Beats combines water- and sweat resistance, a low-profile design and signature Apple-y integration, making them a no-brainer. The Powerbeats Pro also offer longer battery life than the AirPods at up to 9 hours of listening time. If you're looking for a pair of sweat-resistant earbuds that you can wear to the gym, on the trail, on the train or at work, the Powerbeats Pro is worth the money.
The Jabra Elite Active 65t are a pair of extremely comfortable earphones that are also resistant to water and dust. Using the free app, you can choose which digital assistant you want to use, as well as adjust the equalizer and call volume. The buds deliver up to 5 hours of battery life and provide clean detail and warm, lively instrumentals and vocals.
Boasting an estimated six hours of battery life (ANC on) and a stylish, elegant design the Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds are a formidable pair of buds. They successfully combine great audio quality with impressive noise cancellation. Deep, rich bass and tonal balance give the buds an edge over the competition. Better yet, listeners have the option to play with the built-in EQ and create their own sound profile or choose from nine different presets as well as adjust the ambient sound levels.
If you're fully committed to Apple's ecosystem and need earbuds to keep you entertained on the move, the 2nd Gen AirPods are a sure bet. The near instantaneous connection speeds have gotten even faster thanks to the new W1 chip. And launching Siri is even more convenient thanks to voice activation. The audio quality hasn't improved, but call quality has. The buds still offer an estimated 5 hours of battery life, but now comes with an optional wireless charging case.
Samsung is pushing the envelope with its new Galaxy Buds. In addition to providing near-instant pairing, the Buds also have wireless charging capability – all you need is one of Samsung's S10 phones and you're good to go. The earbuds also deliver great sound in a lightweight, sweatproof casing with up to 6 hours of battery life.
An update brings some other great features, such as hands-free access to the Bixby assistant and the ability to tweak equalizer settings with your voice. And a new gesture enables ambient sound mode by holding down the touchpad on the earbud.
The original MW07 was a well-received model that married refined craftsmanship with solid audio quality. M&D’s latest flagship buds are even more beautiful. High-end materials like acetate and stainless steel are still used to give the buds an elegant, stylish look. Crisp highs and punchy lows come together to create a well-balanced soundstage. However, the biggest upgrade comes in the form of battery life, which receives a massive boost (3.5 to 10 hours) on a single charge; the charging case now gives you 40 hours instead of 14 hours. The MW07 Plus also has active noise cancellation that helps minimize ambient sounds during commutes. The upgrade comes at a higher cost.
The Liberty 2 Pro is Anker’s statement product – cheap wireless heaphones designed to outperform most sub-luxury true wireless models. Anker enhanced its aesthetics, applying a slate grey and black finish that looks far more premium than its older models. Powering these buds are all-new dynamic drivers that produce punchy, crisp sound. Several EQ presets are available for different genres in the Soundcore app. There is also a HearID feature that conducts a hearing frequency test to create a sound profile tailored to your hearing. The only areas for improvement would be the quick-draining battery and uncomfortable fit.
Powered by robust 7mm drivers, the Momentum True Wireless delivers the purest sound experience of any truly wireless model. Spacious, natural sonics combined with incredible transparency make recordings sound like in-studio sessions. The fabric-wrapped charging case also complements the earbuds' premium, clean design. It's easy to overlook any of the buds' flaws knowing that they perform phenomenally on the audio end.
Unlike AirPods with their monotone white color scheme, TicPods come in three shades, including our favorite, Lava. The buds cost a little less than AirPods, with minimal trade-offs. They offer up to 18 hours of play on a charge with its bundled case and intuitive gesture controls. The TicPods also deliver loud, clean audio, and are compatible with Google Assistant and Alexa, which makes them more useful to Android users.
Plantronics creates some of the industry’s best calling headsets and the BackBeat Pro 5100 is exemplary. Four noise-cancelling mics help minimize background noise and wind interference to achieve crisp-sounding calls. Being able to use either earbud individually is another cool feature that frees up the opposite ear to hear your surroundings. On-ear detection to mute/transfer calls and Tile integration also make these an ideal pair for business travelers. Despite bass distorting the soundstage at high volume on certain tracks, Plantronics’ 5.8 mm drivers handle audio well, producing clear mids and highs.
Fitness buffs wanting a sporty, truly wireless experience for the low-low can rely on the JBuds Air Sport to crank up their workouts. JLab raised the bass levels to give listeners a sonic adrenaline rush, although this engineering tactic affects frequency balance; highs may sound a bit recessed on certain tracks. Besides that, these buds are built to withstand everyday use, remain comfortably fastened on your ears, and offer up to 40 hours of total listening time – 6 hours on a single charge and 34 hours via charging case.
The Echo Buds have the best Alexa integration and some unique tricks hidden underneath their shiny, plastic hood. They use Bose’s proprietary noise reduction technology to minimize ambient sound, which works effectively, but not to the level of premium ANC headphones. It’s still quite an achievement. Amazon programmed its buds to support a myriad of hands-free Alexa skills, which makes it super easy to execute common tasks (e.g. add Christmas gifts to Amazon cart, play Spotify, set alarms). There’s the option to enable Alexa manually, but using the wake word function requires less effort and operates more smoothly, especially in quiet settings. More smart gestures would have been cool, but that’s trivial when considering how much functionality these intelligible earbuds possess.
Airpod Pros or Airpods Pro?
If you like to work out, look for wireless earbuds that offer sweat- and water-resistance. Look for an IPX4 rating to make sure your buds will be durable enough.
We've tested dozens of models to determine this list of the best wireless earbuds, evaluating based on design, comfort, features, audio quality and battery life. Our top overall pick is the AirPods Pro, thanks to its built-in noise cancellation. But you should also look out for the new Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, which improve on Samsung's excellent earbuds with improved speakers and a whopping 11 hours of battery life.
From Jabra and Sony to Beats, Samsung and Apple, these are the best wireless earbuds available now.
