[ad_1]
Wireless earbuds continue to be the most popular style of headphones to choose but which are the best pair? Here we review and rank the best true wireless earbuds you can buy to help you find the right pair for your needs.
As well as the AirPods, there are great wireless earbuds from the likes of Sony, Bose and Samsung as well as brands you might not know so well like Cambridge Audio.
We’re focusing on what are known as ‘true wireless’ earbuds here – ie not ones that are attached to each other with a cable that hangs on your neck like the
Google Pixel Buds or
Huawei
FreeLace
Pro – aka neckbuds. You might see them referred to as ‘TWS’ which stands for true wireless stereo.
If you’re looking for general headphones then we have a dedicated chart for that which includes on- and over-ear headphones, too.
Best true wireless earbuds 2022
1. Sony WF-1000XM4 – Best Overall
Pros
Best in class ANC
Amazing sound
Strong battery life
Smart features
If you can afford them and don’t have tiny ears, there’s really nothing to dislike about the WF-1000XM4. Sony has once again created an exceptional pair of wireless earbuds.
Along with solid battery life and quick charging, they offer the best active noise cancelling on a pair of earbuds we’ve tested. Not only does it do a great job of removing unwanted sound, it has unrivalled AI technology that can change the mode and level depending on where you are or what you’re doing.
There’s plenty more tech packed in, too, with Speak-to-Chat, DSEE Extreme upscaling, LDAC support for Hi-Res Audio Wireless as well as 360 Reality Audio spatial audio. And pretty much everything can be customised or switched off when needed.
Read our full
Sony WF-1000XM4 review
2. Cambridge Melomania Touch – Best Battery Life
Pros
Epic battery life
Great sound
User-friendly app
Comfortable fit
Cons
No ANC
Slow switching modes
Slightly awkward case
As long as noise cancelling isn’t a must-have feature, the Cambridge Melomania Touch are one of the best pairs of wireless earbuds you can get.
Not only are they affordable, but they are comfortable and have the best battery life around – able to last for a total of 50 hours if you switch them into low power mode. Even on high performance, they can still go for an impressive 44.
Longevity aside, the sound quality is excellent and you get a lot of control over the sound with a graphic EQ in the app which can also do various other useful things. You can still get the Melomania 1 if you want a bargain.
Read our full
Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch review
3. Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro – Best for Samsung Users
Pros
Cheaper than rivals
Intellegent ANC
Wireless charging
Cons
Awkward touch controls
Middling battery life
It’s taken a while but the Galaxy Buds have finally gone Pro and Samsung has really nailed it here.
They might not have the longest battery life around but this is a very well-rounded and premium package, ticking all the important boxes at a cheaper price than key rivals.
The Buds Pro are comfortable and have excellent Intelligent ANC, sound quality and come with wireless charging and IPX7 protection.
About the only downsides are that some features are limited to Samsung phones and the touch controls can be a little fiddly, but then most are.
Read our full
Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro review
4. Apple AirPods Pro – Best for iPhone
Pros
User friendly
Solid ANC
Secure fit
Cons
Sub-par battery life
Better sound quality elsewhere
AirPods have always been good, but the Pro model makes them great. Apple has done this by improving the design and therefore fit and comfort for starters.
They’re also very fuss-free thanks to easy pairing, plus automatic pause and off. Then there’s the way they maintain a solid connection and have decent active noise cancelling, which is still a feature quite rare on wireless earbuds.
While we welcome these improvements and new features, they’re expensive and really should offer better sound quality at this price. Look to the regular AirPods if you need something cheaper.
Read our full
AirPods Pro review
5. Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 – Best Dual Drivers
Pros
Dual-drivers sound amazing
Solid ANC performance
Useful smart features
Wireless charging case
Cons
Irritating software setup
New colour is a fingerprint magnet
Slightly awkward swipe gesture
Huawei’s follow-up to its original Pro level earbuds are phenomenally good apart from some small annoyances, which can largely be avoided or forgotten about.
At a much lower price than some rivals, you get incredible sound from the dual-driver setup which unusually features planar drivers. They also fit really well and the active noise cancelling and call quality are nothing short of excellent, even if you need the app to select specific ANC modes beyond on and ambient.
There is a selection of useful smart features such as wear detection, fit test, custom EQ and more. Most markets will get wireless charging, but it’s a shame battery life isn’t any better and the new Silver Blue colour attracts fingerprints.
