Best Wireless Earbuds 2021 | Android Central

The best wireless earbuds are comfortable, sound great, and have long-lasting battery life. These tiny headphones from companies like Jabra, Samsung, Sennheiser, Sony and others are almost as important as the phones we have in our pockets, and the market has become crowded over the years with options. We’ve reviewed a sizeable number of models available, and rated the absolute leaders of the pack, helping you find the best fit and value for your ears and budget. Our buyer’s guide will help you navigate this space and find the pair that suits your needs and tastes the best, no matter what you like listening to.

What are the best wireless earbuds you can buy today?

Which wireless earbuds, like any pair of headphones, are right for you is subjective in a few key ways. They have to fit right, feel comfortable over longer periods, and produce sound that’s pleasing to your ears. If audio fidelity is paramount for you, there are good options for that, just as there are options for being active or present great value without breaking the bank.

Topping our list for the best wireless earbuds are the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro because they strike the right notes where it counts. We’re talking excellent sound quality, good fit, solid microphones, and accessibility — and all at a pretty reasonable price. Slightly bigger and more expensive, but better-sounding, are the newer Jabra Elite 85t, which also come with active noise cancelation (ANC).

If sound really matters — and money is no object — the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 are so good they could rival many over-ear headphones with their clarity. It won’t matter what genre you like most, and with improved battery life to boot, these are premium earbuds worth a look.

The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are the best when noise cancelation is a priority, but they don’t skimp out on sound quality, either. They are among the best available if audio clarity is on your must-have feature list. Google’s Pixel Buds (2020) play nice with any Android phone or tablet, and you’ll probably find them to be among the most comfortable to wear for long periods. The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are solid value for what they bring to the table, but even the tightest budget can find something within reach in this list.

Bottom line: It took a few attempts, but Samsung is finally in a groove with its wireless earbuds. While battery life takes a hit, the improvement in sound quality, ANC, spatial audio, microphone performance, and water resistance make the Galaxy Buds Pro the pair to beat.

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro take the best features from the previous Galaxy Buds+ and Galaxy Buds Live wireless earbuds and make a stand for being one of the best available. It’s a distinction the company has wanted from the start, but it took several attempts to get to this level of respectability.

There are various reasons why they’re in the top spot. The design borrows heavily from the past, yet puts a different twist on these earbuds to accommodate all the extra tech inside. They’re small and nimble, but they have more girth to pack in the active noise cancelation (ANC) and other sensors that bring in the new features. They also have larger drivers to pump out clearer and crisper sound by default, with the option to choose among six equalizer presets in the Galaxy Wearable app. It’s just too bad there’s no custom EQ to add your own presets to the list.

ANC has two settings (high and low) and four Ambient mode settings, but both can work together in unique ways. Voice Detect lowers the volume of the audio you’re listening to, and turns on Ambient once you start talking to make it easy to hear a conversation. The audio comes back when there are no voices for up to 10 seconds. Samsung claims the ANC can cut out up to 99% of background noise, but that’s mostly accurate for low-frequency sounds. Higher pitches could still break through.

With 360 Audio inside using Dolby Head Tracking technology, the Galaxy Buds Pro are also great for watching content coded in 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound. It’s a virtual spatial audio effect that enhances the reverb of a movie or show, though it’s a shame you can’t listen to music from streaming services with the same effect.

Samsung also managed to continue its steady improvement in call quality. We were impressed with how clear calls were, with those we spoke to not realizing we were using earbuds. The one caveat to handling these earbuds is the overly responsive touch controls, where accidental taps can happen often when adjusting them in your ears.

The good news is that they’re more rugged than you might expect. With an IPX7 rating, the level of water and sweat resistance means the Galaxy Buds Pro are perfectly suited to a run or workout.

All of these features come at the expense of battery life, where you max out at up to five hours per charge when ANC is on. It goes up to eight hours if you keep ANC off, but either way, those numbers aren’t as good as some competitors. The included case will get you an extra three charges, which you can charge via USB-C or wireless charging pads. A quick five-minute charge through USB can get you up to an hour of playback.

Bottom line: Jabra has been hard at work at the audio game for the last few years, and the Elite 75t are the result. They address some previous shortcomings, particularly related to size and battery life, while maintaining an excellent audio soundstage.

