Deserved or not, Apple has turned AirPods into the default selection for many iPhone homeowners available in the market for brand new wireless earbuds. However in the event you’re one of many thousands and thousands who’ve an Android smartphone, determining which set to seize isn’t as apparent. In case you want a hand, enable us to level you in the suitable route. We’ve examined and reviewed dozens of wi-fi earbuds through the years and damaged down our favourite choices for Android customers under. Whether or not you utilize a Galaxy or a Pixel telephone, and whether or not you need one thing for the fitness center or your morning commute, listed here are the perfect AirPods alternate options for Android.
Desk of contents
Finest Android earbuds for 2025
Lively noise cancellation: Sure | Wi-fi charging: Sure | Water resistance: IPX4 | Multipoint connectivity: Sure (2 units) | Put on detection: Sure | Max battery life (rated): 12 hrs, 24 hrs w/ case | Codecs: SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3 | Guarantee: 1 12 months
Learn our full Sony WF-1000XM5 review
The Sony WF-1000XM5 hit on nearly every thing we wish from a premium set of Bluetooth earbuds. Their small, rounded design ought to really feel comfy and safe in most ears. They’re practically unmatched at muting outdoors noise, because of a strong ANC function and reminiscence foam eartips that do a exceptional job of isolating sound passively. They sound nice out of the field, particularly in the event you like a hotter profile with elevated bass, however you possibly can simply customise the EQ curve by way of Sony’s app, they usually do properly to attract out treble-range element both method. They’re additionally loaded with further options, together with multipoint connectivity, Google Quick Pair, LDAC and spatial audio help, the power to swap between ANC and ambient sound (or “transparency”) modes mechanically and extra. The wi-fi charging case is conveniently tiny, whereas the eight- to 12-hour battery life offers little to complain about.
Nonetheless, the XM5s nonetheless aren’t a whole slam dunk. The built-in mics aren’t the clearest for telephone calls. The IPX4 water-resistance ranking may very well be greater. Some folks may discover the reminiscence foam eartips a bit of too full-feeling. In addition they have a listing worth of $330, which is much from inexpensive. However no different wi-fi earbuds we’ve examined have managed to tick so many packing containers.
- Sturdy, customizable audio high quality
- Ought to be comfy to most
- A great deal of helpful bonus options
- Stellar noise isolation
- Costly
- Reminiscence foam eartips aren’t for everybody
- No battery life enchancment over predecessor
Lively noise cancellation: Sure | Wi-fi charging: Sure | Water resistance: IPX4 | Multipoint connectivity: Sure (2 units) | Put on detection: No | Max battery life (rated): 10 hrs, 50 hrs w/ case | Codecs: SBC, AAC, LDAC | Guarantee: 18 months
Learn our information to the best budget wireless earbuds
In case you don’t have tons of to spend, our favourite wi-fi earbuds within the funds bracket are the Anker Soundcore Space A40. Steadily priced between $45 and $60, this pair has the type of options we’d count on from earbuds that price twice as a lot: genuinely highly effective ANC, multipoint connectivity, wi-fi charging, a stable eight to 10 hours of battery life, LDAC help, respectable (if not nice) IPX4 water resistance and a usable ambient sound mode. They don’t have probably the most resolving or detail-rich sound of the field, unsurprisingly, however their heat profile presents nice, thumpy bass with out completely blowing out the low-end. If you wish to add extra treble presence, you possibly can customise the EQ by way of a clear and easy-to-read companion app. The precise earpieces are small, spherical and comfy as properly.
The principle trade-off is name high quality, because the built-in mic can lose your voice in noisy environments and doesn’t deal with sibilant sounds very properly. There’s no put on detection both, so your music gained’t auto-pause if you take away an earbud. In addition they don’t help Google’s Quick Pair tech, although the earbuds ought to bear in mind your system and mechanically reconnect after you pair them for the primary time. However for the value level, it’s arduous to complain.
