The market is filled with different choices for earbuds, with features like active noise cancellation, wireless or quick charging, and intuitive touch interfaces. Brands like Bose, Sony, Apple, and JBL make up the space, so it can be hard to choose which earbuds are right for you. That’s why we’ve rounded up the best earbuds—from true wireless bone conduction—so you can make your pick. Must read:
The best noise-canceling earbuds The best cheap earbudsThe best wireless headphones
Bose’s Acoustic Noise Cancelling technology provides true quiet and true wireless within these earbuds. Using hidden microphones in the earbuds, they monitor external sound and emit an anti-sound wave to cancel out any noise other than whatever you’re listening to. When you want to tune back into your surroundings, an Aware Mode feature allows you to hear your music and surroundings at a lower level simultaneously. So if you wish to block the sounds of city construction or get into the zone for work, these Bose earbuds are excellent true wireless options. Despite the latest technology, some users may still prefer a wired fit. Although called wireless, these Bose SoundSport earbuds are not entirely wireless because they are still connected by a wire that wraps around your neck to keep the fit secure while you are wearing them. The earbuds’ StayHear+ Sport tips are built to stay in your ears, so you can work out in these without worrying about them falling out—plus, they are sweatproof. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides up to six hours of listening on a full battery in just two hours of charging. In addition, you can easily control the volume, skip tracks, and take calls by tapping the built-in remote. If you’re looking to go entirely “old-school” and forgo Bluetooth altogether for wired earbuds, these earbuds from Sennheiser are great midrange options. A 3.9-inch cable includes a built-in microphone and remote so you can play or pause music and take a call without using your phone. While these earbuds don’t have active noise cancellation, they have sound isolation thanks to their in-ear design. These also come with four ear adapter sizes (XS, S, M, and L) and a handy travel pouch. And, since they are wired, you never have to worry about charging them. The newest Apple AirPods Pro that debuted this year are a welcome upgrade from the previous generation’s features. Thanks to Apple’s new and improved H2 chip, these AirPods have better performance via high-band connectivity and a low distortion audio driver with a custom amplifier. The technologies combine to ensure clearer audio across various sound frequencies, making them the best-sounding AirPods to date. As far as noise-cancellation goes, these Airpods have two times more noise cancellation than the previous version. An upgraded adaptive transparency mode also automatically lowers the volume of harmful noises above the 85dB threshold. Plus, you can personalize your spatial audio settings to create your ideal sound experience (using iOS 16). Read the review: AirPods Pro 2 offer two big upgrades but connectivity chaos hasn’t been tamed Don’t want to cram something in your ear? These open-ear earbuds by Shokz fit over your ear and play the sound against your cheekbone. Two bass enhancers allow you to experience every note, beat, and chorus of your favorite song, resulting in premium sound quality. They have an impressive battery life of up to 10 hours, but if you need a quick, last-minute charge, charging them for five minutes provides up to 1.5 hours of listening. Perfect for runners, these earbuds stay put thanks to the brand’s signature open-ear design. And while this allows you to remain alert to your surroundings, the trade-off is that you still hear ambient sounds around you. Read the review: Shokz OpenRun Pro review: Outstanding bone conduction headset for safe training If you’re looking for tips for preventing hearing loss caused by headphones, some include keeping the volume lower (and opting for ANC headphones to cancel out exterior noise rather than turning up the volume), using quality headphones, and taking breaks while working with headphones in so you can give your eardrums a breather. And, you can always opt for open-backed headphones like the Shokz OpenRun Pro. In fact, Apple dominated the U.S. headphone market in 2021, and beat out other brands like Samsung, JBL, and Bose for the most popular headphone brand. However, if you’re open to looking at other brands, Bose and Sony make excellent earbuds, some of which are on this list. Especially if you plan to use your earbuds mainly for working out, there are other worthy earbud options than AirPods.
