True Wireless Earbuds Awards 2024 | Best Earbuds You Can Buy! (In-Depth)

all right welcome back everyone for the annual earbuds Awards 2024 for those who don't know this is an in-depth look at all of the very best true wireless earbuds on the market right now I've broken this down into key categories since we all have different priorities for earbuds it seems obvious that sound quality would be a major factor but others may prefer to focus on aspects like workouts noise cancellation or phone call Quality I've spent months testing for all of these factors and More in multiple scenarios and I've ranked earbuds based on their performance including the best overall around 200 pairs of earbuds were tested for this video and not just the new releases either I've also retested everything to account for all the new features and software updates since last year's video and we've got some very interesting results for this year's lineup let's get into it we'll start things off with active noise cancellation as always I'll give a brief overview for our Runners up and a more detailed look at the winner in third place we have the huawe freebuds Pro 3 a massively underrated earbud I guess largely because of the company's issues with the us but an excellent performer all around these narrowly missed out in other categories ranking fifth for the mic quality top 20 for sound quality and they sit in fourth for the overall performance they're a truly complete package so we're starting off strong in fact they take almost every box spec-wise a fantastic control scheme including wearing detection a compact case with wireless charging and a feature packed app experience not to mention the exclusive bonus features for Huawei devices but the noise cancellation is what gets them into this video and it is truly special beating the likes of Sony Jabra and Technic the earbus can block a phenomenal amount of noise and without an artificial hiss there are plenty of different modes to change thec level including adaptive and the transparency mode here isn't half bad either the sound quality here is also energetic with full bodied base and a pleasingly wide Sound Stage you can find these for around $250 online but I managed to get them for just £150 here in the UK in second place and hanging on to its position from last year is Apple's second generation airpods Pro now I wouldn't necessarily recommend these to Android users because there are just so many exclusive Apple features on the other hand that's specifically why an iPhone user should consider these because you simply cannot get those features or that experience with any other pair of earbuds I had a venience category in last year's video to specifically highlight this and that iPhone airpods Advantage is never going to change still even on Android you can benefit from the Fantastic Comfort cool quality and ANC the airpods pro offer they have class leading transparency as well since last year we've had the introduction of the Adaptive A&C mode as well as conversation awareness which even gives Sony speak to chat a run for its money in terms of intelligently adapting to your environment Apple now does it best and there's only one company that's able to beat them when it comes to noise cancellation and that's our winner which to absolutely nobody's surprise whatsoever is the Bose quiet Comfort Ultra now I'll be completely honest the Bose qc2 earbuds from last year technically take second place as well that's how good Bose's ANC is and so little has changed with the ultra model that you could easily swap in the twos instead I just wanted any one Bose's entry for this video to keep things more interesting these follow a very similar design to the qc2 earbud bus so it's still a relatively big and bulky earbud that's surprisingly a lot more comfortable than they look the fit is slightly improved now thanks to a new earin design that holds them in place securely it makes using the touch controls a bit easier as well especially swiping for volume the Bose ANC is simply in a league of its own though it's astonishing how much noise these earbuds can block out it very closely matches that of the QC 2s so much so that only one in every 10 scenarios I tested did I call a win for the Ultras so if you own the already you definitely should not upgrade for the ANC you can set up different ANC modes in the app including a neat transparency feature that protect you from loud noises but incredibly Bose still doesn't let you turn off a ANC to save on battery you can only balance the slider between ANC and transparency this topped my list of three changes I'd not just want but have expected in a so-called Ultra model the next was an improvement to the relatively light ipx4 protection rating especially now that these are stable enough to use for most workouts and the third one is the lack of wireless charging this case is easily big enough for it but if you want to add wireless charging to the earbuds you've got to buy separately this ridiculous expensive silicon cover to go on the outside Bose I'm sorry but this isn't it on the plus side the mic quality is slightly better this year and that was certainly a weakness for the qc2 last year it's still not great because they let in quite a lot of background noise which can muffle your voice but at least it's an improvement the new additions with the ultra earbuds include Google Fast pair and supposedly multipoint is coming later with an update though as of late March we still don't have that more significantly though we now have Snapdragon sound which includes both apte's adaptive and