Why I like them
While I didn't get a new H3 chip and I was hoping that the charging case would be able to convert into a Bluetooth transceiver to use the buds on a plane with an inflight entertainment system, I did get most of what I was looking for in the AirPods Pro 3. The changes may seem incremental to some folks, but all the key elements such as fit, sound quality and noise cancellation have been noticeably leveled up along with single-charge battery. They're about as close as earbuds get to being complete: excellent noise cancellation, strong voice-calling performance and sound quality that rivals the very best. Few buds excel in all three areas -- and the Pro 3s manage it while packing in plenty of extra features, including their new heart-rate monitoring feature. Read my full review.

Reasons to buy
As I said, these buds are significantly improved in the four most important areas: fit, sound quality, noise cancellation and battery life. The result is that you don't feel like you're making any compromises when buying the AirPods Pro 3 if you're an Apple user.

Reasons to skip/keep looking
While they work with Android devices, you lose many of the AriPods 3's extra features if you're not using them with Apple devices and its iPhones and iPad in particular. They also may just be a little too expensive for many folks.

Why I like them

When Sony set out to design its WF-1000XM5 flagship noise-canceling earbuds, it was looking to address some gripes folks had with their predecessor, the WF-1000XM4 earbuds that came out in 2021. Not only are the XM5s smaller, but they also offer improved performance pretty much across the board, with better noise canceling, sound quality and voice calling performance. Overall they're impressive -- easily among the top earbuds on the market. Equipped with 8.2mm speaker driver units and two new proprietary Sony chipsets (V2 Integrated and QN2e Noise-Canceling processors), the earbuds deliver rich sound with nice detail, clear mids and punchy, well-defined bass. Read my full WF-1000XM5 review.

Reasons to buy

I try a lot of new earbuds but I keep coming back the the WF-1000XM5s because they're just all-around very good earbuds, with strong overall performance and a solid feature set, including LDAC audio codec support for Android users and Sony's Speak-To-Chat feature that automatically lowers the volume of your music and puts the earbuds into ambient sound mode so you can easily have a conversation without removing your buds. Also, now that the buds have been out for around two years, they're often on sale and you can also find well-priced refurbished units.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

While these earbuds are more compact and should be a good fit for more people's ears, they still might not fit some ears. Not everybody will get a tight seal from the included foam ear tips, even though they're available in four size options. Also, note that next-gen Sony WF-1000XM6 earbuds should be coming in 2026.

Why I like them

As far as the hardware goes, the QC Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) look exactly the same as the original QC Ultra Earbuds, although Bose has added a new plum color to the line. There are two small changes. The 2nd Gen Ultra Earbuds now support wireless charging, a feature that should have been available with the originals. The included ear tips now have wax guards, a fancy way of saying there's a silicone mesh that now covers the holes in the tips.

The reality is, they don't seem like a true 2.0 product. But they do feature improved adaptive noise canceling that's truly impressive (it's neck-and-neck with the Apple AirPods Pro 3's noise canceling for the best ANC in a set of earbuds), along with some sound quality enhancements, including a new spatialized immersive audio Cinema mode that widens the soundstage and makes "video content more lifelike" with clearer dialog. The mode also helps with spoken-word audio content like podcasts and audiobooks.

New features available in both the original QC Ultra Earbuds and Gen 2 model include:

• Bose SpeechClarity
• Spotify Tap
• Turn capacitive controls on/off
• General connectivity and stability improvements

Feature upgrades available exclusively to the Gen 2 model include:

• Enhanced adaptive noise cancellation
• Reduced noise floor (the faint hiss in noise-canceling mode)
• Case battery reporting
• Cinema Mode 

Reasons to buy

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra offer a comfortable, secure fit and feature superb noise canceling and excellent sound quality. While the improvements to this model are incremental, it's good that Bose has made some upgrades to an already great set of noise-canceling earbuds. They also work well with both iOS and Android smartphones.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

They're pretty pricey and a little bigger than some earbuds like the AirPods Pro 3 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.

Why I like them

Last year, I awarded a CNET Editors' Choice to Earfun's Air Pro 4 earbuds, saying they were "hard to beat for the money." The same can be said for Earfun's new-for-2025 Air Pro 4 Plus, which also earned a CNET Editors' Choice award. Though these earbuds aren't without a few small shortcomings, those could easily be fixed with future firmware updates. At around $80 on Amazon, the Plus model costs $20 more than the standard Air Pro 4, but features a pretty significant upgrade to sound quality. (Note: Apply the code AP4PCNET at checkout on Amazon to get an additional 10% off.)