The Jabra Elite 75t have become great value wireless earbuds primarily because they are so comfortable. As an experienced hearing aid company, it shows. But comfort means nothing if they sound bad, and Jabra’s aced that test, too. They feature a bass-heavy but enjoyable sound signature that can be easily adjusted in the excellent Sound+ app available for Android and iPhone. The Elite 75t also have a wide soundstage, a smooth mid-range, and treble frequencies that won’t hurt your ears, even during piercing high notes.

Jabra was the first to add active noise cancelation (ANC) to a pair of earbuds through a firmware update, giving the Elite 75t a feature they didn’t otherwise have from the start. There’s excellent passive noise cancelation here, which helps, but given this is ANC driven more by software than hardware, the effect won’t be as pronounced as others on this list.

As for battery life, you get around seven hours per charge, which is outstanding for a pair of true wireless earbuds, and the included case nets two and a half additional charges for an overall total over around 28 hours. The case itself is charged via USB-C, and does so quickly. The lid opens and closes with a satisfying snap, too, and you may find yourself fidgeting with it from time to time.

The Elite 75t are also IP55 water and dust resistant, which means they’ll have little issue with sweat, rain, snow, or other water-absorbing activities. If you do want a little extra protection, the Elite Active 75t are always an option, though you do pay more for the protection.

These earbuds are also incredible for making calls. In our tests, the receiver on the other end told us it was among the clearest phone calls they’d ever heard from a pair of headphones. There’s also an included “transparency” mode available at the tap of a button — did we mention there are physical controls here? — that pumps in sound from the outside world through one of the three included microphones. That makes it easier to talk to people or hear the outside world without removing the earbuds.

The Elite 75t aren’t perfect, though. You can only use the right earbud if you want to listen in mono mode, and the case lacks wireless charging. Jabra had noted it was looking to offer an optional wireless charging case for these earbuds, but that never materialized.

Bottom line: Jabra followed up its excellent Elite 75t with a pair that sounds just as good, if not better, and also features active noise cancelation.

Big things were expected of Jabra as they released the Elite 85t in taking on the competition and delivering key features that had otherwise been missing. Despite releasing a firmware update that gave the Elite 75t ANC, it was largely a software-based functional attempt. An impressive feat on its technical merits, given no one else had tried it before, but not the same as having the feature built-in. That’s what these earbuds were for.

Except Jabra didn’t just throw in two extra microphones and create a hybrid ANC setup that would rival all others. It gave the Elite 85t larger drivers for better sound, brought wireless charging to the case, and quietly removed Alexa from its feature set to focus more on the assistants people use most on their phones. All of those concessions to appease fans meant the company had to make the earbuds and case bigger, and that’s partly why they’re not in first place on this list. The Elite 85t eventually got their own firmware update that added a MyFit feature to the Sound+ app to improve the fit for a tighter seal and better ANC performance.

There are a couple of other considerations, too. Despite being the newest kid on the block, the Elite 85t are actually less water-resistant than the Elite 75t are. And with ANC now onboard, battery life is more in flux than in previous models. And lastly, the ear tips on these are proprietary because of their oval shape.

While that might all seem like Jabra dropped the ball here, the reality is they did almost everything right. The larger drivers do a better job of cranking out big sound with less need to raise the volume. The sound profile is going to be familiar to previous Jabra owners but with better clarity this time around. Plus, you get to use the built-in equalizer in the Sound+ app to tweak it however your ears like it.

Adding the mics for ANC also means there’s a nice boost in call quality. HearThrough mode, which lets ambient sound seep in, is as good as it’s ever been. The Bluetooth connection is solid and once you get a good seal, the passive isolation alone is fantastic. It’s just unfortunate you can still only use the right earbud independently in mono.

If you’re looking to upgrade from an older Jabra pair or even earbuds from another brand, the Elite 85t will sound great, whether you’re blocking the outside world or not. They’re also the only Jabra earbuds you can actually rename in the app.

Bottom line: Putting on a pair of Sennheiser headphones comes with a bigger set of expectations, and these should be no exception. The Momentum True Wireless 2 are the best sounding in this category for the simple fact they offer the best soundstage, belying their diminutive size. They also have a much better battery life than their predecessors and include superb noise cancelation.

