The best true wireless earbuds of 2024, tried and tested

There’s never been more choice when it comes to the ever-expanding world of true wireless earbuds, whether you want immersive noise cancellation for a noisy flight or something secure and durable for working out. But the sheer amount of options out there can be overwhelming, which is why we’re constantly testing the latest earbuds — from top-end Apple and Sony sets to a plethora of budget contenders — to help you make the right choice.

After months of extensive listening at home, in the gym and up in the skies, here are the five models that stand out the most to us.

The best true wireless earbuds: Sony WF-1000XM5

The Sony WF-1000XM5 improve on everything that made the XM4 one of our top earbud picks, offering a combination of best-in-class noise cancellation, great sound quality, long battery life and plentiful features, including tight system integration with Android devices and solid iOS support that its premium rivals can’t quite match.

Few sets of earbuds are as feature-loaded as the XM5, which tout a bunch of fancy technologies to make bad recordings sound good (DSEE upscaling) and high-resolution tracks play at their best (LDAC codec support). It’s all tied together by the excellent Headphones Connect app, which works equally well on iOS and Android and offers multiple levels of equalizer and ANC customization so you can hear exactly what you want — and block out what you don’t. We found Sony’s buds to sound great for all genres of music out of the box, but we also appreciate the sheer amount of personalization on offer here.

The XM5’s noise cancellation is likewise some of the best we’ve tested, handily silencing common annoyances like loud construction, noisy trains and chatty shoppers at a supermarket. We consider it right on par with that of the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 (our current noise-canceling pick), which is to say it’s excellent. When we needed to keep tabs on our surroundings during walks, the buds’ Ambient Sound mode was just as reliable as its suppressive ANC.

We’ve long been critical of how big and bulky Sony’s flagship earbuds are, something that was finally rectified with the slick-looking XM4 model. The XM5 (which come in white and black) simply improve on that foundation, making both the earbuds and the case even thinner, lighter and more comfortable. The WF-1000XM5 uphold Sony’s reputation for reliable battery life, promising up to 10 hours of endurance from the buds alone and up to 36 with the charging case. Those claims held up well in our testing — and beat out top rivals like the AirPods Pro 2 by a notable margin.

We do have some minor gripes with the XM5; Sony cut the convenient tap-to-pair NFC feature that we loved on older models, and its 360 Reality Audio isn’t as intuitive as the immersive spatial audio you get on Apple’s buds. Sony also bumped the price of the XM5 up to $300 — that brings them in line with the Bose QuietComfort 2, but also makes them much more expensive than the AirPods Pro 2 that you can almost always find for $200 these days. But if you’re not deep in the Apple world and you’re willing to splurge on the best sound, features and battery life in a pair of earbuds, the Sony WF-1000XM5 are worth the premium.

Other true wireless earbuds we recommend

How we tested

Design

Performance

Other true wireless earbuds we tested

The AirPods 4 are Apple’s best basic AirPods yet, delivering excellent sound quality within a more comfortable design than before. If you spring for the $179 Active Noise Cancellation model, you’re effectively getting an open-ear version of the AirPods Pro 2, minus a few extra perks. We still think the always-discounted (and more feature-rich) AirPods Pro 2 are the best overall earbuds for Apple fans, but the AirPods 4 are a great alternative for folks who prefer an open design over a pair of silicone tips being lodged in their ears.

The Beats Solo Buds are the most affordable Beats earbuds yet — and a great AirPods alternative if you prefer style and portability (we love the tiny pill-shaped case) above all else. You’ll get great sound for an $80 pair of buds, seamless functionality with both Apple and Android devices and an impressive 18 hours of battery life from a single charge. However, these buds lack active noise cancellation — something you can find on earbuds half the Solo Buds’ price these days, and the controls can be hit or miss.

Some of our favorite budget earbuds, the Air Pro 4 continue EarFun’s tradition of offering an AirPods Pro-like experience for a fraction of the price. The sound quality, noise cancellation and battery life are all fantastic for the price, and you’ll get a ton of features that are typically limited to more expensive sets. Just know that the Air Pro 4’s ultra-attainable price comes at the cost of finicky touch controls and weak call quality.

One of the better sub-$50 earbuds we’ve tested, the Skullcandy Dime Evo deliver great sound, good battery life and one of the most unique charging cases we’ve seen on a pair of buds. There’s even companion app support, which is rare for this price range. You’ll get more for your money from other budget options like the EarFun Air Pro 4, but these are still a great stylish alternative.

The Galaxy Buds 3 are an interesting departure for Samsung, ditching the sleek stemless design of previous models in favor of a decidedly AirPods-like look. They sound good and offer some impressive active noise cancellation, but their AI functionality and battery life leave something to be desired. Unless you’re deep in the Samsung ecosystem, you’re probably better off looking elsewhere.

The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro sport all of the same perks as the standard Buds 3, in addition to swappable silicone ear tips for an extra-secure fit (and more suppressive ANC). They’re comfy and work well, but share a lot of the downsides of their cheaper counterpart.

