Sure, you can buy an adapter to use wired headphones with your iPhone 12 or any of the latest iPhones, including the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14, that don’t have a headphone jack. But most people are looking for a pair of wireless earbuds or headphones to use with their new iPhone, whatever model it may be.
As we’re all quite aware, Apple offers buds and headphones under its own brand and its Beats brand (yes, Apple owns Beats), and we’ve included the AirPods 3, AirPods Pro 2 and Beats Fit Pro on this list, but there are plenty of non-Apple-branded Bluetooth headphones and earbuds that work really well with iPhones, as well as other Apple devices and non-Apple devices, including Android smartphones and tablets.
For those looking for more budget AirPods alternatives, we’ve got a list of the best cheap earbuds and five true wireless earbuds worth buying for under $40.
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Battery Life
Rated up to 6 hours
Noise Canceling
Yes (ANC)
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
Wireless earbuds
Water-Resistant
Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)
The new AirPods Pro (2nd generation) are powered by Apple’s new H2 chip, which delivers more processing power while being more energy efficient, according to Apple. The new chip, combined with new low-distortion drivers, allows for improved sound that offers better clarity and depth. The noise canceling is also improved — Apple says the new AirPods have “double” the noise canceling of the original AirPods Pro. Additionally, the new AirPods add an extra hour of battery life, up from five to six hours with noise canceling on. Plus, a speaker in the case that emits a sound that helps locate your buds via Find My should they decide to hide from you.
Read our Apple AirPods Pro 2 review.
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Earfun has put out a series of wireless earbuds over the last couple of years with one important commonality: They’re very good values, made more so by frequent discounts. The company’s new-for-2023 Earfun Air Pro 3 earbuds feature the latest Qualcomm QCC3071 system-on-a-chip with aptX Adaptive for Android and other devices that support the new LE Audio standard and LC3 audio codec, which is superior to the SBC codec (they also support AAC for Apple devices).
Lightweight and comfortable to wear — I got a good seal with the largest ear tip size — these aren’t a huge upgrade over the Earfun Air S, but they are better. They have slightly larger wool-composite drivers (11mm versus 10mm), slightly improved noise canceling and better battery life (up to seven hours with noise canceling on, according to Earfun).
In short, the Earfun Air 3 deliver strong performance for their modest price, with robust bass, good clarity and a relatively wide soundstage. They also pack in a lot of features, including a wireless charging case and “multidevice” connectivity. (I could pair them to two devices simultaneously but had to pause the music on one device and hit play on the other for the audio to switch.) They’re IPX5 splash-proof and also work well (though not exceptionally well) as a headset for making calls.
Note that after you activate the instant 10%-off coupon at Amazon, adding the code EAP3CNET at checkout gives you an additional 20% off, bringing the buds’ price down to $56.
Read our Earfun Air Pro 3 review.
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While the Beats Fit Pro (on sale for $160) technically aren’t AirPods, they’re built on the same tech platform as the AirPods Pro (yes, Apple owns Beats). Unlike Beats’ earlier and less expensive Studio Buds, the Beats Fit Pro include Apple’s H1 chip and have most of the AirPods Pro’s features, including active noise canceling, spatial audio and Adaptive EQ. I’d venture to call them the sports AirPods you’ve always wanted. And for some people, they might just be better than the AirPods Pro.
Read our Beats Fit Pro review.
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Battery Life
Rated up to 10 hours
Noise Canceling
Yes (Adaptive)
Multipoint
Yes
Headphone Type
Wireless earbuds
Water-Resistant
Yes (IPX5 — protection against low-pressure water streams)
Over the years, JBL has put out some decent true-wireless earbuds, but nothing that really got me too excited. That’s finally changed with the arrival of the Samsung-owned brand’s new Live Pro 2 and Live Free 2 buds. Both sets of buds — the Live Pro 2 have stems while the Live Free 2 have a pill-shaped design — offer a comfortable fit along with strong noise canceling, very good sound quality and voice-calling performance, plus a robust set of features, including multipoint Bluetooth pairing, an IPX5 splash-proof rating and wireless charging.
The Live Pro 2 and Live Free 2 are equipped with the same 11mm drivers, six microphones, oval tubes and oval silicon tips. Aside from the design, the biggest difference between the two buds is battery life; the stemless Live Free 2 is rated for up to seven hours, while the Live Pro 2 is rated for 10 hours. The Live Pro 2 is available in four color options.
Read our JBL Live Pro 2 first take.