- Glorious ANC for the value
- Heat, nice sound
- Comfy and compact
- Good battery life
- No automated put on detection
- Mediocre name high quality
- Would not sound as detailed as higher-end choices (as anticipated)
Lively noise cancellation: Sure | Wi-fi charging: Sure | Water resistance: No IPX ranking | Multipoint connectivity: Sure (2 units) | Put on detection: No | Max battery life (rated): 7 hrs, 47 hrs w/ case | Codecs: SBC, AAC, LDAC, aptX Adaptive | Guarantee: 1 12 months
Learn our full Noble FoKus Rex5 review
Figuring out which set of headphones has the “greatest” sound high quality is a idiot’s errand — on the finish of the day, it’ll all the time come down to non-public style. But when we needed to choose one pair we’ve notably loved for music, it’d be the Noble FoKus Rex5. Its distinctive five-driver design helps it draw out a exceptional degree of element and correctly separate the instrumentation in any given monitor. It’s a balanced sound profile, with tight however not overindulgent bass, a natural-sounding midrange and relaxed highs that don’t fatigue over time. The soundstage is wider than most true wi-fi earbuds we’ve examined, whereas help for LDAC and aptX Adaptive solely help with element retrieval. You may set a private EQ in the event you want it, however we’ve discovered the inventory tuning to go well with any style properly by default.
The FoKus Rex5 helps ANC and multipoint connectivity, whereas its IEM-style, metal-and-acrylic housing matches comfortably within the ear. However you’d purchase it for the sound high quality firstly: Noise cancellation isn’t on Sony’s degree, the ultra-green end isn’t for everybody, the five- to seven-hour battery life isn’t very best and there’s no auto-pausing if you take away an earbud. Most prohibitively, these items are rattling costly at $449. If you need one thing a little much less dear, the Technics AZ100 and Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 are compelling (if bassier) choices as properly. However for self-proclaimed audiophiles with money to burn, the FoKus Rex5 are a deal with.
- Detailed, immersive sound
- Comfy match
- Customized audio profiles that save on to the buds
- Very costly
- Only one colour and it isn’t for everybody
- Subpar ANC efficiency
Lively noise cancellation: Sure | Wi-fi charging: No | Water resistance: IPX4 | Multipoint connectivity: No | Put on detection: Sure | Max battery life (rated): 6 hrs, 24 hrs w/ case | Codecs: SBC, AAC | Guarantee: 1 12 months
Learn our full Beats Fit Pro review
Most of our picks above will work simply fantastic within the fitness center, however in the event you’re shopping for a pair for exercises firstly, strive the Beats Fit Pro. Sure, we’re recommending a set of Apple-made earbuds in an Android shopping for information. However whereas they work greatest with iPhones, most of their AirPods-style options are additionally out there on Android by way of the Beats app. You may pair them with one faucet by way of a pop-up card, view a map with their final identified location, swap between ANC and ambient sound modes from the house display, remap controls and examine their battery degree from the notification tray. There’s no hi-res codec help, however normally the drop-off from iOS to Android isn’t practically as nice right here as it’s with AirPods.
The principle motive we suggest the Match Professional is their light-weight design, which is provided with flexible silicone fins that hold the earbuds safe in place whilst you’re shifting round. Their IPX4 water-resistance ranking isn’t the perfect, but it surely needs to be sufficient for all however the sweatiest gymgoers. (Simply don’t use them within the pool.) We additionally like that the Match Professional makes use of bodily buttons to regulate quantity or skip tracks, since contact controls can really feel finicky if you’re making an attempt to maintain up with a exercise. Their punchy sound is well-suited to the fitness center as properly, with a noticeable however not overwhelming push within the bass and treble. It’s not one for purists, but it surely’s energetic.
In case you aren’t particularly on the lookout for exercise earbuds, you possibly can nonetheless do higher. The Match Professional lack wi-fi charging and multipoint connectivity, and there’s no technique to customise the EQ in the event you don’t just like the default sound. Their built-in mics aren’t something particular for telephone calls, and the five- to six-hour battery life is on the sting of satisfactory. The charging case is considerably giant as properly. Plus, whereas the ANC mode is beneficial sufficient for tamping down the noise of a fitness center, it’s a transparent step down from the perfect choices available on the market.
