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The best wireless earbuds you can get depends on a few different factors. In this day and age, there’s a pair for specific audiences who may want the best sound, the best ANC, the most durability, or the best compatibility with their ecosystem. After the earbud industry widely adopted wireless earbuds as the future after the elimination of the headphone jack, we’ve seen companies experiment with all sorts of feature sets, and that’s no different in 2025.
Between noise cancellation that mimics that of over-ear headphones, AI features that turn typical earbuds into intelligent assistants, and water resistance that’s ideal for the gym to the beach, there’s a pair of earbuds perfectly suited for everyone. Here’s our breakdown of the best wireless earbuds you can buy right now.
✅ Small, comfortable design
✅ Excellent sound quality
✅ Impressive ANC and transparency modes
✅ 8 hours of battery life
❌ Pricey
❌ Spatial audio doesn’t work in every app
The best wireless earbuds you can get are the Sony WF-1000XM5. Originally released in 2023, the buds hold up well two years later with excellent sound quality and a compact, comfortable design. The active noise cancellation remains some of the best we’ve ever heard on a pair of earbuds, and you get plenty of smart features in the Sony app, as well as a solid EQ panel. Battery life maxes out at 8 hours on a full charge, and there’s support for wireless charging. If you want a pair of earbuds that are confident and deliver one of the best experiences on the market, the XM5s are a no-brainer.
Price: $329.99 (regularly on sale for $229.99)
✅ Top-tier noise cancellation
✅ Excellent sound quality with wide soundstage
✅ Comfortable design
✅ 6 hours of battery life with wireless charging
❌ Scarce EQ settings
❌ Case size is very bulky
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) earbuds impressed us a lot in one certain aspect: noise cancellation. It’s by far some of the best we’ve ever heard: loud subway cars are suddenly quiet, cafes are distraction-free, and you can focus on your music or podcast far easier than 99% of earbuds on the market. It’s backed up with great sound quality that has a wide, rich soundstage and punchy bass. The battery life runs for up to 6 hours, which is enough for most intercontinental flights, and Bose finally included wireless charging for easy top-ups when you get home.
Price: $299
Amazon: Bose QC Ultra (2nd Gen)
Best Buy: Bose QC Ultra (2nd Gen)
✅ The best ANC on any earbuds
✅ Better sound quality than AirPods Pro 2
✅ 8 hours of battery life
✅ Tight integration with Apple’s ecosystem
❌ Design might not be for everyone
❌ Heart rate monitor is redundant if you already have an Apple Watch
Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 are the easiest recommendation we can make to anyone who needs new earbuds and lives in the Apple ecosystem. Apple blew us away with the noise cancellation upgrade it gave the Pros, which help them earn the title as the best earbuds to get if your main priority is ANC. You also get great sound quality with spatial audio and Dolby Atmos support, one of the best transparency modes on the market, 8 hours of battery life, and tight integration with Apple’s ecosystem. Plus, there are more ear tips in the box to help you get the right fit.
Price: $249
✅ Comfortable design
✅ Good ANC and transparency modes
✅ Live Translation support
✅ Pro-level features at an affordable price
❌ Battery life is underwhelming
❌ No MagSafe support
If you’re on a tighter budget, get the AirPods 4 with ANC. Apple’s entry-level AirPods are available with optional noise cancellation, and we highly recommend spending an extra $50 and getting it. The feature helps to draw more attention to the content you’re consuming, all while blocking out a solid amount of background noise. The design is comfortable to wear for long periods of time, the sound quality is quite good, and you get all of Apple’s smarts baked in, including Live Translation with iOS 26.
Price: $179
✅ Gemini Live integration
✅ Great sound and ANC
✅ 8 hours of battery life
✅ Very comfortable design
❌ Pixel Buds app only available on Pixel phones
❌ Microphone quality isn’t great
Google’s own Pixel Buds Pro 2 are a great companion for Android smartphones, especially Pixels. The buds offer deep ecosystem integration, similar to how AirPods work seamlessly with all of Apple’s other products. You get Gemini Live support for having back-and-forth conversations with the assistant, live translations, multi-device connectivity, and more. Plus, these buds sound great, have awesome noise cancellation, can last 8 hours on a full charge with ANC, and are very comfortable to wear. You can also pick between four different colors.