Reasons to buy them

The buds are equipped with a new dual-driver system that pairs a 10mm dynamic driver with an "ultra-light FeatherBA" balanced-armature driver that helps improve bass and treble performance. Typically, earbuds with dual drivers cost significantly more (these are the first earbuds that cost less than $100 that I've seen with dual drivers). The Earfun Air Pro 4 Plus also offer a comfortable fit and a pretty robust feature set, along with improved noise canceling that's quite decent. (Read my full review.)

Reason to skip/keep looking

If Earfun could figure out a way to raise the level of the voice-calling performance of its flagship earbuds from a B- to an A- or so, they'd be the almost perfect sub $100 true-wireless earbuds. We'll see if we get some tweaks and small improvements with future firmware upgrades, but as it stands, the Air Pro 4 Plus are still excellent for the price.

Why I like them

A trickle of earbuds from value oriented brands have come out in the last year in collaboration with Bose, which has been gradually expanding its "Sound by Bose" initiative that brings its brand to more affordable headphones and earbuds. Like the Bose-infused Skullcandy Method 360 ANC earbuds, the Baseus Inspire XP1 feature very good sound in a set of comfortable earbuds that share some similarities with Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds, particularly how they fit (they have similar ear tips to the Ultras and the buds fit my ears quite well). Out of the box, they have a fairly balanced, though marginally V-shaped sound profile with slightly accentuated bass and treble and slightly recessed mids (the mids do sound warm and natural). But like Bose headphones and earbuds they're designed to sound good (smooth) with a variety of music genres and they feature strong, punchy bass and relatively detailed sound along with a fairly wide sound stage. Read full review.

While their noise canceling isn't up to the level of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen)'s superb ANC, it's quite respectable, especially for a set earbuds that don't cost much more than $100 (and may dip to $100 during the holiday buying season). The Inspire XP1 are rated for up to 6 hours of battery life with noise canceling on and they have an IP54 water-resistance rating, which means they're splash-proof and dust-resistant. It's also worth noting that they're equipped with Bluetooth 6.1 and Dolby spatial audio, though I didn't notice much of a difference in sound quality when I turned the spatial audio on (there's a mode for music and movies).

Reasons to buy them

The buds are well-designed and sound very good for the price, with solid all-around performance, including good noise canceling and decent voice-calling performance with 3 microphones per bud.

Reason to skip/keep looking

The Earfun Air Pro 4 Plus feature slightly better sound for less. But I like the fit of these buds slightly better.

Why I like them

In a surprise move, Skullcandy has joined forces with Bose to create what's essentially a budget version of Bose's $299 QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. With "Sound by Bose," not only do the Method 360 ANC buds sound better than most earbuds in this price class (they sound very similar to Bose's $170 QuietComfort Earbuds), they also fit comfortably and securely thanks to Bose's Fit Kit system that features stability bands to lock the buds in your ears. While they share many of the traits of Bose's flagship QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, they're lighter and lack the more premium finish of those pricey buds. Also, their noise canceling isn't up to the QC Ultra's best-in-class ANC standard. But it's still effective and better than the noise canceling I experienced with previous Skullcandy earbuds I've tested. Read Skullcandy Method 360 ANC review.

Reasons to buy

While you can find earbuds that sound pretty decent for this price (or a little more), the Method 360 ANC's sound quality is a notch up from what you typically find at this price. Another selling point is that these buds should fit most ears comfortably and securely, thanks to the Bose-like design.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

The Method 360 ANC's biggest drawback is its rather large carrying case. In response to criticism about the case, Skullcandy has released the new Method 540 ANC ($150) with a 20% slimmer case (it is an improvement but is still large) and support for the company's Skull AI feature that requires a subscription. Some people won't mind that the case is bulky, but it may be a deal-breaker for some folks. Also, voice-calling performance could be better, but hopefully, that will improve with firmware updates.

Why I like them

Anker's earlier Soundcore P40 buds have a stand built into their charging case for propping your phone up for video watching. The new-for-2025 P41i not includes an integrated stand but a 3,000-mAh battery and USB-C cable that turns the case into a power bank for charging your phone (owners of older iPhones can also get a version with an integrated Lightning cable that costs $10 more). While the case is a little heavy and bulkier than many earbuds cases, I like the two-devices-in-one concept. Note that while it doesn't offer high-speed charging, it does charge at 10W speeds, which isn't too shabby.

