Karlston Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 The Best Wirefree Earbuds Ready to cut the cord between your ears? These are the best truly wireless earbuds we've tested. Wirefree (true wireless) earbuds are one of those ideas that sounds like a dream: Pop a tiny little headphone into each ear and listen to music untethered from everything. Until recently, the reality was quite different. Most of the first wirefree buds were gigantic, dead after a few hours, and had a bunch of other problems. Luckily, times have changed. There are a host of new models that sound fabulous and work (almost) perfectly. After testing dozens of them for the past three years, here are our favorite wirefree earbuds right now, in a wide range of styles and prices. If you don't find what you're looking for, our favorite cheap headphones and best workout earbuds guides may help. Updated May 2020: We removed several older picks and added new favorites like the Jabra Elite Active 75T and Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus. Wait, What Are 'Wirefree' Earbuds? We've seen them go by many names: true wireless earbuds, truly wireless earbuds, completely wireless earbuds, fully wireless earbuds. Here at WIRED, if a pair of earbuds is wireless, or connects to your phone/computer via Bluetooth, and has no cord that connects the left bud to the right, we call them wirefree. We think it's less confusing. Typically, wirefree sets come with two popcorn-sized buds, each with a battery in them, and a charging cradle that carries extra battery power and keeps them safe when you're not wearing 'em. They're liberating, but they do come with issues, such as limited battery life (don't buy any with less than 5 hours), confusing controls, and reliance on a charging case. They're also a bit easier to lose than traditional earbuds. Our Picks If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more. Photograph: 1More Best Overall 1More Stylish True Wireless We've tried a lot of wirefree earbuds in the past couple of years, and the 1More Stylish are still our favorite. They're extremely comfortable, sweat-resistant, and sound as good as buds two or three times their $100 price. Thanks to their silicone ring-tips, you can wear them for hours at a time and almost forget they're there. They get 6.5 hours of juice per charge, and the case holds about 17 more hours, which is enough time that you won't feel like you're constantly charging them. Each bud also has a power button, which means you can turn them off and leave the case at home. I bought my parents each a pair, and reviews editor Jeffrey Van Camp has complained that his wife frequently borrows his pair. $100 at Amazon $100 at Best Buy Photograph: JLab Audio Best Cheap Buds JLab Audio Go Air Not everyone has hundreds of dollars to spend on wireless earbuds. Thanks to JLab, you don't have to. The company has made name for itself by building big-name-rivaling headphones for much less. My favorites of the bunch are the new Go Air (8/10, WIRED Recommends), which cost just $30, and work as well or better than models that cost many multiples the price. $30 at Amazon $30 at Best Buy Photograph: Apple Best for iPhone Apple AirPods Pro They might cost $250 and offer just 4.5 hours of battery life, but Apple's AirPods Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends) are easily the best wirefree headphones for iPhone or iPad owners. The company's H1 chip allows for near-instant pairing, active noise canceling removes unwanted background noise, and silicone ear tips—a first for AirPods—make them comfortable. Just say "Hey Siri" aloud, and Apple's voice assistant is ready to change songs, send texts, and add something to your shopping list. Unlike the regular AirPods, the AirPods Pro boast an IPX4 rating, which means you won't have to worry about breaking them when you're breaking a sweat, and the included carrying case charges wirelessly, too. $249 $235 at Amazon $249 at Apple Photograph: Master & Dynamic Best for Workouts Master & Dynamic MW07 Go Our favorite workout buds right now are the Master and Dynamic MW07 Go (9/10, WIRED Recommends), which offer premium sound and a whopping 10 hours of battery life (12 more in the case) for $200. The water-resistant MW07 Go function better—and are more comfortable, thanks to slotted silicone ear fins—than pricier workout buds like Beats' Powerbeats Pro and even Apple's AirPods Pro. They're also intuitive to use when out and about, with easy-to-find volume and play/pause buttons on top of each earbud. $199 at Amazon $199 at Master & Dynamic Photograph: Beats Also Great for Workouts Beats Powerbeats Pro Apple's Powerbeats Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends) are beefier than many earbuds on this list, and that's by design. They're made to give a super secure fit during even your sweatiest workout, which they'll stay protected from thanks to an IPX4 water-resistance rating. They sound far better than Apple's AirPods, Samsung's Galaxy Buds, or most any pair of Beats you've probably heard before. They also squeeze an impressive 9 hours of life out of a charge (18 extra hours with the portly 3 x 3-inch square case they come in). One of the most helpful features is their ability to automatically pause or route calls back to your phone if you take one of them out of your ear. We also love the banded (but still Bluetooth) Powerbeats model (8/10, WIRED Recommends), which have even better battery life, and nearly identical looks and sound. But no, they are not completely wirefree. $250 $200 at Amazon $200 at Best Buy Photograph: Sony Best Noise-Canceling Earbuds Sony WF-1000XM3 Sony makes our favorite noise-canceling headphones overall, so it makes sense that it would make the first really outstanding pair of sound silencing wirefree earbuds too. The WF-1000XM3 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) are a little bulky for strenuous workouts, but they have killer sound. A dedicated active NC processor quiets everything to an almost eerie degree, and they even have a feature that lets you amplify the outside world if you hold your finger on the left earbud. With 6 hours of battery