- Safe match for exercises
- Punchy sound is well-suited to the fitness center
- Bodily management buttons
- No wi-fi charging or multipoint connectivity
- Battery life is simply OK
- ANC is not fantastic however nothing particular
Lively noise cancellation: Sure | Wi-fi charging: Sure | Water resistance: IP54 (IPX4 for case) | Multipoint connectivity: Sure (2 units) | Put on detection: Sure | Max battery life (rated): 12 hrs, 48 hrs w/ case | Codecs: SBC, AAC | Guarantee: 1 12 months
Learn our full Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 review
The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are explicitly designed to work in concord with different Pixel units, so that they’re price contemplating in the event you’re a devoted fan of Google’s telephones. They arrive with a number of helpful bonus options, from remote ringing and a “conversation detection” mode to a customizable EQ and automatic switching between units paired to your Google account. (You additionally get hands-free entry to Google’s Gemini AI bot, although we wouldn’t name that important.) You may nonetheless entry a lot of the Pixel Buds’ perks on different Android units by downloading a separate app, however the entire performance is baked into Pixel telephones natively. This implies you possibly can handle the earbuds, examine battery standing and the like proper out of your system’s settings menus. It’s just like how Apple integrates AirPods with iOS.
The earbuds themselves are completely competent past that, with a tiny but comfy design, respectable ANC for the value, eight-ish hours of battery life, enough name high quality and an pleasing sound with punchy bass and prolonged treble. That stated, you’ll nonetheless get richer audio high quality and extra strong noise cancellation from our Sony and Noble picks above, so those that aren’t all-in on Google {hardware} can be at liberty to look elsewhere.
- Tight integration with Pixel telephones
- Tiny, comfortable design
- Agreeable sound
- Smaller contact panels require precision
- ANC is not on par with Sony WF-1000XM5
Lively noise cancellation: Sure | Wi-fi charging: Sure | Water resistance: IP57 | Multipoint connectivity: No | Put on detection: Sure | Max battery life (rated): 7 hrs, 30 hrs w/ case | Codecs: SBC, AAC, SSC, SSC-UHQ | Guarantee: 1 12 months
Learn our full Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review
Alongside these traces, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are to Galaxy telephones what the Pixel Buds Professional 2 are to Pixel telephones. Utilizing them with a Samsung handset unlocks a number of ecosystem-specific perks, together with the hi-res Samsung Seamless codec, a real-time translation software and a “Recreation Mode” that reduces latency. That’s on high of options like spatial audio, a graphic EQ, a misplaced system finder, adaptive ANC, simplified voice instructions and automated switching between Samsung units.
This sort of walled backyard strategy is irritating; bear in mind when you can plug your headphones into any system and it’d work the identical method each time? However, as with the Pixel Buds and AirPods, the Galaxy Buds 3 Professional are undeniably handy in the event you’ve already purchased into their chosen platform.
The remainder of the package deal will get extra proper than incorrect, although there are some points price calling out. The stem-style design just about rips off the AirPods Professional — that is notably evident with the white end — however provides bizarre, pointless LED strips down the stems. It’s comfy, however Samsung isn’t beating the copycat allegations right here. The ANC isn’t on par with the Sony XM5s both, and the six-hour battery life is shorter than many different premium pairs. There’s additionally no hi-res codec help with non-Samsung telephones. On the plus facet, the ambient sound mode works properly. And most significantly, these items sound glorious out of the field, with full, meaty bass complemented by amply detailed highs and upper-mids.
It’s price noting that Samsung froze shipments of the Galaxy Buds 3 Professional proper round launch attributable to high quality management issues (primarily relating to the inventory eartips), however these look to have been resolved, and we haven’t seen something out of the abnormal with our assessment unit.
- Tight integration with Samsung telephones
- Nice audio high quality
- Cozy match
- Pure ambient sound
- Want a Samsung telephone to get probably the most out of them
- Battery life is shorter than some rivals
- Copycat design with gimmicky LED lights
What to search for in wi-fi earbuds for Android units
A collection of wi-fi earbuds sit organized in rows on a granite background.