Sennheiser got the sound part right with the first Momentum True Wireless, only to struggle in delivering adequate battery life. The Momentum TW2 does a much better job staying on for longer periods and coupled with the excellent sound they pump out, it’s hard to argue with them being the best for audio quality. Battery life is now up to seven hours per charge, with a total of 28 hours coming from the nifty charging case. It features USB-C for wired charging but lacks wireless charging, which is disappointing at this price.

Another big addition was including ANC support. While not necessarily the best in the business in that particular aspect, they are no slouches in keeping background noise to a minimum. The Momentum TW2 manages to punch above their relative weight in reducing ambient noise to a level that comes really close to the best ANC performance out there.

As for the sound, the bass-forward profile should acclimate well to any pair of ears. It has an elegant feel to it, matching the physical design. The bass is pronounced without feeling overbearing, even if it slightly overtakes the mids, while the high notes are clear, crisp, and warm throughout. If the default profile doesn’t work for you, Sennheiser’s Smart Control app lets you use the onboard equalizer to customize how you want them to sound.

The earbuds themselves are larger than others on this list, so not every pair of ears will feel like a natural fit. Thankfully, that’s not a big problem when considering how good they sound for their size, especially compared to on-ear or over-ear headphones.

Bottom line: A pair of budget wireless earbuds that actually sound good? Creative’s Outlier Air V2 earbuds will be a pleasant surprise when you try them. You lose out on some other features, and the case is on the fatter side, but you may accept that once you start listening.

Creative is often underrated as an audio brand, but the original Outlier Air proved that it could do more with less. When we reviewed the Outlier Air V2, we found that Creative continued to avoid packing in bells and whistles, preferring to maintain a clearer focus on clearer sound quality. These budget earbuds impress with better overall fidelity, though they keep with a bass-friendly soundstage that makes almost everything sound good.

Creative had originally changed the ear tips and shaved some size with the Outlier Gold, and that’s where the Outlier V2 gets its design inspiration. It results in a better fit — and better seal to preserve the best of the audio. You also get the same great codec support that includes aptX and AAC. While these earbuds aren’t officially aptX LL (Low Latency), they should be decent when watching video on a phone or tablet with less lag. Perhaps not as sharp for gaming, though.

Also, while Creative did include its excellent Super X-Fi technology in these earbuds, it only works with actual music and video files — not with anything you stream. Touch controls have replaced physical buttons, too. They’re mostly okay, but not always great. You get no ANC or Transparency modes, either.

All that aside, battery life is one of the best you will find on any pair of earbuds. The Outlier Air V2 get better with up to 12 hours at default volume, and add almost another two full charges from the case. If you like the sound and they fit right, that kind of juice can come in really handy for longer listening periods.

Bottom line: They’re easily the bulkiest earbuds on this list, but Bose has pushed Sony from the crown for the best noise-canceling performance with the QuietComfort Earbuds. These are technical marvels in that they sport active noise cancelation that belies their size, as bulky as they may be. You get great sound for your troubles, but no way to tweak it to the way you’d want it.

Slowly but surely, ANC is finding its way into more true wireless earbuds out there, including at different price points, but the pair to beat are now the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds. For a long while, Sony’s WF-1000XM3 were the pair to beat, and Bose finally has something good enough to do just that. That’s why they’re an easy choice for this list, even if they won’t win accolades for beauty. Still, they’re effective at doing what they’re supposed to.

Bose chose to keep the sound profile neutral, avoiding any significant bumps toward the bass. That helps the mid-range breathe and come through with greater detail, while the highs maintain a warm signature throughout. The bass is less thick than you might expect, but it’s not necessarily missing. The only issue is there’s no way to customize it because Bose’s app doesn’t have an EQ to tune the sound — a thoughtless omission in this price range.

Battery life is pretty good, though does vary when ANC is on. You’re more likely to get just above five hours when it is, and an additional 18 hours with the charging case. For a pair of true wireless ANC earbuds, the QC Earbuds are a cut above the WF-1000XM3, making them elite in this particular category. As with most ANC headphones, the QC Earbuds have an ambient sound mode that reverses the ANC microphones to allow the outside world in, removing the need to take off your earbuds if you’d like to hear what’s going on around you.