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Battery Life
Rated up to 9 hours
Noise Canceling
Yes (ANC)
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
Wireless Earbuds
Water-Resistant
Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)
Unlike the “open” LinkBuds, the LinkBuds S are traditional noise-isolating earbuds with tips you jam in your ears. They’re more compact and lighter than Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM4 and also feature Sony’s V1 processor. While their sound and noise canceling don’t quite measure up to the XM4’s, they’re close and cost less. They’re the Sony buds for people who can deal with larger buds like the XM4 but want 80 to 85% of those buds’ features and performance for $80 less.
Read our Sony LinkBuds S review.
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Battery Life
Rated up to 12 hours
Noise Canceling
No
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
Wireless earbuds
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
I didn’t think I’d ever see a version 2.0 of Beats’ once-popular BeatsX neckband-style wireless earphones, but it’s arrived with a new name — the Beats Flex — and a much-cheaper $50 price tag, which is half of what its predecessor had been selling for.
The Flex instantly becomes an affordable, Apple-friendly wireless alternative to the AirPods, which start around $100 for the standard version with a wired charging case (but will be selling for as low as $99 this holiday season). The good news is they sound better than both the original BeatsX and standard AirPods. They also work well for making calls and have better battery life than the original. The bad news? The design is passe in a world now dominated by true wireless earbuds.
They’re available in black or yellow at launch, with gray and light blue arriving in early 2021.
Read our Beats Flex review.
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Battery Life
Rated up to 32 hours
Noise Canceling
Yes (ANC)
Multipoint
Yes
Headphone Type
Over-ear wireless headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
When you have a product that a lot of people love, change can be risky. Such is the case for Sony’s WH-1000XM5, the fifth generation of the 1000X series headphones, which were first released in 2016 as the MDR-1000X Wireless and have become increasingly popular as they’ve improved with each generation. Over the years, Sony has made some tweaks to the design, but nothing as dramatic as what it’s done with the WH-1000XM5. Other than the higher $349 price tag most of those changes are good, and Sony’s made some dramatic improvements with voice-calling performance as well as even better noise canceling and more refined sound.
Read our Sony WH-1000XM5 review.
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Battery Life
Rated up to 20 hours
Noise Canceling
Yes (ANC)
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
Over-ear wireless headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
Yes, they’re expensive, but the AirPods Max deliver richer, more detailed sound than lower-priced competitors from Bose and Sony. They also feature arguably the best noise canceling on the market along with premium build quality and Apple’s virtual surround spatial audio feature for video watching. While they’re heavy, they manage to be surprisingly comfortable, though I did have to adjust the mesh canopy headband to sit a little more forward on my head to get a comfortable secure fit when I was out walking with them. They should fit most heads well, but there will be exceptions.
Read our Apple AirPods Max review.
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Battery Life
Rated up to 25 hours
Multipoint
Yes
Headphone Type
Over-ear wireless headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
The QuietComfort 45 has virtually the same design as its predecessor, the QuietComfort QC35 II, which many people considered one of the most comfortable over-ear headphones — if not the most comfortable. It has the same drivers, according to Bose, and the buttons are in the same place. However, there are small but notable changes. First off, these thankfully have USB-C instead of Micro-USB.
Secondly, the microphone configuration is different. Not only have the mics been shifted on the headphones, but there’s now an extra external microphone for voice pick-up, which means the QC45 has a total of six microphones, four of which are beamforming and used for voice. By contrast, the QC35 II has a total of four, two of which are used for voice. (The Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 also have six microphones total.)
These headphones are excellent for making calls. They’re similar to the Bose Headphones 700 in that regard. They also include top-notch noise canceling and multipoint Bluetooth pairing, so you can connect them with a PC and your phone simultaneously. Read our Bose QuietComfort 45 review.
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Featuring excellent sound, improved noise canceling and voice-calling performance as well a smaller, more refined design that includes stabilizing fins (so the earbuds stay in your ears more securely), the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 are among the best new true-wireless earbuds for 2022. They’re also one of the best true-wireless earbuds overall, giving the Sony WF-1000XM4 a run for the money.
Read our Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 review.
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David Carnoy/CNET
Battery Life
Rated up to 6 hours
Noise Canceling
No
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
Wireless earbuds
Water-Resistant
Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)
Take one look at the new design of the third-gen AirPods ($179), and the first thing you’ll probably think is: “Those look like the AirPods Pro without ear tips.” You wouldn’t be wrong. While they’re more fraternal than identical twins, the AirPods 3 are shaped like the AirPods Pro, with the same shorter stems and same pinch controls as those of the Pro. Aside from the design change, which should fit most ears better than the AirPods 2nd Generation (though not very small ears), the biggest change is to the sound quality: It’s much improved. Also, battery life is better, and the AirPods 3 are officially water-resistant.
Read our Apple AirPods 3 review.
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These Are the Absolute Best Earbuds of 2022
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