We loved the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds for their stylish and unique clip-on design that allows ambient noise to naturally flow through while still pumping out excellent audio quality. However, their loud look — not to mention their steep $299 price — might not be for everyone.

Nothing has made a name for itself for releasing unique-looking, affordable alternatives to the big names out there, and the new $150 Ear and $99 Ear (a) earbuds are no exception. They both sport striking transparent designs, competitive sound quality and noise cancellation, and a wealth of useful features on the higher-end Ear model. However, these buds’ battery life can suffer with ANC on, and its Transparency mode isn’t the best.

The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 are some of the best premium earbuds we’ve tested, offering fantastic sound quality, great noise cancellation and lots of features wrapped into Sennheiser’s distinctly classy design. However, their battery life falls short of the competition, and a lack of spatial audio holds them back against rivals like the AirPods Pro 2 and Sony WF-1000XM5.

Sennheiser’s first entry into the fitness earbuds space is an admirable one, as the Momentum Sport deliver the impressive audio and strong ANC we’ve come to expect from the brand, not to mention the most robust feature set of any pair of sports buds we’ve tested. However, the buds stumble on battery life, and their fitness-tracking capabilities aren’t as reliable as what you’d get from a dedicated fitness tracker.

Our previous top noise-canceling pick, the QuietComfort Earbuds 2 are still a great choice — and are often on sale for around $100 less than the Ultra model. We think the Ultra are the better earbuds overall, but the Earbuds 2 are a strong alternative for as long as they remain in stock.

The original EarFun Air reigned as our top budget earbuds pick for years, only to be dethroned by their successor. They can be found for under $40 these days after coupons, but we think most folks are better off spending a little more for the EarFun Air 2. Use code CNNDEALS for total 46% off.

The Beats Studio Buds Plus offer very good sound quality and ANC as well as a standout transparent color option, and they’re one of the few Apple-made buds that work equally well across iOS and Android. At their discounted price, they make for a strong AirPods Pro alternative — particularly for non-iPhone folks — but they’re held back by a lack of wireless charging and many of the other marquee features you’ll find on Apple’s premium buds.

You certainly won’t find many pairs of earbuds like the JBL Tour Pro 2, which pack a full LCD screen right on the case for doing things like changing sound profiles and checking battery life on the fly. They’re a fun throwback to the iPod days that make it easier to keep your phone in your pocket, and their great sound quality and ANC prove they’re more than just a gimmick. It’s tough to choose these over the sleeker AirPods Pro 2 or Sony WF-1000XM5 in the $250-and-up price range, but those compelled by the Tour Pro 2’s unique selling point will find plenty to like.

The latest Amazon Echo Buds offer surprisingly good sound and comfort for the price, and their seamless Alexa integration is great for folks who are deep into the Amazon ecosystem. However, competing budget buds like the EarFun Air Pro 3 get you much more — including active noise cancellation — for a similar price.

The Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro are Hi-Res certified and support the LDAC standard, making them a worthy consideration for folks who use high-resolution music services such as Tidal and Qobuz. They’re also competitively priced. However, we didn’t get the best battery life from these buds, and we think the Sony WF-1000XM4 are a better high-end option thanks to their superb noise cancellation.

The Powerbeats Pro enjoyed a long reign as our favorite workout earbuds, largely thanks to their comfortable earhook design that kept them secure in our ears during intensive exercise. They also sound fantastic, with the satisfying bass you expect from Beats, and pair effortlessly to Apple devices. The Powerbeats Pro are still a good buy if you prefer workout buds that wrap around your ears, but we think the smaller Beats Fit Pro offer better control and are just as secure (and even more comfortable) for both workout and everyday use.

The Beats Studio Buds were once our top pick for comfort, thanks to a low profile design that we enjoyed wearing for hours on end. They’re also built to fast-pair to both iOS and Android devices, which is a unique perk for a pair of Apple-made buds. There’s a lot to like here for the price, but the Beats Fit Pro offer even better comfort and features for those willing to pay up.

The Belkin SoundForm Freedom True are among the few third-party earbuds that support Apple’s Find My app for tracking down your lost buds. They sound good and have good battery life. But they’re an older model, don’t pair as smoothly to iPhones as Apple’s own earbuds, and Android users are better off with a host of other newer options.

This latest update to the audiophile brand’s flagship earbud looks great, fits comfortably and sounds fantastic, with deep bass, smooth mids, and plenty of high end clarity — subtle sound quality improvements to its already high-performance predecessor. It supports the highest-quality aptX Bluetooth support if you’re using an Android mobile or Windows machine, and a cool travel-friendly case doubles as a transmitter if you need to interface with older gear — like a plane’s in-flight entertainment system. Given the price, however, it isn’t for everyone so we’d suggest it mostly for discerning audiophiles on the go.