Price: $229
✅ Rich, vibrant sound quality
✅ 6 hours of battery life
✅ AI features like adaptive noise and live translation
✅ IP57 certified
❌ Noise cancellation is better on other buds
❌ Some features are exclusive to Galaxy phone users
The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are Samsung’s best earbuds to date, and there are plenty of reasons why. Sound quality is their biggest advantage: it’s rich, full of life, and offers enough punch for every type of music. That’s backed up by a comfortable (and familiar) design, 6 hours of battery life with noise cancellation, and a list of AI features like adaptive noise and live translation. Plus, these buds are IP57 certified so they’ll survive in the rain or at the gym.
Price: $249.99
✅ Secure, lightweight design
✅ High-quality audio that stays private
✅ 7 hours of battery life
✅ Lots of different colors available
❌ Pricey
❌ Only IPX4 rated
Open-style earbuds allow you to hear all of your surroundings while still enjoying music with the privacy of wearing headphones. For that, we recommend picking up Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds, which offer the best audio quality we’ve heard in a pair of open earbuds. The buds themselves have a lightweight design that stays secure on your ears, while your ear canals remain open to stay in tune with the world around you. They last up to 7 hours on a full charge and ship in over 10 colors.
Price: $299
Amazon: Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
Best Buy: Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
✅ Great sound quality
✅ 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth support
✅ Over 100 game audio presets
✅ 10 hours of battery life
❌ ANC isn’t great
❌ Microphone quality is underwhelming
Need a new pair of earbuds for gaming? Check out the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds. With models specifically designed for the PlayStation and Xbox, these buds offer high-speed 2.4GHz wireless connections so your audio is synced perfectly with gameplay. Active noise cancellation helps to block out any external noise, and you get support for 360-degree spatial audio for an immersive experience. Plus, the buds offer 10 hours of usage on a full charge and over 100 different audio presets for your favorite games.
Price: $199.99
Amazon: SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds
Best Buy: SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds
✅ Secure design with ear hooks
✅ Sweat and water-resistant
✅ Great sound quality with booming bass
✅ 8 hours of battery life
❌ Might not fit on smaller ears
❌ Heart rate monitor is redundant if you own a smartwatch
The best workout earbuds we’ve tried are the Powerbeats Pro 2, Beats’ sequel to the original Powerbeats that came out over eight years ago. The new version comes with the same H2 chip as Apple’s AirPods Pro, which helps deliver a great all-around experience from killer audio quality to solid noise cancellation. The design features ear hooks that stay securely in place on your ears during rigorous workouts, and is available in four colors. What’s more, the buds last up to 8 hours on a full charge with ANC turned on, Beats finally added wireless charging, and there’s a heart rate monitor for tracking your stats.
Price: $249.99
✅ Compact design
✅ Good noise cancellation
✅ Balanced sound quality
✅ Up to 8.5 hours of battery life
❌ Microphone quality isn’t great
❌ Spatial audio is underwhelming
If you don’t want to spend a ton of money on your next pair of earbuds, we recommend checking out Sony’s WF-C710N. Yes, that name is a bit hard to remember, but the experience of using them isn’t. You get great sound quality that’s well-balanced for all types of different content, as well as surprisingly good ANC for the price. The buds can last up to 8.5 hours on a full charge, all in a design that’s compact and comfortable to wear all day. The Sound Connect companion app comes with a variety of EQ settings and other features, like 360 Reality Audio support.
Price: $129.99
✅ Very comfortable design
✅ Impressive noise cancellation
✅ 7 hours of battery life
✅ Gemini AI integration
❌ Sound quality is a bit muffled
❌ No wireless charging
The Pixel Buds 2a surprised us in a lot of ways when we reviewed them. Not only are they some of the most comfortable earbuds we’ve ever used, but the experience feels like one that would cost you double the price. For less than $150, you get solid noise cancellation that’s on par with more expensive earbuds we’ve tried, integration with Google’s Gemini AI features, multi-device support, and up to 7 hours of listening time while using ANC. All of this in a compact package makes these buds the best budget pair for Android users.
Price: $129
✅ Surprisingly balanced audio quality
✅ Unique dial on case allows for easy volume controls
✅ Active noise cancellation
✅ 7 hours of battery life
❌ No multi-point support
❌ Poor microphone quality
If your budget is below $100, there’s one pair of earbuds you should absolutely consider: the CMF Buds Pro 2. The buds, which are sold by a sub-brand of London-based tech company Nothing, offer one of the most compelling packages for a pair of $69 headphones. You get balanced audio quality with support for all sorts of different high-resolution codecs, 7 hours of battery life, active noise cancellation, and one of the msot unique designs we’ve ever seen, complete with a volume dial on the case. These earbuds easily beat anything else you can get for the price, and since the companion Nothing X app is available on both iOS and Android, these are easy to recommend no matter what phone you own.
Price: $69
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.