the new lless codec and also Bose's immersive audio that's their 3D headtracking spatial audio feature we saw with their QC Ultra headphones and as spatial audio goes the tracking in the 3D placement is actually very effective here even without Snapdragon sound though I found there was a small sound quality improvement this year the treble I found lacking with the qc2 seems to be restored and the base can hit slightly harder but this is very much still Bose's clear distinctive sound signature and very few earbuds actually sound like this that's great news for Bose lovers but it is difficult to stray from this sound with Bose's limited Three band EQ and they still sit far outside of that audio file grade category for me if you're a regular Commuter or taking a long haul flight you probably won't find better earbuds than this but the upgrades are only slight over the qc2 so I'd honestly pick up whichever model you find cheaper which is going to be around the $250 Mark the next category is workouts so we're focusing on factors like water resistance and durability the fit in your rear and easy to use controls in third place we have last year's winner the LG tonef free tf8 these are such a great allrounder if you want them to double up as your daily earbuds as well they're great for that the only real weakness is the mic quality for phone calls but there are three key features that make them great for workouts the first is the design these vented wing tips are breathable and help to secure them in place in your ears the touch controls also work surprisingly well even when wet but can be disabled entirely if you prefer the second is the IP67 water resistance the ability to fully submerge them underw gives you complete peace of mind and the third is LG's UV nanotech which uses UV light to kill bacteria on the ear tips obviously ideal for workout earbud and this is a unique feature to LG these come with a long 10hour battery life a ANC in transparency and a feature packed app you can find them discounted under $120 now so they remain one of the best value Sports earbuds you can buy in second place is potentially my hot take but hear me out Bose's Ultra open earbuds I know these weird looking guys aren't going to be everyone's cup of tea and I was ready to write them off myself until I tried them the unraveling design not only means they can fit any ears but they provide a truly unshakable fit they're not clamping they're actually super comfortable and easy to forget about but what's great is they will not drop with even the most vigorous exercise that really surprised me for me they're far superior to huawei's free clip mainly because of the tactile button which is so easy to use intuitive and includes volume control without sacrificing another important function but also because of the sound quality as open earbuds go the sound is surprisingly Rich Bassy and reaches loud volume levels there's a loudness style EQ that automatically keeps things consistent at different volume levels and I'd happily use these as my daily earbuds as well the open nature of the design means you of course don't have any isolation from noise in your surroundings and the sound will leak a little bit too that's a deal breaker for some I know but for those wanting to keep an awareness of their surroundings when working out for those who don't want an earbud that goes in or hooks around their ears these have been ideal a $299 I'm not going to say that these are great value for money but right now there's nothing on the market quite like this I was genuinely shocked at how much I ended up liking them and how great for workouts they turned out to be but the workouts winner this year is jabra's Elite 8 active in my full review of these I described jabra's comeback their latest models bring significant improvements in particular with the sound quality the eight active feature Jabra Shake grip technology essentially the Silicon material enveloping the earbud that aims to stop them moving during exercise and I personally find the fit is very secure here the tactile button controls can be fully customized and offer greater Precision than touch controls especially when wet or when wearing gloves they're a very strong performer for noise cancellation should you wish to block out your surroundings the Deep inar fit helps with passive isolation too and since my full review jebra has added a wind noise reduction feature there is also a custom level you can set for hearr or transparency to enable spatial awareness these earbuds are the durability King with both an ip68 dust and water resistance rating but also military grade thermal and shock testing even the charging case is ip54 rated Jabra calls these the world's toughest earbuds and they may well be though if you actually read the fine print for that claim it's kind of funny you're getting a pretty complete spec sheet too both with connectivity you get handsfree Google Assistant control as well which is still uncommon but especially with the battery life 14 hours on a single charge is right up there with the market leaders and more than suited to any ultr long workouts the case supports fast and wireless charging as well for added convenience I was surprised when I first reviewed these that the mic quality didn't live up to jabra's previous earbuds they're not bad at all and they actually isolate your voice really well in fact there was an update only a couple of days ago to specifically improve this now I found from my testing it didn't really improve much at all and they didn't climb any places in the leaderboard so this are