life on their own and 18 more with the case, you'll be able to work from home in silence for nearly an entire day without popping them out. $228 at Amazon $230 at Best Buy Photograph: Google Best With a Voice Assistant Google Pixel Buds (2020) If you're after earbuds that will do everything from read the weather to pull up your favorite Spotify playlists, Google's Pixel Buds (8/10, WIRED Recommends) are the best we've found. The tiny rounded earbuds are super comfortable thanks to built-in earfins, and they've also got some of the best sound I've heard from wirefree headphones. The piece-de-resistance, though, is the fact that they allow hands-free control of Google Assistant, which makes everything from sending texts to pulling up tunes easy (on Android, at least). Alternative: They don't sound quite as good—and I prefer Google Assistant—but we also like Amazon's voice-controlled Echo Buds (8/10, WIRED Recommends) when it comes to headphones with voice assistants. They even have Bose-borrowed noise canceling. It's not as whisper-quiet as what's offered by more expensive models from Sony or Apple, but powerful enough to clear out some background clutter. $180 at Best Buy $179 at Google Photograph: Creative Best Battery Life Creative Outlier Gold They don't have the same crystal-clear sound or robust build quality as the 1More Stylish, but Creative's Outlier Gold wipe the floor with the competition when it comes to battery life. With 14 hours in the buds and about 25 more in the charging case, you'll make it through nearly a whole work week of listening before hunting for a USB-C cable. We also like how ergonomic they are, with long slender ear tips that fit well in our ears during workouts. With an included IPX5 rating, you'll never have to worry about giving them a quick rinse before you throw them back in your gym bag. $100 $95 at Amazon $100 at Creative Photograph: Jabra Most Rugged Jabra Elite Active 75t Jabra's latest Elite Active model comes with an IP57 rating, which means they are fully waterproof and sweatproof. That's made them my go-to buds when it comes to yardwork, long runs, and other socially distanced excursions. That said, the ergonomic earbuds offer top-of-the-line specs beyond a rugged exterior; thanks to the company's long history making Bluetooth headsets, they've got excellent sound and call quality. They've even got Airpod-beating battery life, with 7.5 hours outside the included charging case, and an addition 22 inside. If you want a pair of lifeproof buds for daily use, these are my favorite pair around. Just know that they are a bit bulky for those with small ears. $200 at Amazon $200 at Best Buy Photograph: House of Marley Most Eco-Friendly House of Marley Liberate Air House of Marley's big claim to fame is its attempt at sustainable construction. The buds and case are made from sustainably sourced bamboo, recycled aluminum, sawdust, and a fabric made of recycled plastic bottles. Despite being made of old materials, the Liberate Air are some of the most stylish buds we've tested. Like other new wirefree models, these get fantastic battery life: 9 hours on a charge and 23 more baked into the case. They sound superb and fit well enough, if a little tight. Call quality is adequate, though they sometimes pick up background noises. It's worth noting that despite the fact that these are made from sustainable materials, they still aren't very repairable, which is a big sustainability-related concern facing wirefree earbuds today. $170 $129 at Amazon Photograph: Samsung Honorable Mention Other Buds We Like This has been a big year for earbuds. Every month seems to bring new sets with longer battery life and more compact designs. As such, we can't list everything we like. But if you're still hunting, Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus ($150) are a pair we reviewed and enjoyed. They got an 8/10, WIRED Recommends award due to their comfortable fit, 11-hour battery life, and wireless charging case. Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 ($300) bring noise-canceling to Sennheiser's excellent high-end earbuds. You'll have to pay $300 a pair for them, but they do have some of the best sound quality you'll find, and they fix the bug in the first Momentum pair that drained the battery after a week or so, even if you didn't use them. Master & Dynamic MW07 Plus $299) are slightly larger and more cumbersome than the MW07 Go listed above (and cost $100 more), but they come with some of the best noise-canceling I've heard on wirefree earbuds. Photograph: Apple Earbuds to Avoid Why Didn't We Include AirPods? As a general rule, it's best to avoid earbuds without Bluetooth 5.0 or more than 5 hours of battery life. This is because batteries in wirefree headphones degrade over time, making buying headphones with longer battery life always advisable for longevity's sake. There are so many models available now, it would be tough to cover all the ones that we're not huge fans of. That said, we do want to note that Apple's standard AirPods do some things well, but we just don't like them all that much. (Read our review.) They get OK battery life, come in a compact case, and work well for calls. They don't fit all ears very well, and since they don't have ear tips or wings, you're out of luck if they're loose. Want clear, high-fidelity music? Get the AirPods Pro, which cost a bit more cash, but are legitimately great headphones. We also are not fans of the first Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless buds. They sound good, but they are too large for some ears and the battery drained significantly after a week, even when they sat in the case unused. Source: The Best Wirefree Earbuds (Wired) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankl1n Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 I just purchased these last week. Very satisfied so far. https://www.amazon.com.au/ENACFIRE-Cancellation-Headphones-Waterproof-Bluetooth/dp/B07VBMSY9Y/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=enacfire&qid=1589072020&sr=8-5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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