With Black Friday deals and then Christmas just around the corner, choosing the best earbuds is becoming a matter of priority for many people – and there has never been such a good selection for iPhone and Android users alike.
Unlike the best headphones, the best wireless headphones and best over-ear headphones, earbuds fit right within your ear (while their case slips right into your pocket), and have many other advantages because of this style of design.
Today, we’re going to look at how to choose and buy the right earbuds for your needs, based on over 600 hours of testing by our expert team of reviewers, who have pushed each pair to its absolute limit in the quest to find the best.
For Apple users, the AirPods Pro 2 are arguably the best choice on the market, offering pretty much every perk out there as well as a new hearing aid feature – it’s hard to match that. But they are pricey… and Apple’s cheaper AirPods (even the newest AirPods 4 with noise cancelling) may actually not represent the best value-for-money, as we’re about to discover.
For everyone else – and those curious iPhone users – the options are fantastic from Bose, Sony, Nothing, and many other top brands. Let’s dive in.
How to choose and buy earbuds: Size matters
While it may not matter in other areas of life, size does matter for earbuds, and especially for those among us who have smaller ear canals or uniquely shaped ears.
Many earbuds come with different sizes of silicon tips, which can be helpful, but it’s worth checking the specs of each of our best earbuds if this will be a consideration.
For example, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are great for ANC, but they might not be ideal for smaller-eared users. Our guide to the best earbuds for smaller ears can help here but just quickly: Sony is a great name to look out for if your ears are on the petite side.
Consider when you’ll use them – and with which device
Perhaps the biggest differentiator between earbuds is whether they’re made by Apple, and therefore perfect for iPhone users, or made by Sony, Bose, Nothing, and many other Android-friendly brands.
For iPhone users, the AirPods really are the most popular earbuds going, and which you choose will depend on your budget and if you want the fancier features available on the AirPods Pro 2. We have a page dedicated to Black Friday AirPods deals, too, so keep an eye out for those.
Android users have many more earbud options to choose from, including the excellent and inexpensive 2024-issue Nothing Ear (a).
Each earbud naturally has its own strengths and weaknesses, and we recommend checking out our reviews – based on hours of usage, and listening to many different genres in many scenarios – to find the very best pair.
Other factors to consider include the IP rating, if you commute to work and need comfort over long distances, taking calls and mic quality, shutting out or allowing noise, and whether you want to swim with them, which is likely to require earbuds that use bone conduction.
How to choose and buy earbuds: Budget
In our testing of the best budget wireless earbuds, the Sony WF-C510 revealed themselves as buy recently, if you’re on a tight budget and don’t care for ANC (or just looking for a great deal).
If money’s no object, the best-sounding earbuds we’ve tested for some time are the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8. But as with the also-excellent Technics EAH-AZ80, you have to pay for that sound-quality…
We also recommend the Sony WF-C700N, JLab Go Pop ANC, and EarFun Air Pro 3, all of which offer great sound quality without costing the earth, and we recommend reading our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds.
Noise: to cancel, or not to cancel?
Noise cancelation is sometimes like marmite – a non-negotiable for some, and a disorientating experience for others, some of whom might even feel unsafe using it. Where you sit on this spectrum is a key to choosing the best ‘buds.
If you’re not fussed about ANC, a lot of budget earbuds are available, like the Sony WF-C510, which we rated as the best non-ANC budget earbuds on the market and that offer excellent sound quality and a comfortable fit.
On the other hand, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are the best earbuds for ANC, as the name might imply, and will help shut out the noisy group of people on the train, anyone on the Tube, or noisy neighbours.
Of course, pretty much all of our top earbuds come with ANC, and the physical design of them – being in the ear – naturally leads itself to blocking out some level of noise, while ANC-equipped headphones can sometimes feel bulky.
Want music all around you – or audio you can turn your head to?
Up next: Spatial audio. For the uninitiated, spatial audio is a standout feature in many premium earbuds, designed to create an immersive, three-dimensional listening experience, enhancing audio by placing sounds in a virtual space, making it feel as if they’re coming from all around you.
LG, (see the LG Tone Free T90S), JBL (see the Live Beam 3), Bose and of course Apple offer proprietary head-tracking spatial audio filters, which adjust the sound dynamically as you move your head.
Apple’s version, unlike the others, is exclusive to its devices and works seamlessly with AirPods when paired with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and is particularly impactful for movies, gaming, and even specific music tracks that support spatial audio.
Sony’s 360 Reality Audio takes a different approach, offering a tailored spatial audio experience that works with select earbuds and headphones by using object-based audio tech to position individual sound elements in a 360-degree sphere, creating an enveloping soundstage – and you can get it even in the cheaper Sony WF-C700N.
But you don’t have to buy any particular earbuds or headphones to get non-head tracked spatial audio. It is becoming increasingly accessible via music streaming services like Apple Music and Amazon Music, which offer regular spatial audio tracks mixed in Dolby Atmos, playable on a variety of earbuds without brand-specific requirements
Audio quality and codec support
Audio quality is likely to be a crucial factor when choosing earbuds, and codec support plays a big role in determining the level of sound fidelity you can enjoy.
To start with, Sony’s LDAC codec allows for high-resolution audio streaming at up to 990 kbps, giving exceptional clarity and detail, but is only useful if you’re using an Android or Sony device, as Apple devices don’t support LDAC.
For broader compatibility, many earbuds support Qualcomm’s aptX codecs, which are a popular choice for hi-res and low-latency audio. Variants like aptX Adaptive and aptX HD cater to audiophiles looking for consistent, high-quality sound from streaming services or downloaded hi-res files.
Those using Snapdragon-powered devices can take advantage of Snapdragon Sound, a suite designed to optimize wireless audio quality and latency. Whether you’re streaming from a premium service like Tidal or Qobuz or playing lossless files, codec support ensures your earbuds make the most of your audio content.
- Best MP3 player: top portable hi-res music players for any budget, all tested by our experts
Hearing tests, AI, and more
In 2024, brands including Apple, JBL, Denon (see the Denon PerL Pro) and Nothing are incorporating hearing tests and sound customization features right into their earbuds.
For those with specific hearing needs, Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 include a Hearing Aid feature that can amplify sounds and provide accessibility support. For many, it’s likely these features could replace hearing aides in most common scenarios.
JBL’s Personi-Fi (found in both the Live Beam 3 and Tour Pro 3) also uses otoacoustic tests to create a personalized audio profile tailored to your hearing capabilities, ensuring you get the most out of your music. Similarly, Nothing’s top tier Ear earbuds offer sound personalization features that adjust audio based on your unique hearing profile.
AI is also finding its way into the earbud experience. Nothing Ear and Ear (a) offer ChatGPT integration – provided you own a Nothing phone, while Apple’s AirPods 4 support gesture-based AI interaction, enabling you to nod or shake your head to respond to Siri’s queries discreetly.
All a bit much? If hands-free control or AI integration doesn’t appeal to you, you can stick to more straightforward models without sacrificing core functionality.
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