still just a of the pack performer when it comes to phone calls the Elite 8 active are the best sounding option from the workout list and as mentioned are a significant step up from Jabra predecessors you get clean clear and reasonably well balanced sound with perhaps just a slight base boost but that's a tuning that those exercising tend to prefer and the Five band EQ gives you flexibility to both Crank that even further or to add in some more clarity with a treble boost they're not challenging the market leaders but to most people they're going to sound really good oh and there's spatial audio here too if that's your kind of thing the lack of any wing tip to guarantee stability in the ear May mean these don't work for you you only get three ear tip sizes in the box and everyone's ears are different the Deep fit in your ears can infringe on Comfort after a while as well but I certainly can't deny how the specs and features set the eight actives up to be the ultimate workout earbuds right now you can find these now for around $160 that point about Jabra only including three ear tip sizes in the Box leads me nicely onto today's sponsor spinfit spinfit makes a huge variety of highquality ear tips ranging from the super fine series for airpods pro to the CP 1025 for those who like a more shallow inar fit to the universal Omni series for a deeper more immersive fit I've said this before the fit is everything when it comes to earbuds not just for keeping them secure in your ears but it can transform the sound and noise cancelling experience too what I especially like about these is not just the huge range of sizes but how the dimensions are all clearly labeled to help you find the perfect fit and whether these will fit in the charging case before you buy the Dual layer design provides a comfy soft texture on the outside for your ears whilst the inner layer secures the tip to the earbud itself to avoid that annoying issue if the ear tips falling off and getting stuck in your ears best of all though is the patented 3D axis which allows the ear tips to conform to your specific ear canal for a perfect fit that's really the game changer it sucks when you find a pair of earbuds that you love on paper but but you just don't get on with any of the included ear tips well that's exactly what spinfit is there for I mean they rescued Sony's Mark f for me so if you want to level up your listing experience these are well worth checking out and I'll have links to these down in the video description our next category is for phone calls and it was surprising seeing just how many newer entries replace those nearer the top the general quality is improving and yet so few could penetrate the final three one that did though caught me by surprise and that's edifies neuds Pro 2 is it just me or did these kind of go under the radar well if you weren't considering them before you should now top 15 for sound quality top 20 forc 10th overall no major changes with the design on the earbuds or the case sadly that also means the unresponsive touch controls return as well though at least we now have wearing detection but aside from that and the relatively poor 5H hour battery life everything else is pretty great solid connectivity specs even stronger noise cancellation and of of course even better mic quality the microphone quality with the original neads Pro is okay they're a middle of the pack performer but there is a substantial step up and quality with this new model low background noise and your voice comes through loudly and clearly these use a four mic system as opposed to three and the improvements this brings to the mic quality and to thec actually are pretty great sound quality steps it up a Gear 2 with even better Clarity you still get that Dynamic Sound with powerful base and crisp treble and the result is fantastic sound quality there's a comprehensive EQ in the app to make fine tweaks along with a spatial audio setting game mode and the adjustment for the light bar on the case the neuds Pro 2 are the upgrade most companies only pretend their successory buds are they're an excellent allrounder fantastic for cool quality and right now they're in absolute steel for under $100 retaining second place is sound cor Liberty 4 these offer an interesting squeeze control gesture along with personalized audio and a andc through sounda here ID feature a major selling point is the excellent Comfort but you also get great battery and connectivity specs and even heart rate tracking they sit in the top half for categories like sound quality and noise cancellation and you have a lot of customization options for both of those in the app but the mic quality Remains the standout feature they just have such good rejection of background noise during calls now there are some earbuds that will do better when it comes to having your voice sounding natural on a call like Sony's Mark 5s for example but almost all earbuds will sound good in a silent room whereas these although they can sound a bit robotic will isolate your voice really well even in a noisy environment so no matter where you are no matter what situation you're in these will likely serve you well for phone calls the sound here is super clear and crisp with very bright treble by defaults that you may want to tone down but with the powerful Punchy Basse and a little EQ work these can sound really good in all honesty I'd argue the Liberty 4 NC are the better buy overall but this is the mic quality category and the Liberty 4 are still sound cor's best option for sound and easily for the mic quality you can find these discounted