The best wireless earbuds 2022

The Sony WF-1000XM4 are the new standard in true wireless earbuds. They offer excellent audio quality and noise cancellation, together with all-day battery life. Though on the large side, they are significantly smaller than their predecessors, the popular WF-1000XM3, and fit more comfortably in the ears for longer listening sessions. That's important, too, because these earbuds sound incredible — along with regular SBC and AAC codec support, Sony added high-quality LDAC compatibility for those with Android phones (iPhone users are limited to still great-sounding AAC) to go along with the improved drivers.

But the real spec bump here is in the quality of the active noise cancelation. Sony's ANC is as unparalleled on its earbuds as it is on its over-ear WH-1000XM4s — that is to say it's very good. From background street noise to the hum of a plane engine, the WF-1000XM4s effectively eliminate more mid- and high-frequency frequencies than any other true wireless earbuds. At $280, the WF-1000XM4s are not cheap, but if you're looking for the best of the best, they're right here.

If you're looking for the top sound quality in a pair of wireless earbuds, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 should feature in your decision-making. Like the two generations before, the True Wireless 3 offers terrific sound, which can be further customized to your liking, thanks to the detailed equalizer settings available. The Active Noise Cancellation is good, but it isn't as strong as Sony's technology here. It does feature better battery life than Sony's option, plus there's wireless charging with this case.

These earbuds are light and comfortable, but previous generations haven't always been suitable for those with smaller ears, so that may be something to bear in mind when you're deciding. One of the best parts is that the price is $50 lower than previous generations. If you're looking for sound quality, look toward these Sennheiser true wireless headphones as a top pick.

Jabra's excellent budget earbuds, the Elite 3, share a lot in common with the iconic Elite 75t, but they have one clear advantage: they're extremely affordable. At $80 MSRP and under $60 on sale, they're among our favorite budget true wireless earbuds for many reasons, but I'll list just a few. First, they're really comfortable; you wouldn't expect it from a pair of earbuds this cheap, but Jabra knows how to design headphones that fit most ears perfectly, and that's true here, too. Second, the Elite 3s sound must better than they have any right to for this price; you're really not missing much dropping from the company's more expensive lineup to these ones. Third, call quality is excellent, with four dedicated microphones that excel at canceling out background noise. And finally, the earbuds are IP55 water-resistant and manage to eke out seven hours of battery life per bud.

The main criticism here is a lack of frills; there's no active noise cancellation or fancy ear cancel pressure-lowering design as found in the pricier Jabra lineup, and the case lacks the wireless charging found in the Elite 7 Pro. No huge loss — the case still charges quickly via USB-C — but it's worth saying.

With the Pixel Buds A-Series, Google aimed at designing a pair of true wireless buds that offer the essentials for an acceptable price. They mostly succeed at this, thanks to their good audio quality and comfortable fit. However, being an A-series product, they've been stripped down of some features, including noise suppression and wireless charging, and come with a shorter battery life versus the competition. They're an excellent all-rounder, as long as you're not looking for the best audio quality and don't need ANC. They're perfect for listening to music when commuting and making calls, for example, but you should be careful if you exercise with them, as they aren't waterproof. Still, at under $100, these are our favorite budget pick.

Jabra's tackling the true wireless earbud market with a strategy of small iteration: the Elite 7 Pro tries to toe the line between price and performance, between compact and capable, and nails almost everything. What it gets right — sound quality, battery life, comfort, and call quality — there are few parallels. Where it's found lacking — active noise cancelation, and some comfort issues — it still ekes ahead of most of the competition. In our Elite 7 Pro review, we found that the earbuds are great for almost every circumstance, but if you make a lot of phone calls, there really is no peer in the industry. In addition to high-quality noise-canceling microphones, Jabra uses a bone conduction sensor — the vibrations in your jaw — to fill in the blanks in noisy environments, and the results are spectacular. At $180, the Elite 7 Pro are at the upper end of mainstream, but worth looking at if you want a pair of earbuds that does everything pretty well.

Anker's new Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro offer some of the best sound quality from a pair of wireless earbuds along with plenty of tip and wing options for even the most stubborn ear canals. With excellent ANC and decent call quality, better-than-average battery, and an app you'll actually want to use, the Liberty 3 Pros are among the best wireless earbuds you can buy today. On the downside, they're a bit big and bulky, and may not be the right style for everyone — especially people who work out a lot. With an IPX4 water resistance rating, these are not going to survive more than a passing rain shower or mild sweat session, but for everyone else, these are some of the best-sounding buds out there.

If you're not ready to spend a fortune on a pair of buds, Soundcore's excellent Liberty Air 2 Pro are definitely worth considering. With upsides like wireless charging and pretty good ANC for the price — you can often get them for under $120 if you wait for a sale — you will almost certainly like these AirPods lookalikes. While call quality isn't fantastic, their comfort is — like the AirPods Pro and other stem-based wireless earbuds, these have a bevy of silicon tip sizes that make it extremely easy to find the right fit. We're less enthusiastic about the finicky tap-based gesture system, or the too-sensitive ear detection sensor that inadvertently pauses the music with the slightest movement, but Anker, Soundcore's parent company, is good about releasing software updates to fix minor bugs.

The Galaxy Buds Pro are the culmination of four years of Samsung's quest to perfect the true wireless earbud, and while they're decidedly not perfect — we're hearing reports of a few people experiencing allergic reactions to wearing them — they come awfully close to fulfilling that promise. It starts with the design which, along with the jewelry box-style case, looks and feels like something you want to hold and show off. Samsung's also improved sound quality over the already-excellent Galaxy Buds Plus, adding effective adjustable active noise cancelation that works through the company's intuitive Galaxy Wearables app (iPhone users need not apply here). While Samsung earbuds are obviously optimized for Samsung devices by including Fast Pair-like auto-pairing and AirPods-like switching between Samsung products, they work well across the entire Android ecosystem. They're also IPX7 water resistant, making them appropriate for workouts, and boast decent but not class-leading battery life.

Best workout earbuds The Jaybird Vista 2 are the superlative follow-up to the originals, released primarily as comfortable workout-friendly true wireless earbuds that actually sound good. This successor, released in 2021, improves on the design, fit, sound quality, battery life, and water protection while also adding active noise cancelation. Jaybird takes comfort and “earthproof” durability very seriously: the earbuds have three tip sizes that we found to fit better than most of the competition, allowing for intense workouts that don't dislodge either earbud.

An IP68 water and dust ingress protection rating, along with MIL-STD 810G rating make these appropriate for extreme weather, too, though if you're working out in the ice or snow, that's on you. The Vista 2's secret weapon is actually Jaybird's app, which allows you to select custom equalization settings along with modifying ANC intensity and more. At $200, the Jaybird Vista 2 are not cheap, but if you want the best workout buds available, these are for you.

You may not have heard of the Creative Outlier Air V3, but they could be your next pair of true wireless earbuds. They have a lot to offer, starting with a very affordable price tag and an impressive number of features. Indeed, for this price, you get decent ANC, wireless charging, and excellent battery life. They may not be the best-looking pair, and you shouldn't expect them to sound as great as some of the more expensive models in this list, but given their price, they're worth considering for people who need a pair to listen to music or place calls during the day. What's more, their IPX5 rating is good enough to protect them from water splashes and rain, making them an excellent all-rounder. You should consider buying them if you're looking for an affordable pair but ANC and excellent audio quality aren't essential to you. At under $60, these budget buds are definitely worth considering.