(Photograph by Jeff Dunn / Engadget)
For probably the most half, the options you need from a set of “Android earbuds” are the identical as what you need from any headphones. Nice sound high quality, a cushty match and adequate battery life are nonetheless the foundations. Ample water resistance is sweet for exercises, and no person desires a crummy mic for making calls. When you strategy the $100 vary, options like energetic noise cancellation (ANC), wi-fi charging, an ambient sound mode (which helps you to higher hear outdoors noise with out turning off your music) and multipoint connectivity (the power to pair with a number of units concurrently) needs to be anticipated.
For Android units particularly, there are a number of extras to contemplate. A devoted app that makes it simple to modify sound modes, customise the audio profile, find your earbuds in the event that they ever get misplaced or modify different settings is strongly most popular. Options like Google Fast Pair or NFC-based pairing, which may help you keep away from having to dig by way of your Bluetooth menu to attach your earbuds for the primary time, are additionally good perks. Some Android units may also make the most of higher-quality Bluetooth codecs equivalent to aptX Adaptive or Sony’s LDAC — these aren’t practically as essential to audio high quality because the precise structure of your earbuds, however they may help wring out a bit of extra element if the buds are succesful sufficient and also you’re streaming lossless recordsdata. AptX Adaptive may also assist cut back latency, which is sweet for streaming video or gaming.
Variety is Android’s biggest power, but it surely additionally signifies that some wi-fi earbuds play nicer with sure units, usually these made by the identical firm. Current Samsung earbuds, for example, include a number of perks which might be solely out there in the event you use a Galaxy telephone. We have now a few suggestions associated to this concept above.
How we take a look at Android earbuds
Sony WF-1000XM5 assessment
(Photograph by Billy Steele/Engadget)
The easiest way to check earphones is just to put on them as a lot as attainable, in order that’s what we do. We usually do that over a one- to two-week interval, although embargo occasions often drive us to complete our assessment course of a bit quicker. We hearken to a take a look at playlist that features a number of musical genres and podcasts, paying shut consideration to how every pair approaches the bass, mid and treble frequencies to get an correct sense of its sound profile. We additionally take a look at at excessive and low volumes to examine for consistency within the tuning. We wouldn’t have entry to a dummy head to take extra goal measurements, however we’ll generally look to websites like Rtings, SoundGuys and others that just do to make sure our impressions should not wildly off-base. If a mannequin helps customized EQ, we’ll tinker with that and use the out there EQ presets to see if one sounds dramatically higher than the others — although normally we base most of our impressions on the inventory tuning every pair makes use of by default.
To evaluate microphone high quality, we file our personal audio samples and take a number of calls with a companion each indoors and out of doors. For battery life, we play our take a look at playlist on a loop with the amount round 75 % and measure how lengthy it takes for every set to empty. The place relevant, we do a radical assessment of a pair’s companion app and take a look at every out there function. Whereas consolation is in the end subjective, we be aware of how safe every pair feels whereas we’re on the transfer. We additionally use sure pairs in particularly crowded public areas to get a greater sense of their passive and energetic noise cancellation, in addition to their potential to take care of a constant Bluetooth connection.
Current updates
August 2025: We’ve taken one other sweep to make sure our recommendation continues to be up-to-date.
Could 2025: We’ve checked this information to make sure our high picks nonetheless stand and famous a pair alternate options to the Noble Fokus Rex5, since that pair has had inventory problems with late. We’re additionally keeping track of how the Trump administration’s tariff policy impacts the pricing and inventory of our suggestions (and the patron tech trade as an entire). All of our picks are nonetheless out there of their regular worth ranges right now, however we’ll replace this information if that adjustments.
February 2025: The Noble FoKus Rex5 is our new “greatest for sound high quality” choose, changing the Sennheiser Momentum True Wi-fi 4. Our different suggestions stay unchanged.
December 2024: We’ve calmly edited this information for readability and ensured that our present picks are nonetheless correct.
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