There’s a lot to like about these earbuds, and though they are the best noise-canceling pair available, they aren’t without some drawbacks. The fit may not be for everyone, and the case isn’t going to be as easy to pocket as others are. There’s also the price, which is expensive by any true wireless standard, so you have to really want the best ANC available.

Bottom line: Google’s reimagined Pixel Buds are not only a worthy successor, they are good enough to warrant completely forgetting about their predecessors. With an emphasis on comfort and control, they are the easiest pair to use with any Android phone, and hands-free Google Assistant is far more useful when you don’t have to touch anything.

It’s hardly surprising the 2020 Pixel Buds work so well on Android, much like how the AirPods are great when paired with an iPhone. Open the case the first time and with one tap, they’re paired to most modern Android phones. Unless you’re using a Pixel device, where the settings are within the phone’s system settings, you can download the companion app during setup on other Android handsets to access some of the extras available. You can customize the touch gestures and a “find my buds” feature in case you misplace one or both.

Google subsequently added newer features through firmware updates that included turning off the touch controls entirely — even by voice — and a Bass Boost toggle to add some extra focus on the low-end (they do need it). There’s still no proper equalizer to customize the sound further, though — not that you would want to always keep the touch controls off, either. They are among the best and most consistent of any pair of earbuds we’ve tested to date.

The translation features, which are already quite good, got their own boost by adding Transcribe mode in helping Spanish, French, Italian, and German speakers to translate into English. The move, in turn, also improves how English speakers get translations from those languages, too. Sharing Detection lets you share one of your earbuds with someone, where each of you can control volume individually. You might need to share a bud if it’s an important phone call or you’re both listening to the same podcast, for instance.

One of the biggest reasons to consider the Pixel Buds over anything else is how they integrate with Google Assistant. You can activate it via a touch gesture, or verbally by using the trigger word, hands-free. The charging case is smaller than most others, though you will need to keep it handy because the Pixels Buds aren’t battery stalwarts. At least you get quick charging through USB-C and wireless charging convenience.

Bottom line: Sony shaves off some girth from its other earbuds and gives the WF-SP800N a rugged enough body to handle workouts and general activity. The IP55 rating probably could be higher to make that case, but as is, they are water and sweat-resistant, capable of taking some punishment to keep on playing the next day. They also sound great and include ANC and excellent battery life to round out a stellar package.

Sony had already struck gold with the WF-1000XM3 as one of the best noise-canceling wireless earbuds, but the WF-SP800N are the pair aimed at those looking to stay active. The IP55 rating is actually modest by water and sweat resistance standards, but it is good enough for most workout and running situations. You just have to be diligent in wiping them down and cleaning them after you’re done.

You get much of the ANC support Sony offers in its other earbuds, including Adaptive Sound Control to dynamically switch the noise-canceling effect. The mode isn’t without its faults, but the key is that you can adjust the ANC to apply to staying, running, walking, or transport. Out of the box, you may find them lacking a bit on the low end, but the equalizer in the Headphones Connect app can remedy that to give the bass an audible thump. You may end up making most of your changes through the app, considering how finicky the touch controls can be.

They sound great to begin with, so quality isn’t the issue here at all. It’s just finding the sound that works best for your tastes. The best part is that the sound signature is bold, especially for a pair at this price. The mids and highs stand out, and there’s plenty of leeway to bring the bass in. While that may cater more to music genres that prefer better bass, you can tinker with these enough to play whatever you want. It’s just unfortunate Sony skimped out on the codecs by not including aptX or its very own LDAC.

As for battery life, you will get up to nine hours per charge with ANC on. Turn it off, and you may hit 13 hours. That’s outstanding for any pair of wireless earbuds but is mitigated somewhat by the case, which can only hold one extra charge. No wireless charging, so you’ll have to stick to USB-C to fill it up every time.

Bottom line: Apple made the AirPods Pro, of course, for Apple users and the feeling of exclusivity is obvious from the moment you first crack open the case. The Pro introduced ANC and a host of iOS-friendly features that make it perfect for anyone with an iPhone. It’s a breeze to switch between Apple devices, except the pinch-based controls are what have us hooked.

