Best true wireless earbuds: the best truly wireless AirPod alternatives around

Best True Wireless Earbuds Buying Guide: TechRadar's round-up of the best true and truly wireless earbuds you can buy on any budget in 2018.

Wires aren't the best, we're the first to admit. They tangle up in your pocket, get caught on zippers when you're not paying attention and slap your neck while working out. We'd have ditched them earlier if we could've, but for a long time their sound quality and design just weren't up to par with their wired siblings.

Thankfully, however, those days are behind us.

The latest batch of true wireless earbuds not only sound just as good as their wired counterparts, but they are now just as reliable thanks to some major improvements in wireless technology. These headphones may be a bit more expensive, but that additional upfront cost pays for the convenience of living cable-free.

Ready to cut the cord? Here are the best true wireless earbuds available today.

True wireless vs wireless, what's the difference?

Before we dive too deep down the rabbit hole, we should cover the whole true wireless vs wireless discussion happening in the audio world right now.

Wireless headphones, as a form factor have existed for some time now - basically since Bluetooth as a standard was invented. For years they went largely unrecognized by the audio community because Bluetooth, despite being ultra-convenient, didn't do the best job transmitting music at a high enough resolution. That changed with the advent of aptX - a codec that allowed for higher bitstreams at lower latency.

While aptX was changing the game for the whole of the audio community, audio manufacturers were working on an entirely new form factor: True Wireless.

True Wireless has no cords whatsoever. While wireless allowed us to wear headphones a few feet away from our music players, True Wireless cut the cord between the earbuds out completely, giving us true range of motion.

The jury is still out on whether they're called true wireless or truly wireless, but the idea is exactly the same – you won't find any cables to weigh these headphones down.

What's the best true wireless headphone?

If you want a pair of high quality truly wireless earbuds that aren’t the Apple AirPods, then the Jabra Elite 65t should be at the top of your list.

After spending over a month with them, we came away impressed with the well-rounded package that Jabra managed to create: The earbuds offer a subtle, mature look and a reliable wireless connection, which isn’t always the case with truly wireless earbuds. Plus, they sound great compared to the competition.

If you only have the budget for one of these, go for the Elite 65t.

Read the full review: Jabra Elite 65t

If you're more the athletic type, the Jabra Elite Sport are currently the ultimate true wireless earphones for runners and other kinds of athletes. There’s a heart rate sensor on the right earpiece, letting it monitor your exertion level as you exercise.

A Jabra companion app lets you track your exercise, and you can kick off a workout by pressing a button on one earpiece, and the heart rate tracker is more reliable than most wrist-worn models ... as long as you fit the Elite Sport buds properly.

The Jabra Elite Sport don't perch in your ears, they fill them rather like a custom moulded earphone. As a result sound isolation is excellent and the fit very secure.

To sweeten the deal, Jabra recently updated the Elite Sport to boost stamina to a better-than-average 4.5 hours per charge - more than enough to get you through your weekly workouts - before hanging up the towel.

Read the full review: Jabra Elite Sport

The NuForce BE Free5 wireless earbuds show just how accessible truly wireless headphones are today. For around $100 (about £75, AU$134) they feature a more polished design than the more expensive BE Free8, and even sound better to boot. However, we found the left earbud would drop out briefly more than we’d like, and we hope NuForce can address this issue.

The connection dropouts combined with the frustrating controls keep it from claiming the top spot on our list, but the BE Free5 offer undeniable value in the truly wireless headphone market.

Read the full review: Optoma NuForce BE Free5

Sony’s first pair of true wireless headphones, the Sony WF-1000X, were divisive. Some thought they didn’t offer enough bass. Others said they had too much. Some said they cut out or unpaired periodically. Others simply never had that problem. Criticisms came hard and fast from all corners of the internet and the only reasonable conclusion one could make after sifting through all of the noise was that Sony’s headphones just couldn’t please everyone.

Now, Sony’s second-generation true-wireless headphones - the Sony WF-SP700N - are here to try it again. These true wireless headphones are better tuned for the low-end and they’re stable in almost every situation. They still offer very modest active noise-cancellation tech and a sweat-resistant PX4 rating, and the new charging case is aesthetically pleasing if not radically different in functionality from before.

Read the full review: Sony WF-SP700N

Nothing about the Optoma NuForce BE Free8 stands out but that’s actually a good thing. Its understated design flies under the radar, sound quality is good and battery life is excellent. A single charge will yield 4 hours of music playback but the changing case can charge the earbuds 3 times, giving a total of 16 hours of playback before the headphones and case need charging.

Sound quality is slightly warm and soft, but works well for a variety of music. Audiophiles won’t be pleased but for most people, the NuForce BE Free8 will do the job. Its excellent noise isolation also make these great for commuters.

For the money, the Optoma NuForce BE Free8 are an excellent value in the truly wireless headphone segment. These headphones do the basics so well they’re easy to recommend for those who want to try truly wireless earbuds.

Read the full review: Optoma NuForce BE Free8

Considering it's still rare to get noise-cancellation in wired earbuds at all, the fact that Sony has managed to pack it into a pair that are not only wireless, but true wireless is very impressive indeed.

The Sony WF-1000X manage to offer a level of noise-cancellation that's very good for a pair of earbuds - it won't offer the same isolation as a pair of over-ear cans, but if you're after a sleek form factor then the compromise is worth it.

Beyond the noise-cancellation the earbuds continue to impress. Battery life is an acceptable 3 hours (acceptable for true wireless that is), with a further 6 provided by the charging case, and sound quality is rich and full.

Our only real reservation with the headphones is an occasional spotty connection between the two earbuds themselves (which rarely lasts for as much as a full second), and a lack of volume controls on the earbuds themselves (instead your options are limited to playing, pausing, and skipping your music).

Still, if you're after noise-cancellation and decent sound quality with your earbuds, then the WF-1000X are the way to go.

Read the full review: Sony WF-1000X

Let’s get one thing out of the way – the B&O Beoplay E8 are one of the nicest-looking and most expensive wireless earphones you can buy.

At $299 (£259, AU$449, AED 1,199) you can throw in a bit more cash and splurge for one of our favorite noise-cancelling headphones, the Bose QuietComfort 35 $349 (£259, AU$499, AED 1,449), which give you better battery life and a richer sound. But if you’re looking for a something to take to the gym and have the cash to burn, then the Beoplay E8 might be just what you’re looking for.

While you won't find noise-cancellation here, you will find a longer-lasting battery life of around four hours alongside Bluetooth 4.2. The E8 come with a stylish carrying case, and you can tweak the sound to your liking using the accompanying Beoplay app on Android and iOS.

Even without tinkering around with ToneTouch, the E8 sounds crisp and clear. Bass feedback will depend on how snug you’re wearing the E8s, but was acceptable for earphones of this size. If you’re able to look past the price point, then then Beoplay E8 is a great investment. It’s super compact, offers great audio, and looks great - what more could you ask for?

Read the full review: B&O Beoplay E8 Wireless Earphones

One of the earliest true wireless sets of earphones is still among the best. The Onkyo W800BT arrived to demonstrate these kind of earphones could sound much better than AirPods, and they continue to flatten most of the competition for sound quality.

Richer, wider and with much better stereo separation and ‘air’ than most, these are a truly satisfying listen. The cohesiveness and detail of the mid-range also hugely outclasses most other earphones of this kind. What else did you expect from Onkyo?

The only snags are that their wireless performance is not perfect, especially when you compare them to newer, cheaper models, its battery life of three hours per charge is only worth a shrug, and the charger case isn’t as neat as some.

Still, if sound quality matters most they are winners regardless.