right now for $89 but the mic quality winner once again is one Moos Evo I know it would have been more interesting if our top two mic performers were different from last year and I repeated the tests in various scenarios and settings in windy conditions and without and In fairness to the evos they came out on top every time has anything changed since last year's video no not really the app is still a bit buggy sound ID remains inconsistent and there's still no single tap gesture or much control customization really the only new thing is the Smart loudness feature for optimizing the sound at low volumes but that doesn't mean these aren't still a strong earbud all round the design remains gorgeous with the ceramic and metal build and the charging case is still one of the most premium yet compact on the market the earbuds themselves have a nice ergonomic shape and offer good Comfort you've got convenient wearing detection and wireless charging and a healthy 8h hour battery life they're starting to show The Rage with Bluetooth 5.2 but at least offer Google Fast pair multi-point and the high res lat codec the noise cancellation and transparency performance is starting to fall behind now but both are still effective and you've got a lot of options for these I don't think these will disappoint with the sound quality though they're really well balanced and offer a clean and natural sound experience the base is Punchy and well controlled and I like how the slightly forward vocals breathe some life into your music but just like the sound called Liberty 4 it's the mic quality that ends up stealing the show also like the Liberty 4S you might not have guessed that based off of this mic sample alone as I said there are earbuds that have a more natural sounding voice but they often end up getting drowned out when you've got loud background noise the evos will often completely isolate your voice and with very little Distortion and muffling to your voice and I'm yet to come across another pair of earbuds that can do this as effectively six of the current top 10 for calls are new this year and yet none of those could replace our top two performers from last year I guess it's refreshing to see earbuds maintain a lead for longer than 12 months for a change and best of all you can get the evos for just $87 now almost 50% off the next category is sound quality for lots of you that's the big one and there are some very interesting results this year in third place is Sis's momentum true Wireless 4 which appear to be almost exactly the same as their predecessor the same shape size fit in the ear and comfort levels the new metallic finish is the only way to visually tell them apart the responsive touch controls return the app features and experience are pretty much identical it's not a big upgrade at all the only obvious changes are the upgrade to Bluetooth 5.4 which includes Le and orar support along with Snapdragon sound and the new Apex lossless codec some dust protection has been added as well and the battery gets the tiniest boost but nothing substantial I found the noise cancellation and the mic quality were almost the same as before the four sit literally one place ahead of the threes for a and c and only gain four places for phone calls but what about sound quality obviously the apex's lossless codec can bring you higher quality transmission but most of you won't have a phone that supports this anyway so what you'll get is a near identical experience to the momentum true Wireless 3 and that's not a bad thing at all the sound is Rich expressive and offers a huge range of customization as with their predecessor I greatly benefited from Sis's sound personalization which help boost the clarity in treble and I think that's where if anything there's a tiny improvement with this new model if you own the Gen 3s though you definitely don't need to upgrade the two sit literally one place apart from each other for sound quality for that reason my advice would be to grab the model you find cheaper which is likely the previous one both sound fantastic though and the new true Wireless 4S can be found for just under $300 in second place is the bang and olivon Bop play ex yes this does indeed mean that last year's winner has been dethroned which is no mean feat this is one of the most luxury and expensive pairs of earbuds on the market for this metal charging case alone they look stunning but don't compromise on functionality they're comfortable and fit securely the touch controls are responsive and they have a surprisingly high durability rating they've got strong connectivity and battery specs as well but they are let down with both the ANC and the mic quality these earbuds are clearly designed for one specific purpose which is is listening to music and that's where they Excel You could argue that no true wireless earbuds belong in an audio file category but there's a distinctive Step Up in quality with the B play ex that deserves recognition they're beautifully balanced offer incredible detail and instrument separation and a wonderfully natural controlled Bas response these are tuned towards audio files by default but you still get flexibility to tweak the sound to your own preference in the app last year I said you can justify paying the $400 price tag for these you could then say I own the very best sounding true wiress earbuds that might have changed this year because I think we have a new winner the best sounding true wireless earbuds are the DVA Gemini 2 now just for full disclosure the original Gemini earbuds still sound fantastic and would have placed in