Bluetooth 5.3, 5.4 and LE Audio, briefly: what matters for earbuds
What the version number means
The Bluetooth version shows which standard the earbuds use to talk to the phone. Each new version adds improvements, usually to power use, stability and new features, while staying compatible with the old ones. Earbuds with Bluetooth 5.4 work with a phone that has Bluetooth 5.0 too; they simply use what both have in common.
That is why the version matters less than the box suggests. A step from 5.3 to 5.4 cannot be heard in the music. What you feel day to day is the battery, how stable the connection is and the codecs the earbuds and the phone support.
Bluetooth 5.3
Bluetooth 5.3 mainly brought efficiency: devices switch more quickly between low power and fast transfer and choose free radio channels better when there are many signals around. For earbuds, that means slightly lower power use and fewer dropouts in busy places such as the metro or an office full of devices.
Many TESNA earbuds have Bluetooth 5.3, for example the GOJ05, Pro2 and GTA02; the exact version is listed on each product's page.
Bluetooth 5.4
Bluetooth 5.4 mostly added features for networks of small devices, such as electronic price labels in shops, and better encryption of advertising signals. For music in earbuds, the difference from 5.3 is small.
Earbuds with 5.4, such as the GOG100, S7, Open2 and GTA18, are ready for new phones but work just as well with older ones. Do not replace your earbuds just to go from 5.3 to 5.4.
LE Audio and the LC3 codec
LE Audio is a new way of sending sound over Bluetooth, built on Bluetooth Low Energy. It comes with the LC3 codec, which sounds good at a lower data rate than the classic SBC codec, so it can save battery or keep quality when the signal is weak.
The S7 and Open2 support LC3. To use LE Audio, though, the phone has to support it too, and for now only some recent phones do. On the others, the earbuds use SBC or AAC automatically, with nothing for you to do.
Auracast: sound for many
One of LE Audio's features is Auracast: a device can send the same sound to any number of earbuds nearby, like a small radio station. The idea is that in future you could listen in your earbuds to a TV in a waiting room or the announcements at an airport.
For now Auracast is at an early stage and few places use it. It is good to know about, but not a reason to choose a particular pair of earbuds today.
Codecs: SBC, AAC, LDAC
The codec is the way sound is compressed to fit the Bluetooth signal. Every pair of earbuds has SBC; AAC is the one iPhones prefer; LDAC can send more data, for Hi-Res sound, on Android phones that support it. The phone and the earbuds pick the best codec they both have by themselves.
You hear the difference more easily between codecs than between Bluetooth versions, especially on well-recorded music at moderate volume. Our guide to LDAC, AAC and SBC goes into detail.
What to actually look for
When choosing earbuds, the Bluetooth version is a detail. Look first at the type, open-ear, in-ear or over-ear, at how well they fit, at battery life and water resistance. Then at codecs, if sound quality matters to you, and at multipoint, if you use them with a laptop and a phone.
Any 5.x version is fine for music, podcasts and calls. The big differences come from how the earbuds are made, not from the number after Bluetooth.
Every model is in the shop, under true wireless earbuds.