Despite being somewhat limited on Android (no auto-play/pause, Google Assistant, or customization), the AirPods Pro join the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 and Sony WF-1000XM3 at the top of the heap for ANC true wireless earbuds. The AirPods Pro benefit from stellar ANC performance, and while they won’t beat out the others at the top, they do come close to almost everything else on the market.

Sound quality is solid with the AirPods Pro, with more bass and mid-range than the regular AirPods 2 can squeak out. By focusing on the mids, it creates the illusion that sound is moving closer to you, and that’s because instruments and vocals are often in that part of the spectrum. The highs do suffer a bit because of that, creating an uneven profile that may be more pronounced with certain genres.

They’re smartly designed to aid in a comfortable fit, and we can attest to how good they are in that regard. Unlike other earbuds that have a plastic “stem” silicone ear tips attach to, the AirPods Pro attach have them attach directly to the bud’s speaker. That makes the tip more malleable to mold itself into the shape of your ear.

Battery life is hardly anything to get excited about, unfortunately. They can theoretically hit 4.5 hours of playback with ANC on — five hours with ANC off — but that also depends on volume level. The saving grace lies with the charging case that can offer around 20 hours of additional listening time. Apple users won’t mind that it charges over the company’s proprietary Lightning connector, whereas Android users certainly might. You could get around that, to some degree, by making use of the wireless charging support.

Bottom line They may look like beans, but there’s no maligning what Samsung pulled off here. The Galaxy Buds Live are earbuds without a driver or tip protruding into your ear canal, and the result is not only a comfortable fit but also an impressive sound profile. They work perfectly fine with non-Samsung devices and are helped further by good app support to customize them your way.

If you look at the Galaxy Buds Live and immediately feel skeptical about them conceptually, you can be forgiven for doing so. The design is unusual by any measure, but Samsung did it in an attempt to conform to as many ears as possible. That focus meant cutting off the driver from sticking into the ear and letting it rest over the ear canal instead. The lack of fatigue makes wearing them for longer periods easier to manage.

That one-size-fits-all approach could finally be the fit that smaller ears are looking for. While still subjective, given every pair of ears is different, it’s evident fairly quickly after wearing these that there was some merit to Samsung’s line of thinking. However, it was an odd choice to debut ANC support. Earbuds typically have some passive noise isolation to block out at least some of the ambient noise around you, and adding ANC helps take care of the rest. That’s not really the case here because the more open design doesn’t really passively isolate noise the same way.

To offset any loss in power or volume, the Buds Live has 12mm drivers aimed toward the ear canal. Since getting a good seal is entirely contingent on where they rest along the ear, the Buds Live are surprisingly resonant and sound great. The onboard touch controls are okay, though in need of some refinement to make them more reliable on the fly. The Galaxy Wearable app offers some custom presets for equalizer settings, along with learning the controls or using Ambient mode to bring in outside noise when necessary.

Like any pair of earbuds with ANC, battery life will depend on how much you use it. The Buds Live can go up to eight hours when it’s off — six if always on. The charging case is small and elegant, but also a fingerprint magnet. At least it uses USB-C and supports wireless charging. The color options are familiar, save for the Mystic Bronze, which matches that of the Galaxy Note20 devices.

Bottom line: Razer shows off its true wireless chops by craftinh these gaming-ready earbuds that come with the audio trappings to make them viable for every session. Low latency performance and THX certification deliver plenty, but these earbuds also do just fine for more than just playing games.

For Razer, the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro make mobile gaming worth doing without worrying about wires or cables. They’re nicely crafted with a design that should fit most ears, with a tighter seal that makes a big difference in the passive isolation, which works well with the onboard ANC. There’s ample bass to listen to, with steady balance for the rest of the audio spectrum, and there’s more where that came from.

Razer includes six pairs of silicone ear tips, plus an extra pair of Comply Foam tips. Somewhere in there you will find a pair of tips fitting your ears well enough to keep the bass from leaking out. The ANC does the rest of the work to block out background ambient noise, with a helping hand available through Razer’s app’s equalizer to tweak the sound further. The Gaming Mode steps in for the 60ms low latency when it’s time to play a game on your phone or tablet.

When it comes to gaming and movies or TV shows, the THX certification adds something more for everything you watch, and is worth using. It’s just a bummer that Razer didn’t also give the Hammerhead Pro an update to the spatial audio feature it has in its over-ear headphones. It is theoretically possible to do it through a firmware update, but it hasn’t happened yet.