As for the buds themselves, while they lack such extra features as ear-detection sensors that automatically pause your music when you take a bud out of your ear, they offer decent sound with strong bass performance and decent noise-canceling and voice-calling capabilities. The sound isn't as rich or detailed as what you get with more premium buds, but it's respectably smooth and steers clear of any harshness. Battery life is also good: A single charge gets you up to 10 hours of playback time at moderate volumes with ANC on. And if you don't use the case to charge your phone (it will charge an iPhone 16 to about 50%), it has enough juice to charge the buds around 15 times.

Reasons to buy them

You like the idea of combining your earbuds with a power bank to charge your phone in a pinch.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

If you like your earbuds cases small, these probably aren't the buds for you. While the case isn't huge, it's heavier and larger than a lot cases because it does have a 3,000-mAh battery in it. Typically, earbuds charging cases are equipped with 300-mAh to 700-mAh batteries (the AirPods Pro 2's charging case has a 523-mAh battery by comparison).

Why I like them

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro stand out with their excellent fit, impressive sound quality and top-notch voice-calling performance. Though Samsung has added stems (it calls them "blades" and they have integrated LEDs) to these flagship earbuds, this new design works better for more people -- I found the buds lightweight and comfortable to wear. The sound quality is noticeably improved from the previous Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, with superior treble clarity and bass definition, producing a cleaner, more accurate sound. The ambient mode, which lets external sound into the buds, works very well, sounding natural with no audible hiss. And I liked that the buds have their own built-in voice-commands (they do not require a wake word like Google Assistant or Siri), an underrated feature. Read my Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review. 

Reasons to buy

Samsung had some kinks to work out with these buds at launch (they paused shipping them for a time), but they're excellent earbuds, with improved performance across the board. The stem design is a little controversial for fans of previous Galaxy buds, but I like their design and they're essentially Samsung's version of the AirPods Pro 2 but geared towards Android users and Galaxy device owners in particular who can take advantage of a few Samsung-only features like support for its "high-resolution" Samsung Seamless Codec (there's a Galaxy Wear app for Android users).

Reasons to skip/keep looking

While I've used them with my iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone users should probably look elsewhere, as there's no iOS app, meaning all updates and settings are only available via the Galaxy Wear app for Android. Those seeking the absolute best noise cancellation available might be disappointed, as the ANC, while good, is slightly behind what's offered by competitors. Finally, users with larger ear canals may not be able to get a tight seal with the included ear tips (only three sizes are provided). Since the ear tips are custom-designed for these buds, finding compatible third-party options can be challenging.

Why I like them

After Anker confused consumers a bit with multiple versions of its Liberty 4 earbuds at a few different prices, we get the new-for-2025 Soundcore Liberty 5 earbuds. Their sound quality is about the same or a tad better than that of the lower-priced Liberty 4 NC -- it's quite good but not great -- but the adaptive noise canceling and voice-calling performance have noticeably improved, with better noise reduction during calls. The AirPods-like buds fit my ears well and have good all-around performance at a more affordable price than the AirPods Pro 2. While some people may not love the new pinch controls (there's a physical button in the stem), I liked them, and the compact case has a sliding lid that doesn't pop open when you drop the case.

Anker says the buds have 2x stronger voice reduction, which means the buds do a better job muffling people's voices around you (that was the case in my tests). As I said, the sound is good but not great (Anker says the buds have "wool paper diaphragms" and "bass-enhancing tubes"). Out of the box, you get a smiley face sound profile with strong bass, slightly accentuated treble and slightly recessed mids (there's a bit of sibilance in the treble). You can play around with the equalizer settings to improve the sound a bit and optimize it to your preference. Android users should note that buds support Sony's high-quality LDAC audio codec for Bluetooth streaming, while the AAC codec is available for both iOS and Android users.

The Liberty 5 are IP55 splash-proof -- they can withstand a sustained spray of water -- and dust resistant. Battery life is good -- the buds are rated for up to 8 hours at moderate volume levels with noise canceling on and 10 hours with noise canceling off. Though the buds list for $130, we could see them discounted to closer to $100 at some point so long as tariffs don't jump too high.

Reasons to buy

The Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 are solid all-around wireless earbuds that offer good sound quality and improved noise-canceling and voice-calling performance for a fairly affordable price.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

They're a reasonable value at their list price, but I'd ideally like to see them priced closer to $100.

