How to choose wireless earbuds: the complete guide, briefly
Start with what you do every day
There are no wireless earbuds right for everyone, but there are earbuds right for what you do. Before looking at numbers, ask where you will wear them most: on the street and running, at the office and on calls, on the metro and on planes, at the gym or at home in the evening.
The answer tells you the type, and the type matters more than any specification. Most complaints, buds that fall out, press or do not block enough noise, come from choosing the wrong type, not from the quality of the earbuds.
Three types, three ways of listening
In-ear buds go into the ear canal with a tip and block noise; they are small and good for almost anything, from commuting to the gym. Open-ear buds sit on or in front of the ear and leave it free, so you hear what is going on; they are the safest on the street and the most comfortable all day. Over-ear headphones cover the whole ear, block the most noise and have the biggest battery, but take up space.
Our guide to in-ear, open-ear and over-ear headphones compares the three types in full.
Fit matters most
A bud that does not fit well neither sounds good nor feels comfortable. On in-ear buds, the tip must seal without pressing; that is why several sizes come in the box, and the Buds4, for example, have three. For sport, a hook or a clip holds the bud in place: the GOG100 have a hook with a flexible titanium core, for sprints and jumps.
The weight per bud tells you how easily you forget them: under 6 g for in-ear buds and under 10 g for open-ear ones are easy to wear for hours.
Battery: two figures
On true wireless earbuds you see two figures: how long they last on a charge and how long with the case. For sport and the office, 7–10 hours on a charge is enough; for long flights the total matters more. Over-ear headphones, with no case, last longest: the Pods M6 reach 60 hours.
Noise cancelling and high volume shorten battery life, so look at the figures with ANC on if that is how you will use them.
Water resistance
The IP code says how well the earbuds resist water and dust. IPX4 handles sweat and splashes, enough for the gym and light rain. IPX5 handles water jets, for heavy rain. No code on ordinary earbuds means you can swim with them.
If you sweat a lot or run in the rain, choose IPX5 or higher. For the office and home, resistance matters less.
Noise cancelling
Active noise cancelling (ANC) uses microphones that listen to the noise around you and cancel it out. It is very useful on the metro, on planes and in noisy offices, because you can listen at lower volume. On the street and when running, though, you want to hear the traffic, so ANC is no advantage there.
The Pro2 have hybrid ANC up to 42 dB and multipoint, for people who work on a laptop and talk on the phone all day.
Codecs, multipoint and other details
The codec is the way sound is compressed for Bluetooth. Every pair has SBC, AAC is preferred by iPhones, and LDAC gives Hi-Res sound on Android phones that support it. You hear the difference on well-recorded music at moderate volume.
Multipoint means the earbuds stay connected to two devices at once. The Bluetooth version matters less than it seems: any 5.x is fine for music and calls.
In short, by situation
For running on the street: open-ear with a hook. For the gym: a hook or small tip, with IPX5. For the office and calls: open-ear for a whole day, or in-ear with multipoint. For the metro and planes: in-ear or over-ear with ANC. On a small budget: simple true wireless buds that do the basics well.
If you are torn between two types, choose by where you spend most time with them, not by the exceptions.
Every model is in the shop, under true wireless earbuds and noise cancelling earbuds.