Read our full
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 review
6. NuraTrue – Best Personalised Sound
Pros
Incredible personal sound
Secure fit
Touch controls
Cons
Average ANC
No fast charging
They might lack fast charging and don’t have the best noise cancelling but Nura stands out in the earbud market for its unique personalised audio technology. It’s just as impressive as previous prodcuts, but now packed into tiny earbuds.
You need to hear it to believe it and there are other things to like about the NuraTrue beyond mesmerising sound. They have useful touch controls and a compact, secure fit making them suitable for running and exercising.
They’re also cheaper than some of the big names and you can still get the NuraLoop for a little less if a neckbud design is suitable.
Read our full
NuraTrue review
7. Bose QC Earbuds – Best App
Pros
Excellent ANC
Useful app
Solid sound
Cons
Bulky design
Middling battery life
Granted, they look a bit dated with a bulky design but a surprisingly lightweight and secure fit means that doesn’t matter as much as it could. The touch control system is unusual but certainly not bad and automatic play/pause makes up for it somewhat.
If you’re ok with the style, then Bose has made one of the best pairs of true wireless earbuds you can buy – if you can afford them, of course. Battery life is a little behind Sony but it’s decent enough with a total of 18 hours.
Importantly, sound quality is excellent and active noise cancelling has 11 levels of control – you can even set three favourite levels for different situations.
Read our full
Bose QC Earbuds review
8. Apple AirPods (2021) – Best Open Fit
Pros
Comfortable design
Improved smarts
Wireless charging
Spatial Audio
Cons
No Active Noise Cancellation
Limited noise isolation
Slightly more expensive
The regular AirPods – now third-generation – remain the obvious default purchase for Apple users if you can’t afford the Pro model.
A number of improvements have been made including a more comfortable design, Spatial Audio support, improved Find My support and wireless charging as standard – both Qi and MagSafe.
Still, there are downsides such as the lack of noise cancelling and the open-fit design means no ear canal seal for proper noise isolation like the AirPods Pro and most rivals.
Great earbuds, but not quite a no brainer at the increased price.
Read our full
Apple AirPods 3 review
9. Jabra Elite 7 Pro – Best for Calls
Pros
Strong sound
Optimised for calls
Excellent passive noise isolation
Impressive battery
Cons
ANC doesn’t add much
Lacking bass
They are more expensive than a number of other options but the Elite 7 Pro are an excellent all-rounder pair of earbuds.
Jabra offers reliable buttons instead of touch and the impressive fit results in excellent noise isolation. Partly due to this, the active noise isolation doesn’t add much but there’s a HearThrough mode for when you need to know what’s going on around you.
It also kicks in automatically when you start a call and the EQ also applies to calls as well as music. They are the best earbuds we’ve tested for calls and there’s also great sound quality along with matching battery life and wireless charging.
Read our full
Jabra Elite 7 Pro review
10. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 – Premium Features at Low Cost
Pros
Lightweight & compact design
Solid sound & ANC
Wireless charging
Cons
Fiddly touch controls
Limited iOS support
Average battery life
If you can’t afford the Galaxy Buds Pro then the Buds 2 are a great all-round option providing a lot of good elements for a reasonable price.
They come in a range of colours and offer a comfortable fit along with good sound quality, noise cancelling and even wireless charging. You will have to put up with over-sensitive touch controls and better battery life can be found elsewhere if that’s important.
As you might expect, it’s better to look elsewhere if you’re an iPhone user due to limited support.
Read our full
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 review
What to look for in wireless earbuds
In terms of wireless earbuds, you’re going to have to spend a fair amount to get a decent pair. This is because there’s a lot of technology packed into tiny headphones. Since the category is still quite new, prices won’t come down for a while – the average price for a well-known brand is around £150/US$150.
If your budget is tight, take a look at our recommendations for the best cheap true wireless earbuds although we may include pairs under £100/US$100 here.
Generally speaking, the earbuds from different manufacturers are very similar. The headphones connect to your phone (or other devices) and each other over Bluetooth and tend to have playback controls on at least one earbud.
Active noise cancelling (ANC) digitally cuts out the noise around you. Some of the buds here have it, but we also have a dedicated noise cancelling headphones chart which includes other styles.
Battery life varies for the earbuds but the carry case will handily charge them up, normally a few times over.
Apart from things like longer battery life, it’s additional features that tend to set different sets of earbuds apart. That might be a wireless charging case, support for Google/Alexa digital assistants or exclusive smart features like Sony’s Speak-to-Chat.
You might not be able to get everything you want in the same device so deciding what’s most important to you may be critical. Find out how we test audio.
[ad_2]
Source link