It’s also too bad the company couldn’t stretch out more than four hours of bud battery life, especially when cheaper earbuds often beat that. The case is limited to only two extra charges, so you will need to charge these up more often. Luckily, you can do that by either plugging in via USB-C or placing it on a Qi wireless charging pad.

Bottom line: It’s always nice to find something at a bargain that performs above expectations. That’s the Aukey EP-N5, in a nutshell. They could easily be mistaken for AirPods clones, but the form factor is incidental. Sound quality is among the best you can find at this price, and with ANC onboard, the feature set isn’t too shabby, either.

Healthy skepticism is warranted for any product, regardless of whether it’s expensive or cheap. The Aukey EP-N5 invite plenty of that because of what they offer on paper relative to the price. Yet, they handle such scrutiny with the kind of verve often associated with pricier models.

Not surprisingly, the 10mm drivers are tuned to skew further toward the low end to bring out more bass, and it ultimately works well because of two key factors. First, these have been engineered to be sufficiently louder than most at default volume, and second, the included ear tips (coupled with the angled drivers) provide a nice seal that allows the lows and mids to breathe.

What is a little surprising is that they include ANC support. It’s a useful feature to have at anytime, but even better when it doesn’t come at a premium. It won’t be nearly as effective as that found in better models, like the Sony WF-1000XM3, but is good at drowning out consistent and steady background noise. It’s higher-pitched sounds that pierce through the blockade.

With excellent call quality in most situations, plus solid battery life, the EP-N5 covers important bases along the way. However, that’s not to say there aren’t some concerns to go with them. The touch controls are too sensitive, which also affects how easy it is to trigger your phone’s voice assistant. Plus, with no sweat proofing, it’s hard to know how much they can withstand repeated rigorous workouts or runs.

Random cutouts do happen, though oddly, they may be more common when within range, rather than moving closer to out of range. Still, the benefits outweigh the flaws in the areas that matter, and without breaking the bank on top of it.

Bottom line: There’s more than one reason why Anker’s Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds are on this list, and the biggest of them all is because they’re one of the best we’ve heard to date. They may not have every single feature, but make up for that with solid performance across the board.

It’s always nice to find a pair of earbuds that don’t try too hard. That’s very much the case with the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, which focus largely on audio performance to offer what is a truly effective pair worthy of serious consideration. The bass and mids get equal opportunity in the sound signature, which does chip away at the highs, but the overall result is very resonant audio despite the lack of aptX codec support.

Anker also addressed fit and comfort in ways that make these among the most comfortable earbuds to wear. With nine different tips in the box, odds are good you’ll find your comfort zone, and that affects how tight the seal is for better passive noise isolation. That matters for getting even more out of the onboard ANC, which comes in four modes, and performs more admirably than you might expect compared to the best options. The companion app has the company’s HearID equalizer to help adjust how you want the sound to feel.

It helps that Anker also addressed call quality, significantly improving it to the point where clarity is paramount in each conversation. Part of the reason is because there are six microphones instead of four, and they do a better job of picking up your voice. Unfortunately, touch controls don’t always work as advertised, no matter if it’s for audio playback or phone calls, so it’s something the company will have to address with a firmware update.

On the other hand, battery life does hit the right levels for the price. The buds can go up to seven hours per charge with ANC off (six hours with ANC on), and the case adds another 26 hours on top of that. It charges via USB-C and also supports wireless charging.

Bottom line

Wireless earbuds have grown more popular over the last few years, and the variety has grown with them, making it an important audio category. Choosing the right pair is easier than it may seem because so many vendors are getting in on the action, and price points now vary so widely.

For many, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro are going to be the best option. They strike the right balance in the areas that really matter, like size, sound, durability, and supporting features. They’re small enough to fit comfortably in most ears, and are ruggedized to withstand water and sweat should you need extra protection. Sound quality is among the best available, call quality is superb, and the Galaxy Wearable app has features worth trying.

Equipped with good ANC, plus a multi-level Ambient mode, and features to cater to video and gaming, there’s a lot to work with. With the right seal, they provide excellent passive isolation to listen to everything without having to worry too much about the background. You also have the choice to turn the touch controls off if you don’t want to mess with false positives, unless you’re working out or running.

