Whether you’re looking for noise-canceling buds, workout buds or open-style buds like Apple’s AirPods, here are our top picks for true-wireless earbuds you can buy right now.
Whether you’re looking for noise-canceling buds, workout buds or open-style buds like Apple’s AirPods, here are our top picks for true-wireless earbuds you can buy right now.
True-wireless earbuds have come a long way in just a few years and they continue to improve with each new generation, with not only better sound quality and design upgrades but better noise canceling and voice-calling performance. Battery life is also edging up.
Apple’s AirPods and AirPods Pro remain bestsellers in the category and we may see Apple’s next-generation AirPods Pro — perhaps called the AirPods Pro 2 — released later this year. All that said, there are plenty of great AirPods alternatives to choose from, many of them geared toward both Apple and Android users.
Wireless earbuds come in all shapes and sizes. Some are equipped with ear tips while others, like the standard AirPods and Sony’s new LinkBuds, have an open design with no tips. Naturally, you want earbuds that fit your ear comfortably and securely, but note that for the most part, only noise-isolating buds that include different sized silicone or foam ear tips offer active noise-canceling to help muffle the world around you. A tight seal is also critical to getting optimal sound quality with the best bass response.
While some of the top models are pricey, I’ve also included several more affordable earbuds on this list. You can get surprisingly good earbuds for less than $100 and sometimes even less. I’ll update this best wireless earbuds list as new top earbuds hit the market.
No earbuds are perfect, of course, and not everybody will love the fit of the Sony WF-1000XM4 buds or be able to afford their high price. But if you’re looking for great-sounding earbuds with active noise cancellation, solid voice-calling capabilities and good battery life, these buds check all the boxes.
Hot on the heels of the third-generation AirPods, Apple has another new set of earbuds, this time from its subsidiary audio company, Beats. Technically, the new Beats Fit Pro ($200) aren’t AirPods, but they’re built on the same tech platform as the AirPods Pro. Unlike Beats’ earlier and less expensive Studio Buds, the Beats Fit Pro include Apple’s H1 chip and have most of the AirPods Pro’s features, including active noise canceling, spatial audio and Adaptive EQ. I’d venture to call them the sports AirPods you’ve always wanted. And for some people, they might just be better than the AirPods Pro.
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds have excellent sound, improved noise canceling and voice-calling performance as well a smaller, more refined design with stabilizing fins (so the earbuds stay in your ears more securely). They’re among the best new true-wireless earbuds for 2022. They’re also one of the best true-wireless earbuds overall, giving the Sony WF-1000XM4 a run for the money.
The Earfun Air Pro 2 not only feature solid active noise cancellation but their sound is also impressive for their relatively modest price, with overall well-balanced sound, decent clarity and solid bass performance. Some of Earfun’s buds have had a bit too much treble push — sometimes referred to as “presence boost” — but these mostly manage to avoid that. They do sound better than the original Air Pro.
The earbuds have some extra features, like an ear-detection sensor (your music pauses when you take the buds out of your ears) and a case that has USB-C and wireless charging, that you don’t often find at this price. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.2, they’re splash-proof with an IPX5 rating and offer up to seven hours of battery life on a single charge at moderate volume levels, though you’ll probably get closer to six hours with noise canceling on.
There’s also a transparency mode that lets ambient sound in. It actually sounds pretty natural and is closer than I thought it would to the AirPods Pro’s excellent transparency mode. Alas, there’s no companion app that allows you to tweak the sound or upgrade the firmware.
Earfun talks up the Air Pro 2’s voice calling capabilities — the buds have three microphones in each earbud — and I thought call performance was good but these didn’t reduce background noise as much the new Soundpeats T3, which are also good for the money ($40). However, while the Soundpeats T3 are better for calls, the Earfun Air Pro 2’s noise-canceling and transparency modes are superior and the Soundpeats don’t have the ear-detection sensor. Also, the Earfun Air Pro 2 buds sound better, with richer, more dynamic sound.
Unlike the “open” LinkBuds, the LinkBuds S are traditional noise-isolating earbuds with tips you jam in your ears. They’re more compact and lighter than Sony’s flagship WF-1000M4 and also feature Sony’s V1 processor. While their sound and noise canceling don’t quite measure up to the WF-1000XM4’s, they’re close and cost less. They’re the Sony buds for people who can deal with larger buds like WF-1000XM4 but want 80 to 85% of those buds’ features and performance for $80 less.
While they’ve been out a while and the AirPods Pro 2 should be coming sometime in 2022, the Apple AirPods Pro remain a great pair of true wireless earphones. That’s largely due to their winning design and fit, good sound, effective noise canceling and spatial audio, a virtual-sound mode for watching movies and TV shows (only works with iPhones and iPads running iOS 14 or higher and the 2021 Apple TV 4K). They’re also excellent for making voice calls and have a top-notch transparency mode.
Yes, they’re expensive at $250 from the Apple Store, but they tend to sell for $200 or less. The updated version adds MagSafe compatibility, so these stick to magnetic wireless chargers.
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