third ahead of the momentum 4 again I just didn't want two from the same company and since the original Gemini are showing their age now I would recommend Sennheiser instead anyway this second gen model though brings some improvements first of all the this premium design is now 40% smaller which greatly improves comfort and how securely these fit in your ear the ear tips still sit fairly deep in the a canal which is excellent for Passive noise isolation but some may not enjoy that sensation I can still wear these comfortably for a few hours though and I like how the responsive touch controls offer far better customization now the redesigned charging case is Miles better as well far more compact more premium and it still keeps wireless charging one of the hugely underrated aspects is the noise cancel ation these rarely get considered with other big names but they actually break into the top 10 which is impressive so the ANC is great the transparency mode is improved as well and quite natural sounding but in a strange downgrade there's no more neutral mode in other words you now can't turn offc or transparency which is such a weird thing to take away in fact the battery life is now slightly lower this year up to 5 hours as opposed to six so maybe adding this feature back would help there I really hope a software update can address this the mic quality remains an area of weakness though it is significantly improved the original Gemini mics were frankly terrible but the second gen version are a lot better there's improved active wind noise production here but they still l in quite a lot of background noise so overall the performance is only average the connectivity specs are improved though adding in multi-point support the satisfying instant switching or hijack mode version of multipoint and Bluetooth gets bumped up from 5.0 to 5 5.2 obviously that's quite significant but I would really have hoped for at least Bluetooth 5.3 and perhaps more surprisingly there are still no highres codecs now this is a good opportunity to remind ourselves that actually the codec is far less important than the earbuds hardware and the tuning when it comes to sound quality even without a highr codec the sound is truly spectacular if you took the B play ex as a baseline Gemini 2 adds in a touch more clarity and instrument separation to your music The Sound Stage feels slightly wider as well and one of the more significant aspects is the volume these are substantially louder than both Sennheiser and B's earbuds they can reach deafening volume levels the other two still get plenty loud enough for me but there is an aspect I get asked about often and there's a clear difference the six-band EQ offers good customization for fine-tuning the sound I prefer a treble boost and you could argue these aren't quite as well balanced as the B play EX in the stock settings however there's a potential here to elevate the sound to slightly higher levels and that for me is enough to award these first place I said last year that a second gen version of Gemini with the same Great Sound but modern specs might be worth waiting for they might not have gone as far as they could have in terms of modernizing the entire spec sheet but they've done enough and more importantly they've earned the title of best sounding earbuds on the market but the best does not come cheap because these are available for an extortion at $449 just before we come to our final category all performance in third place is the jabber Elite 10 a nearb I've reviewed in full already on the channel so there is a more detailed look available if you're interested great comfort is a key selling point and is a result of both good ergonomics and also these angular ear tips that don't sit deep in the ear canal you still get a strong acoustic seal but they don't plug your ears as most earbuds do they also use physical button controls I know that can be the deal maker for lots of you along with wearing detection and hands-free Google Assistant combining this with the excellent ip57 protection rating a comprehensive app experience packed with features and customization options and you've already got a package that most earbuds can't rival these are jabra's best noise cancelling earbuds and they sit just outside of the top five for andc the customizable hearr is almost as good the mic quality doesn't quite match up to Jeb's previous high standards but will still be plenty good enough for most situations this was the only pair I tested that could far exceed its battery life claims as well it's quoted 8 hours but I was pushing 11 with my testing Beyond this there's support for Bluetooth 5.3 and low energy multipoint and Google Fast pair highres codecs are really the only thing missing here that doesn't seem to impact the sound quality though which far exceeds any of jabra's previous offerings the sound is really clean relaxing and well balanced the base is warm and Rich and the highs never Verge on sounding too harsh but the clarity doesn't suffer either you've got options for Dolby Atmos spatial audio along with a custom EQ q and the volume levels can get pretty loud as well the elite 10s aren't as good for sports as the eight active we saw earlier but are a more complete overall package you can find these heavily discounted right now for $187 in second place is our top performer from last year Sony's link buds s to this day these earbuds are underrated they have one of the most complete overall features sets borrowing the vast majority from Sony's Flagship a000x series they have an edge on design being super small and comfortable