Why I like them

When they're in your ears, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 look a lot like the original Pixel Buds Pro and retain the stabilizer fins that help lock the buds in your ears. But they're smaller than their predecessor and Google equipped them with its new Tensor A1 chip, which offers more processing power and boosts their performance across the board. How you ultimately feel about them will largely depend on how well they fit your ears. That's the case for most noise-canceling earbuds, but with the Pixel Buds Pro 2, if you don't get a tight seal from the included ear tips, there's a massive dip in both sound quality and noise-canceling performance. If you do get a tight seal, these buds deliver excellent sound, strong noise-muffling capabilities and a robust feature set, particularly for Android and Google Pixel phone users. Read my Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 review.

Reasons to buy

For Pixel device owners, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 have some extra appeal because they're designed to work more seamlessly with your Pixel devices (there's automatic switching between Pixel smartphones, tablets and watches) and also feature "Clear Calling" for Pixel smartphones, which does improve voice calling performance a bit. That said, Android owners can take advantage of most of the Pixel Buds Pro 2's features, including hands-free Google Assistant and "Conversation Detect" feature that pauses what you're listening to and puts the buds in transparency mode when you start talking to someone.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

I'll start by pointing out that while buds work just fine with iPhones, iPhone users miss out out several features, so Apple users should probably look elsewhere. From an ergonomic standpoint, the buds' smaller design should provide a better fit for a wider range of ears, but some people may find that the original Pixel Buds Pro fit their ears better. Also, some Android owners may be disappointed that the buds support neither Qualcomm's AptX or Sony's LDAC audio codecs (AAC and SBC are supported). Lastly, it's a little annoying that the white case can pick up stains from objects in pockets, though the case is easy enough to clean off with a alcohol wipe.

Why I like them

The original Powerbeats Pro were released in May 2019, so Beats has had a lot of time to plot how to improve the second generation of its popular ear-hook style true-wireless sport earbuds. And improve they have -- by quite a bit. Not only do they feature a new, more refined design with better ergonomics, but new drivers, a more powerful Apple H2 chip, a new built-in heart-rate sensor and, yes, active noise canceling for the first time in a pair of Powerbeats. And that noise canceling is quite good, as is the sound quality and voice-calling performance -- so long as you get a tight seal from one of the 5 different included ear tips. Read my Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review.

These new Powerbeats Pro 2 fit my ears better thanks to Beats improving the overall ergonomic shape of the earbud and completely redesigned the ear hook -- it's 50% smaller and incorporates nickel-titanium alloy, so it's both flexible and durable. The buds themselves are 20% lighter.

Reasons to buy

Fitness enthusiasts like earbuds with ear hooks so their buds won't fall out of their ears during intense workouts. Typically, such earbuds don't offer the greatest performance, but the Powerbeats Pro 2 have many of the same qualities and features as the AirPods Pro 2 with very good sound along with strong noise canceling and voice-calling performance. In short, they're versatile, also performing well as everyday earbuds. It's also worth noting that while the Powerbeats Pro 2 have some Apple-exclusive features, Beats does have an app for Android users that makes these more Android-friendly than AirPods.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

While Beats has improved the Powerbeats Pro 2's design and ergonomics, they still may not be a comfortable fit for everybody's ears and some people may not get a truly tight seal from any of Beats' ear tips (I had an issue and had to use another set of ear tips from my collection). If you don't get a tight seal, you'll likely be unimpressed with the sound quality and noise-cancelling and may want to return them to the store you bought them from (try to find some alternative ear tips before you do that).

Why I like them

The AirPods 4 are, unsurprisingly, the fourth generation of Apple's original true-wireless earbuds that feature an open design, which means they don't have silicone ear tips like the AirPods Pro 3. Not only do they feature a slightly smaller design and better sound than their predecessor, but they're equipped with Apple's H2 chip that improves overall performance and powers Apple's ever expanding AirPods features, though they don't have the AirPods Pro 2's Hearing Aid mode. Read my Apple AirPods 4 review.

The AirPods 4 comes in two versions: a $129 entry-level model and a $179 step-up model with active noise canceling. ANC is a rare feature for open earbuds because it typically doesn't work with an open design, but these are the first open buds I've tried to have active noise canceling that actually works (it's about half as strong as the AirPods Pro 2's noise canceling and 25% as strong as the AirPods Pro's 3). That's pretty cool and worth the extra $50 if you can afford it.