Samsung hit a home run with these among the best wireless earbuds. They may not come in first place in every single category, but it’s hard to argue with how consistently great they are to use.

How do true wireless earbuds differ from regular wireless earbuds?

In simple terms, true wireless earbuds function without cables and cords. Regular wireless earbuds are “wireless” in the sense they don’t connect to the device playing the audio, but do have a cable connecting the two earbuds. In that case, the Bluetooth connection from a smartphone connects to one earbud, which then relays that connection to the other earbud through the cable.

True wireless earbuds perform the same function, albeit wirelessly. So, in effect, you have something like a daisy-chain, where the phone pairs with one earbud (usually the right one), and then relays that connection to the left. This method hasn’t always been reliable, with audio hiccups and cuts happening because of it. Bluetooth 5.0 has helped improve that, whereas some true wireless earbuds will connect both sides to the phone.

What are the advantages of true wireless earbuds?

The most immediate advantage is that you’re not dealing with any wires. No chance of cables tangling or accidentally breaking. You have two separate earbuds in a case that charges them on its own. The case has its own battery you can charge, meaning that you don’t always have to plug it in to charge the earbuds themselves.

Some cases support wireless charging to add more convenience. Most also have USB-C ports for wired charging, some of which also include fast charging.

Despite their smaller size, true wireless earbuds are often equipped with many of the same features wireless earbuds have. They can include onboard controls for playback, or even active noise cancelation (ANC) and voice assistants. There are models with higher water and sweat resistance, as well as those more focused on increased audio fidelity.

What are the disadvantages of true wireless earbuds?

With no cables connecting the two earbuds, there is always the risk of losing one of them. Moreover, the lack of a cable connecting the two places more of an emphasis on the connection between the two earbuds themselves. While this has improved, there is a chance that one side’s audio may drop out — brief as it may be.

Not having cables also makes true wireless earbuds easier to run or work out with. Comfort and fit are always considerations under those circumstances, but you should also be careful to use them with the right protection in place. That means an IPX4 rating or better if you want enough durability for workouts.

The constant charging cycles also take their toll on the lithium batteries true wireless earbuds and their cases use. Not every manufacturer approximates a shelf life, but with regular usage, you may find your earbuds don’t last as long after two years. Wireless earbuds aren’t impervious to these issues themselves, but since they’re not cradled in a charging case, the batteries don’t go through as many cycles.

Does it matter what Bluetooth version my earbuds have?

Yes, but not always for the reasons you might think. For example, Bluetooth 5.0 doesn’t really impact audio quality, so having that onboard doesn’t mean they will sound better than a pair using version 4.2. Updated Bluetooth protocols will impact things, the way version 5.0 improves range and battery efficiency, for instance.

That additional range could make it easier to walk around at home wearing your earbuds listening to music, while the phone isn’t near you. Usually, major updates to the Bluetooth protocol add higher data transfer speeds, but the benefits aren’t always going to show with audio quality. Other times, they might.

What are the best codecs for wireless earbuds?

For Android devices, Qualcomm’s aptX, aptX LL, and aptX HD codecs are generally better than SBC (subband codec), which is the standard codec all Bluetooth audio devices support. The main reason why is because aptX has more bandwidth than SBC does, which can positively affect audio quality. There is also aptX Adaptive, which automatically adjusts the bitrate in real-time to maintain smooth playback and reduce connection drops.

AAC (Advanced Audio Codec) is also common and is the preferred codec YouTube uses. While iPhone users benefit from it, it hasn’t been as efficient on Android phones. Samsung has its own proprietary codec it calls Scalable, first introduced in the Galaxy Buds, and its purpose is to be adaptive so the bitrate and connection don’t impact what you’re listening to. It’s exclusive to Samsung’s own earbuds, so not adopted by other brands, the way Sony’s LDAC is. It, too, also has a variable bitrate, though is not widely adopted yet.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Ted Kritsonis loves taking photos when the opportunity arises, be it on a camera or smartphone. Beyond sports and world history, you can find him tinkering with gadgets or enjoying a cigar.

Run forest run

Out for a run? Check out these headphones.

Looking to go for a run outside or on a treadmill while rocking a pair headphones to play your favorite tunes? You’re in luck because we picked the best you can choose from.