but they don't compromise on performance they remain in the top eight for the mic quality top 20 for a andc and just outside for sound quality it's unique features like quick attention and speak to chat that make these such a joy to use the touch controls are responsive and highly customizable and they offer hands-free voice assistance as well whether you're on iOS or Android it could even be both thanks to multipoint support these are arguably the best option simply for convenience with an ipx 4 protection rating up to 9 hours of battery life and high res codec support it's a pretty complete package the crisp and clear sound quality punches well above its weight for earbuds in this price range as well the link buds s remain a fantastic allrounder you can currently find these discounted under $150 which probably makes them the best option at this price but our 2024 earbuds Award for best overall earbud goes to Technic a80 these grabbed headlines for being the first and I believe are still the only earbuds to have three devices multipoint but the feature set goes far beyond this with an app packed to the brim with customization options and personalization tweaks many of which you won't find another earbuds they have a great ergonomic shape to optimize comfort and the seal in your rear responsive touch controls and wearing detection along with built-in Alexa control both the a ANC and transparency modes offer custom sliders as well and the performance is very good these are a top 10 performer for noise cancellation and offer great passive noise isolation as well plus the transparency mode is and clear too these are one of the stronger entries for the mic quality as well they sit in the top 20 and they do a particularly good job of isolating your voice from louder background sounds I think the wind noise rejection whilst on a call is quite good as well so overall these are a good choice for phone calls I said in my full review of these that they have Market leading connectivity and I think that's probably still true looking at the vast number of features obviously about to starting to get Bluetooth 5.4 now but until phones can actually support the as well it remains a future proofing step only so these are definitely right up there battery life is a solid 7 hours withc though this does drop down if you're using the L codec and the case does support wireless charging these sit just in the top 10 for sound as well you've got high reses 24-bit quality and the overall sound signature is Lively energetic and detailed the Basse response is deep and Powerful but the mids remain clear with prominent vocals and then the treble is actually slightly recessed in the stock settings you can easily unlock crisp highs with one of the many EQ options and for you Bas heads there's a super Bas plus EQ as well they sound fantastic are quite versatile and I can't see anyone having any complains having reviewed these in full I'm honestly not surprised at all to see the azat come out on top each earbud gets a score with my ranking system that accounts for every aspect of an earbud but places an emphasis on those categories people tend to care about more and the az80 have a strong lead they're just such a great performer all around really the only weakness I can see is potentially the price you can find these now for just under $300 what I will say about all of the earbuds we featured today is that price did not factor into the ranking system intentionally so prices fluctuate discounts often vary by country the awards video is just to highlight the best performers on the market right now as always I'll follow up this video throughout the year with the best earbuds in various price brackets because there are loads of fantastic performers that didn't quite make the cut here but that are definitely worth checking out still most of us will have a budget in mind when purchasing earbuds so I think a best value earbuds video is well worth making too obviously I couldn't give full reviews here and only covered the earbuds very briefly so if you have any questions about these or maybe one of the hundreds of other earbuds that didn't make the cut I'll do my best to answer all of them down in the comment section I'll have links with the current prices and any available discount codes in the video description as well okay that was a lot to cover and honestly these videos do take a lot of work to put together so if you found this helpful in any way I'd really appreciate it if you could give the video a like do subscribe if you want to see more content like this as well it's what we do here but make sure you hit the Bell icon so you actually get notified when new videos go live I've got a 100K subscriber Q&A video planned next and I'm trying to collect as many questions as I can for that so please check out the post on the community tab for details because I need your help all right thank you very much for watching and I'll see you in the next one

Channel: InsideTech

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Keywords: InsideTech, inside tech, True Wireless Earbuds Awards 2024 | Best Earbuds You Can Buy! (In-Depth), best wireless earbuds, true wireless earbuds, airpods pro 2, sony linkbuds s, insidetech, InsideTech earbuds awards, earbuds awards, earbuds awards 2023, true wireless earbuds awards 2023, 1more evo, review, beoplay ex, lg tone free tf8, devialet gemini 2, best earbuds 2024, earbuds awards 2024, InsideTech earbuds awards 2024, earbuds, awards

Id: owNyKtbqvzI

Length: 31min 37sec (1897 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 30 2024