Reasons to buy

A lot of people don't like having ear tips jammed in their ears and find open earbuds more comfortable (plus, you can hear the the outside world for safety reasons), and the AirPods 4 are made for those Apple users. They also sound very good for open earbuds and feature excellent voice-calling performance along with Apple's spatial audio and likable pinch controls. The AirPods 4 with Active Noise Canceling are more special simply because they feature noise canceling. No, the AirPods 4 with ANC's noise muffling capabilities aren't that great compared with what you get with the AirPods Pro 3 and top noise-canceling earbuds like the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) or the Sony WF-1000XM5. But that it works at all and is reasonably effective is kind of wild because, as I said, noise canceling and open earbuds usually aren't a good mix.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

While their slightly smaller, updated design fits a wider range of ears more securely, some folks may not get a secure fit. The AirPods Pro 3 offer a more flexible fit because they include five different sizes of ear tips. They also deliver better sound with more bass in a noise-isolating design (the AirPods Pro 3's excellent noise canceling is significantly better than that of the AirPods 4 with ANC).

Why I like them

Panasonic's new flagship earbuds, the Technics EAH-AZ100, feature a more compact design than the earlier EAH-AZ80 buds (the AZ100s are 10% smaller and 16% lighter) along with improved sound quality, noise canceling and voice-calling performance. One of the key upgrade here is Panasonic's newly developed proprietary Magnetic Fluid Driver that Panasonic says creates "clean, high-resolution, low-vibration and low-distortion sounds for the most authentic, balanced audio that's true to the original source." This type of driver is found in Technics high-end EAH-TZ700 wired in-ear monitors ($1,200), and it's been miniaturized for use in the AZ100s.

I thought the AZ80s sounded really good, and these new AZ100s sound even better, with clean, accurate sound that brings out details in your music you don't hear with lesser earbuds (Android users get support for Sony's high-quality LDAC audio codec). As for extra features, there's Dolby Atmos spatial audio with head tracking, plus you can pair with up to 3 devices simultaneously (most multipoint Bluetooth-enabled earbuds allow you to pair to two devices).

Reasons to buy

The Technics EAH-AZ100 are among the best-sounding earbuds, so if sound quality is a priority, they should be on your short list. Also, the fact that their noise-canceling and voice-calling performance has improved slightly is icing on the cake,

Reasons to skip/keep looking

While earbuds like the AirPods Pro 2 don't sound as good as these earbuds, they do offer superior noise canceling and voice-calling performance for less money along with an even more robust feature set, particularly for iPhone users.

Why I like them

The Live Beam 3 earbuds look similar to the earlier Live Buds Pro 2, which I liked a lot, especially when they go on sale for less than $100. Essentially JBL's AirPods Pro 2 competitor, their distinguishing feature is the 1.45-inch touchscreen LCD integrated into their charging case that acts as a remote control for the buds and allows you to access their features. Equipped with 10mm drivers, not only do they offer clear, well-defined sound with punchy bass but their noise canceling and voice-calling performance are very solid. Their battery is also good -- they offer up to 10 hours of battery life with ANC on and 12 hours with it off at moderate volume levels (a 10-minute charge gives you four hours of battery life). Available in four color options, they're IP55 splash-proof and dust-resistant.

Note that JBL's flagship Tour Pro 3 earbuds also have an integrated LCD but feature dual drivers, which deliver even better sound than these buds with a little more depth and detail. However, the Live Beam 3 often sell for $50 off their $200 list price, which makes them a better deal overall.

Reasons to buy

The Live Beam 3 are really solid performing, well-designed earbuds that should most ears comfortably. Some may see the the touchscreen LCD as a bit of a gimmick, but it is useful as a remote control for the buds and a differentiating feature.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

My only minor gripes would be that the buds look a tad cheap for their somewhat elevated lists price. Also, the charging case is a bit larger and heavier than most charging cases becauseit has that built-in touchscreen LCD.

Why I like them

Truth be told, in some ways, I like the Sony's new LinkBuds Fit better than its flagship WF-1000XM5 noise-canceling earbuds. While they don't sound quite as good or have noise-canceling that's quite on par with those buds, they're lightweight (4.9 grams) and fit my ears comfortably and securely. Part of that is due to Sony's new Air Fitting Supporters, but it's also redesigned its ear tips and included a wide range of sizes, including XL