Best True wireless earbuds
1. BEST AFFORDABLE TRUE WIRELESS EARBUDS
Sony WF-C700N
PROS
- Very compact size and comfortable to wear
- Rich and detailed sound
- Effective noise-cancellation that adapts to your activity
CONS
- It’s not possible to customise the button controls
- No in-ear detection sensors
- Lots of competition at this price
We still highly recommend the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC (our previous top pick for the best affordable earbuds) if noise-cancelling is your top priority. However, after testing the Sony WF-C700N earbuds, we think this top pick is more of an all-rounder.
They’re ideal if you’re after high-quality earbuds under £100, and have a compact size, comfortable fit, and rich, detailed sound quality as some of your must-haves. They’ve also got highly effective noise-cancelling, silencing sounds below 80 decibels on test and handling low-frequency rumbles well. We’re also big fans of Sony’s Adaptive Sound Control feature, which adjusts the noise-cancelling mode based on your activity.
There are a couple of minor downsides, such as the lack of customization for the otherwise excellent button controls and the absence of in-ear wear detection. You can also get more battery life from the Liberty 4 NC, as well as better sound from a rival like the Nothing Ear (a).
2. BEST TRUE WIRELESS EARBUDS FOR CALLS
Technics AZ80
PROS
- Three-device Bluetooth multipoint
- Excellent sound, ANC, microphone and customisability
- Lots of app-based features
CONS
- Quite expensive
Bluetooth multipoint is a key feature if you want your earbuds to be as convenient as possible in a home office setting. This means they can maintain a consistent connection to multiple devices at once, switch to the one playing audio or prioritise the one where a call is coming through.
The hi-fi brand Technics has delivered the first range of products offering multipoint connection to three devices, so you can keep the buds in touch with your desktop computer, iPad and smartphone without disconnecting and reconnecting. When a FaceTime call comes in on one device, the audio switches over.
The call performance is excellent on these, and they’re overall some of the best all-rounders we’ve tried. As well as the class-leading three-device multipoint connectivity, you get a compact case with loads of battery and wireless charging, excellent dynamic sound, top microphone performance, decent noise-cancelling and a solid ambient mode.
3. BEST BUDGET TRUE WIRELESS EARBUDS
Soundcore P20i
PROS
- Compact earbuds and case
- Decent sound quality
- Good battery life
CONS
- Material feels cheap
- No noise-cancelling
They may not have an eye-catching design, but these budget Soundcore buds are one of the best deals in true wireless audio with a low price under £30. They’re the best cheap true wireless earbuds we’ve tested, and make for a well-rounded pair with good app controls and a lot of playtime from a single charge.
It’s impressive to see a pair with such comprehensive app support at a low price, with them offering a range of equaliser presets, a low-latency gaming mode, and customisable touch controls. They do miss out on extras like multi-device pairing, active noise-cancelling and wireless charging, though.
We like that they have a compact and comfortable design, long-lasting battery and that they come with a convenient lanyard. The default sound signature of the earbuds is quite bass-heavy without quite as much clarity as we’d prefer. However, it’s possible to change the sound with the range of options in the app, like “Acoustic”, “Podcast” and “Electronic” modes.
4. BEST TRUE WIRELESS EARBUDS FOR IPHONE USERS
Apple AirPods Pro 2nd gen
PROS
- Seamless Apple compatibility
- Excellent sound quality and ANC
- Class-leading transparency mode
CONS
- Rivals have longer battery life
- Only a good buy for Apple users
There’s a lot of choice in the earbud market, but there’s a reason that Apple still dominates eight years after it launched its first AirPods. If you use an iPhone, iPad or Mac, the flagship AirPods Pro is our all-around top pick for noise-cancelling, transparency, sound quality and extra features.
The 2nd generation AirPods Pro are full of convenient features for Apple users, including personalised Spatial Audio, hands-free support for the Siri voice assistant, “Find My” support (for when you inevitably misplace one of the buds or the case) and audio sharing with other AirPod and Beats models.
They also deliver exemplary audio full of richness and detail, along with the best transparency mode in any wireless bud. However, it’s tricky to access settings and use them with Android devices, so we’d only recommend them for Apple fans.
5. BEST TRUE WIRELESS EARBUDS FOR SAMSUNG USERS
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro
PROS
- Great Samsung compatibility
- Excellent balanced sound quality
- Impressive microphone
CONS
- Some users struggle to get a good fit
- Battery life could be better
While we’d recommend Apple users pick up the AirPods Pro 2, it’s not worth getting those if you’re on an Android device. It’s possible to make them work and they sound good, but many features won’t be available and it’s harder to change settings. Apple doesn’t offer an app for Android, so it’s a non-starter.
But if you love your flagship Samsung smartphone, the tech giant offers high-end buds to match. These are the ideal options for Samsung compatibility, pairing seamlessly with a Galaxy S24 on test. They deliver crisp high-res audio, in addition to excellent microphone performance.
They also come with exclusive Samsung features including high-res and 360-degree audio, quicker pairing, automatic switching between Samsung devices, hands-free access to the Bixby voice assistant and location tracking via the SmartThings app.
6. BEST TRUE WIRELESS EARBUDS FOR ACTIVE NOISE-CANCELLING
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds
PROS
- Unrivalled noise-cancelling
- Comfortable to wear
- Simple controls
- Impressive sound
CONS
- Expensive price
- No wireless charging
These Bose buds don’t come cheap, but they’re worth it if your main priority is active noise-cancelling. We’re yet to hear any buds cut out background distractions this effectively, although Apple’s AirPods Pro and Sony’s WF-1000XM5 come incredibly close.
For top-notch ANC and sound quality, though, we think the Bose option makes for an appealing package, especially as the customisable fit helps them block more passive noise than others. They come in a compact and pocketable charging case, deliver a solid battery life, a comfortable design that we can wear for hours and an immersive mode to make the audio sound like it’s all around you.
We find these are able to deliver near-complete silence whether we’re in a busy cafe or needing to focus at the office. On test, we brought these on a flight and found that they thoroughly muted the cabin, just as well as in louder environments like certain sections of the London Underground. The customisation in the app is also impressive – we like how you can create different specific profiles (like “Home” or “Commute”) with different noise-cancelling levels.
7. BEST TRUE WIRELESS EARBUDS FOR COMFORT
Jabra Elite 10
PROS
- Terrific noise-cancelling
- Comfortable to wear all day
CONS
- Fairly pricey compared to rivals
Comfort might not be the first thing at the top of your list of priorities when shopping for earbuds, but it probably should be. That’s especially true if you wear the buds all day long. Jabra’s best pair to date, the Elite 10s, feature an understated and minimal design and excellent comfort from the soft silicone body of the earphones and well-fitting oval ear tips.
These deliver impressive audio quality, spatial audio in collaboration with Dolby (and immersive head tracking), along with competitive battery life. The sound is well-rounded, engaging and vibrant, they do a great job of instrumental separation and it’s handy that you can tweak the equaliser, reliable button controls and call experience to your preference in the Jabra Sound+ companion app.
We like how the charging case has wireless charging and is small enough to fit in your pockets too. As mentioned, they use trusty physical buttons on the buds for control, rather than touch-sensitive surfaces, and these work for playing, pausing, controlling volume, talking to voice assistants and engaging the “HearThrough” mode that amplifies outside sounds.
