Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds review: Sounds familiar
Last year's earbuds learn some new tricks, but the experience is largely the same
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Beats Studio Buds+ review: The Toyota Camry of earbuds
If you've never uttered the word "mids" in your life, the Studio Buds+ are for you
I’ve enjoyed watching the evolution of Beats over the last few years. After starting as gaudy bass goblins with questionable build quality, Beats has focused on refining its image, resulting in better-balanced products worth considering. A great example of this transition are the Beats Studio Buds released in 2021. The Studio Buds produce above-average sound quality and have solid battery life, making them a contender for our list of best earbuds.
Sony SRS-XB100 review: A Bluetooth speaker made to tag along
Hang on tight, though really not all that tight
The Sony SRS-XB100 is an update to the company’s compact, carry-along XB12 and XB13 portable Bluetooth speakers. The new XB100 keeps a very similar design but has some under-the-hood upgrades and a new tether for attaching the speaker to your gear for on-the-go listening.
SoundPeats Capsule3 Pro earbuds review: Premium sound, not-so-premium price
Hard plastic and a mediocre app are the only things holding these earbuds back
The wireless earbud market has exploded in recent years, with more good options than ever before. Not all of those quality picks are pricey, either: with 12mm drivers, low-latency gaming mode, and active noise cancelation for a bargain-bin MSRP of $70, the SoundPeats Capsule 3 Pro are a good pick for anyone looking to save a buck on their next pair of true wireless earbuds.
WiiM Pro review: The Chromecast Audio Ultra we never got
Add all kinds of streaming smarts to your dumb speakers
Smart speakers are a dime a dozen anymore, and a lot of them sound great. But many of us still have regular ol' dumb speakers kicking around, plenty of which easily outperform their smarter cousins on audio quality. The $149 WiiM Pro streamer bridges that functionality gap by adding support for streaming audio through Chromecast, Alexa, AirPlay, and more to legacy audio setups. It won't appeal to everyone, but I think this thing is great: it's more or less the Chromecast Audio Ultra I've always wanted Google to make.
Apple HomePod (2nd gen) review: A great speaker with frustrating limitations
Not just the usual Apple caveats, either
There’s no shortage of killer smart speakers that you can talk to the Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa through, but if you’re after Apple’s Siri, your only option is to go straight to the source. Apple’s second-generation HomePod is the company’s current flagship smart speaker, offering booming sound and deep ecosystem integration at a premium $300. It’s plenty capable, but unless you’re living the full Apple lifestyle, the HomePod probably isn’t for you.
Jabra Enhance Plus review: Closer to my $5,000 hearing aids than I thought
The hearable devices are incredibly capable — it’s just a shame they’re only compatible with iOS for now
I’ve been wearing hearing aids since kindergarten, and it’s incredible how much this technology has changed over the last quarter-century. My first hearing aids were clunky and big, and I had to rely on an external FM microphone to better hear my teachers at the front of the classroom. Contrast that to my current set of Phonak Audéo M70, which are almost invisible and offer native Bluetooth audio and phone call streaming, no specialized hardware needed. However, the Phonak Audéo I have are at the higher end of the price spectrum, and people who are just starting their journey to better hearing may be reluctant to get devices this specialized and expensive. Enter the Jabra Enhance Plus.
When it comes to smart speakers, there are many great options, but for ones that also function as a smart home hub, there are really just two names: Amazon and Apple (though Google is starting to make some noise with their offerings). Amazon seems to have a stranglehold between its full-sized, if somewhat elderly Echo, the newer Echo Dot (5th Gen), the Echo Show, and Echo Studio, along with all the older discounted generations of each model that’s still available.
HP Poly Voyager Free 60+ review: Great — if somebody else is paying
They're pricy, but it's justified by great sound and features
It’s easy to find great true wireless earbuds, but most of them feel very similar, lacking anything interesting to stand out from the crowd. However, Poly’s new Voyager Free 60 series is taking a stab at enlightening the experience with a case featuring touchscreen controls and a mind-blowing set of features. While these buds are marketed toward corporate buyers, and even feature certifications for the top video chat services, they’re pretty great for just about everybody, as long as you can stomach the price — or get your employer to cover it.
Master & Dynamic MH40 Wireless (2023) review: Finally worth the price
The second-generation wireless headphones sound better and run longer
Master & Dynamic has released a rebooted version of its MH40 Wireless headphones for 2023, promising improved sound quality thanks to new custom titanium drivers along with a healthy boost in battery life, new mics, and a few other small but useful improvements like AAC support and removable ear pads.
