Headphones & Earbuds

Headphones Comparisons

Headphones are the piece of tech you wear for hours at a time, so the right pair depends as much on your ears and habits as on sound. This category covers true wireless earbuds (small buds that recharge inside a pocket-sized case) and full-size over-ear headphones, which give up pocketability in exchange for larger drivers, longer battery life and a headband that spreads the weight.

The spec sheet tells you more than you might expect. Active noise cancelling (ANC) and a transparency mode decide how well a pair works on a plane, a train or a busy street. Earbud battery life is quoted twice: once for the buds on a single charge and once including the case, and makers often give separate figures with ANC on and off, so check which one you are reading. Water resistance ratings such as IPX4 or IP57 tell you whether sweat and rain are something to worry about. Weight matters more than it looks: a gram per earbud, or a hundred grams on a headband, changes how a pair feels by the end of a long day.

Compatibility is the hidden spec. AirPods and Beats unlock their best tricks (automatic switching between devices, personalized spatial audio, hearing health tools) with an iPhone. Samsung keeps its high-resolution Seamless Codec for Galaxy phones, and Pixel Buds save some calling features for Pixel phones. LDAC, a higher-bitrate Bluetooth codec supported by Sony, Technics and others, works with many Android phones but not with iPhones. If you move between a laptop and a phone all day, multipoint pairing saves a lot of reconnecting.

Treat every number here as a manufacturer rating rather than a promise: battery times are measured under each maker’s own conditions, and no spec sheet can tell you how a pair will fit your ears. Use the comparisons to narrow the field, then weigh the features you will notice every single day.

81 comparisons