Denon’s flagship true wireless earbuds pack a ton of under-the-hood smarts, with Apple-style fit testing, multipoint support, aptX support for high resolution Bluetooth audio, custom EQ tailored for the user and an app that gives you simple to use fine control of almost every feature from transparency mode levels to touch control options. It’s a compelling package, and they sound very good out of the box. That said, repeatedly running the custom EQ didn’t get us better sound than the flat setting, noise canceling was about on par with other flagships and they are bulky by comparison. Unless you really want specific support for aptX in a high-end earbud or enjoy the extra configuration options, we’d suggest saving $100 and going for the AirPods Pro or Sony WF-1000XM5.

The updated version of Edifier’s budget-minded full-featured NeoBuds design, the Pro 2 offers solid performance in a lightweight, comfortable package — it’s what you’d expect from Edifier. Noise canceling is effective if not quite on par with flagships from Sony, Bose or Apple, while the dual drivers (a dynamic driver for low frequencies paired with a balanced armature unit for highs) give you good sound quality. They support high-quality formats including LDAC and AAC and even Apple-style head tracking. For fun, you can even change the color of the charging LED on the case. The app is a little clunky, and the build quality plasticky, but if you’re looking for high end features — especially high-res audio format support — at a relatively low price they are worth a listen. Otherwise you can spend a bit less and still get great standard features from EarFun, or a bit more and step up to a big-brand flagship.

The Jabra Elite 4 are some of the best sub-$100 earbuds we’ve tested, offering excellent sound, comfort and noise canceling for the price. However, unless style is your priority, we think the cheaper and more feature-packed EarFun Air Pro 4 is the better budget pick for most people.

The Jabra Elite 4 Active are one of many good workout earbuds Jabra offers, with excellent sound, a great fit and solid active noise cancellation and a useful HearThrough ambient mode for amplifying your surroundings. We still prefer the overall performance and simpler controls of the Jabra Elite Active 75t, but the Elite 4 Active are worth considering if you’re on a budget or prefer the design.

The Jabra Elite 85t offers good overall sound and tons of customization via Jabra’s excellent Sound+ app, including 11 levels of active noise cancellation. However, the Elite 85t’s design is a little bulky for our liking, and its semi-open design (which is great for situational awareness while exercising outdoors) makes its ANC less pronounced than on Elite Active 75t.

You’re not going to find anything groundbreaking in these ‘buds, but for most people, that’s probably just fine. The sound quality is middle of the road out of the box, with an active bass boost option and decent EQ modes when you click a button on the earbuds.

The battery life is also weak at just three hours — but, on the bright side, they offer good sound isolation from the wind and are rated at IP55 for dust- and water-resistance, which make them a solid choice as budget workout earphones.

If you really want wireless earbuds that have RGB lighting, the Razer Hammerhead are about the only game in town. These earbuds offer decent sound quality and battery life for the price, but we found the controls to be finicky, and the audio to be not quite on par with our favorites from Apple, Sony, Samsung and others.

While the company has since introduced newer versions of the Galaxy Buds, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 are among the best-looking and most comfortable buds we’ve tested, have strong battery life and offer good sound quality. We found the touch controls overly sensitive in our testing, however, and the noise-cancellation can’t compete with newer models. While they’re worth considering still at their heavily discounted price if you’re an Android user on a budget, overall we think you can do better for your money.

If you’re looking to spend as little as possible for a pair of wireless earbuds, the Skullcandy Dime 2 are surprisingly good for less than $30. These buds have a comfortable design, plenty of color options, decent audio for the price and even feature Tile tracking support — something you won’t find on much more expensive options. We still think the EarFun Air are the better budget option for folks willing to spend closer to $50, but the Dime 2 are a great choice if you’re on an extra tight budget.

The Technics EAH-AZ60M2 is an impressive set of audiophile-friendly true-wireless earbuds. They have great sound quality with support for high-resolution audio, nicely implemented three-device multipoint pairing (most competitors offer two point), a well-designed app and reasonable battery life, all of which impressed us during our testing of the EAH-AZ60M2s. Still, in this price range, mainstream offerings are more compelling for the majority of buyers, mostly for OS integration and better noise canceling, and audiophiles into what Technics have to offer may want to step up to the EAH-AZ80 for better bass for about $50 to $100 more.

The EAH-AZ80, Technics’ flagship true-wireless in-ear headphones, have a bigger driver (10mm) than the EAH-AZ60M2, have fantastic sound quality with even better bass extension and solidity and plenty of detail and spaciousness, plus quite good noise-canceling, and — like their slightly cheaper siblings — they can pair with three devices at once for easy multipoint switching. There’s even a well-laid-out app that lets you fine-tune effectively, set up LDAC support on Android and Sony devices if you’re into high-res and has basically all the high-end features you might want. It’s a great choice for audiophiles and likely worth the slight premium over the AZ60M2. That said, at this price, it’s really hard to beat the great sound, noise cancellation and — most importantly — tight OS integration offered by mainstream flagships like Apple’s AirPods Pro, which the vast majority of Apple users are going to find more satisfying in day-to-day use, or the impressive noise cancellation and all-around feature set of Sony’s WF-1000MX5 for everyone else.