My first few days with the Sonos Era 300 were frustrating, and it had nothing to do with the matte black speaker failing to blend in with my living room's messy decor. My right ear was blocked and everything sounded muddled, including the Dolby Atmos-mastered tracks I desperately wanted to find as compelling and straight-up better than whatever stereo mixes Spotify had been spitting out of various connected speakers for years. My first impressions of the Era 300 (and the smaller Era 100), in a small crowded Manhattan office officiated by the Giles Martin, made me hopeful that spatial audio — nascent, but not an entirely new concept to me at the time — was as transformative as Sonos wants it to be.
EarFun Air Pro 3 review: Budget buds that punch above their class
Feature-packed and rich audio — two keys that make for killer budget buds
If you’re asking yourself whether a cheap pair of wireless earbuds can offer similar quality to options costing two to three times as much, I have news for you. The EarFun Air 3 Pro are shockingly cheap for a pair of earbuds that appear to offer so much from a quick skim of the feature list, and they hold up impressively well.
H2O Audio Tri Multi-Sport review: Bone conduction headphones for land and sea
A great option for extreme athletes
The H2O Audio Tri Multi-Sport are a unique pair of headphones from a pretty unique company. Only a few manufacturers out there offer waterproof headphones for swimming and even fewer focus on bone conduction options for the water. Well, H2O Audio is one of them and the Tri Multi-Sport are bone conduction headphones that can spend as much time in the water as on land as they’re fully waterproof. In fact, as the name suggests, these headphones are meant for the activities involved in a triathlon, meaning you can run and bike with them and then take them into the water.
Not too long ago, affordable true wireless earbuds were a rarity, and good ones were rarer still. Today, though, it's not unusual to see earbuds that cost $150, $100, or even less sporting desirable features like active noise cancelation and multipoint connectivity. Jabra's Elite 4 earbuds, which launched in March 2023, cost just $100, and offer audio quality and ANC that are both better than they need to be for the price. They may not have every bell and whistle you're after, but if all you really need is solid audio and ANC, the Jabra Elite 4 might be for you.
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd gen) review: Some restrictions apply
Surprise: Apple's earbuds aren't nearly as good outside Apple's ecosystem
We're spoiled for choice when it comes to great earbuds. Legacy audio outfits like Bose and Sennheiser, not to mention pretty much every company that makes Android phones offer compelling options. But while many individual manufacturers make buds that work best with their own phones, Apple takes it a step further with AirPods, which are made expressly to be used with iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
OnePlus Nord Buds 2 review: Same great flavor, now with ANC
The original was already very good, it just needed a few adjustments
OnePlus set a high bar with last year’s release of the Nord Buds, which are generally some of the best budget wireless earbuds on the market. They were priced at an almost suspiciously low $39, but delivered pretty clear sound and a set of features that would be good enough for most users. Despite having more expensive and flashier options, they’ve even become one of my go-to pairs of earbuds.
Nothing Ear 2 review: Better sound, same crummy battery life
A step in the right direction, but Nothing's still got some kinks to iron out
Nothing's first pair of earbuds, the Ear 1, came to market in 2021 with a unique look and a very appealing $99 price tag. After a midlife price increase, though, they started to look a little dubious, with average sound and weak battery life.
Edifier MS50A Speaker review: Hi-fi meets Wi-Fi, with a side of Alexa
Pump tunes with Spotify Connect, and upgrade your Echo
Odds are pretty high that if you’ve ever shopped on Amazon around Prime Day or any other major shopping holiday, you might have bought an Echo or Echo Dot for nearly free. Or maybe you got one bundled with another smart home purchase.
Jabra Elite 5 review: Standard-issue earbuds
Competent audio and ANC and all the features you need for $150
Flashy flagships may get the most attention from tech media, but there’s something really satisfying about a product that does everything you need it to and nothing you don’t at a price that seems fair. The Jabra Elite 5 earbuds are just that. They offer good audio and ANC, long battery life, and great call quality, plus several convenient features that make them easier to use, all for a realistic MSRP of $150. I think I’ve found my new favorite midrange earbuds.
OnePlus Buds Pro 2 review: Powerful sound at a reasonable price
Not a huge upgrade, but the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 are easy to like
OnePlus has largely shed the flagship killer ethos that once made its phones so appealing to Android enthusiasts, but that spirit lives on in its earbuds. Announced alongside the OnePlus 11, the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 offer robust audio and killer call quality for an upper-midrange price of $179. Their ANC and battery life is only average for this price point, but these earbuds still offer great value.