10 Great noise cancelling earbuds

The audio industry is a massive, booming part of the retail technology sector, with ever-changing and improving devices that millions of people worldwide use daily. From over-ear headphones to the more recent introduction of earbuds, build and overall quality can vary significantly from brand to brand.

It can be hard to navigate such a saturated sector, but this list will help you sort through a few options and highlight some of the best noise-cancelling earbuds available.

Sony once again proves its credentials as a top audio brand with the new XM5s, an incremental upgrade on the XM4. The buds have a small profile and a slightly tweaked design and now come with wireless charging—just a three-minute charge provides up to 60 minutes of battery life.

These earbuds boast industry recognised premium sound quality, coupled with fast charging and fast connection to Bluetooth devices, working on both iOS and Android.

You can argue a case for the latest generation of the AirPod Pro being Apple’s best audio devices. They’re form-fitting and unlike other AirPod models also feature ear tips, making them great in-ear fits and much less likely to fall out if that’s an issue you have with earbuds.

Plus, they have low-distortion and adaptive audio for crisp, ideal sound, allowing you to even take calls in a busy environment—these are the best buds to get for any iPhone user.

The Beats Fit Pro are relatively new to the earbud scene, a sister model to the Beats Fit buds. These buds feature wing tips, designed for comfort when used in-ear for long periods.

They support spatial audio and head tracking, for immersive sound whether you’re gaming, watching a film or listening to music. In addition, active noise cancelling will help to enhance your audio experience by drowning out external sounds.

In a very competitive and fast-moving sector, it’s no surprise that tech giant Google has also thrown their hat in and has been making earbuds for a few years now. The Pixel Buds Pro are some of their best devices to date, with an oval-shaped case and rounded buds that are easy to control and designed to prevent a blocked ear feeling.

Sennheiser is known in the audio industry for making generally high quality and reliable products and the Momentum earbuds are no different. With a more unconventional and less rounded bud design, you’ll still get adaptive noise cancelling as well as a notable 28-hour battery life with the case.

The Beoplay EQ earbuds have a relatively unconventional design by industry standards, coming with up to 20 hours of battery life with the case as well as USB-C charging.

They come in three main colours and have six built-in microphones for delivering clear and smooth audio with signature Bang & Olufsen bass in addition.

With thicker buds designed to sit upright in the ear, the Bose QuietComfort are a good choice if you find difficulty with having earbuds that don’t fall out of your ears—they also come with stability tips primarily for that reason.

They may come at a premium price but promise to deliver high-quality sound, great noise cancellation and a quick charge feature, providing up to two hours battery life from just a 20-minute charge.

Jabra has been a high-standard player in the audio market but doesn’t quite make as much of a splash in the market as Sony, Apple or Google. Despite this, Jabra regularly iterates on their range of devices and delivers earbuds that can compete with the best in the market.

The 8 Active earbuds are durable, fit comfortably in the ear with three different size eargels. They’re also water and sweatproof, making them perfect for working out at the gym or at home.

Another pair of AirPods make this list and for good reason—the third generation of AirPods feature some improvements from its previous model. They have a shorter stem and contoured design for a sturdier fit in the ear as well as adaptive EQ for producing the best listening experience depending on what you’re listening to.

Samsung’s Galaxy buds are one of their latest audio offerings, providing Hi-Fi sound and an ergonomic design, made for a comfortable fit. They also feature convenient touch controls and intelligent 360 audio for an immersive experience.

The buds also come in white, graphite black and purple.

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