The Best Truly Wireless Earphones That Money Can Buy November 2022 Edition

Picture Credit- MKBHD (Youtube)

The Wireless earphone market has been booming in recent years with companies across the spectrum pitching in with their takes. As a result, the market is as saturated as it has ever been leading to an immense conundrum for an average consumer on which one to buy.

Here we wish to provide a complete guide to buying a pair of truly wireless earphones by compiling a list of the objectively three best earphones in the market right now. The factors for comparison will include Sound Quality, Battery Life, Convenience and additional benefits which the earbuds might give the user.

1. Apple AirPods Pro (2nd gen)

Picture credit - Apple

Released just a month ago the AirPods Pro are the latest and greatest from Apple. On the surface level these seem to be a minor upgrade to the last gen AirPods Pro which was good in its own right but when you start to use the new ones seem that much better. The 2nd gen AirPods Pro sound significantly better and would give even the bulky high-end headphones a run for their money.

The noise cancellation and transparency mode has also been improved from the already best in the class of gen 1 making the gen 2 in a league of their own in this department. The battery life also sees a bump with each bud now having a 6-hour playback time along with 24 hrs given by the Charging case which now supports mag-safe and even apple watch chargers. Even the features which seemed gimmicky to a large majority like Adaptive Noise Cancellation and Spatial Audio produce noticeable positive differences

The AirPods Pro are a no-brainer for anyone using an iPhone and willing to shell out a large sum on class-leading earphones.

These retail in India for a Price of 26900 Rs ( With rarely any discounts)

Pros:

• Excellent Sound Quality
• Impeccable Integration into the Apple Ecosystem
• Unparalleled Convenience for an IOS User
• Best in Class Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode
• Innovative features like Adaptive Noise Cancellation and Find My Device.
• The design is widely recognised and a status symbol.

Cons

• Expensive
• Experience is not as seamless if the user is not using an iPhone or other Apple devices.
• Low customizability of sound profile.
• While on calls mic on the earbuds picks up too much surrounding noise

2. Sony WF-1000XM4

Picture credit: gsmarena

The highest-end offering from Sony is an audiophile’s dream with amazing sound quality and great clarity in vocals. The companion app also provides an unprecedented amount of control over how these earphones sound thus allowing the user to tweak them as per their liking.

The Earbuds alone have a battery life of 8 hours of playback time with an additional 16 hours in the charging case which can be charged using a Qi wireless charger.

The Noise Cancellation on the Sony’s is also among the world's best and does a good job of isolating the user from the surrounding.  These might not provide convenience at par with AirPods but makes up for it with their customizability and sleek low key appearance.

The Sony WF-1000XM4 retail in India for 24990 Rs ( Although, These pair of consistently on discount and can be easily found under 20k Rs)

 Pros:

• Excellent Sound Quality.
• Great Noise Cancellation.
• Wide Variety of controls in Companion App like equalizer, sound mapping etc.
• Sleek under-the-radar design.
• Best-in-class battery life on individual earbuds.

Cons:

• Experience is not as seamless as AirPods with an iPhone.
• Some People might experience ear popping and pressure in their ears when using the Noise Cancellation mode.
• Transparency mode does the job but the voices sound robotic and unnatural.

3. Galaxy Buds 2 Pro

Picture Credit: Samsung

The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are quite literally the AirPods equivalent in the Android world. These pair of earbuds come very close to matching the seamlessness and the ease of use of AirPods along with providing a good sound quality. The noise cancellation in these is also fairly decent although not up to the mark of the two above.

The battery life on these is an acceptable 5 hours on the earbuds and additional 24 hours on the case which has wireless charging. The thing that makes the galaxy buds stand out is its design and build quality, the case is made out of soft-touch plastic which feels very premium and the buds themselves stay comfortably in the ear. The companion's app also provides a slew of customisations to suit the users' preferences.

The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Retail in India for 19999 Rs (Although, these also are widely on discount for around 170000 Rs at the time of writing )

Pros:

• Unparalleled Convenience for an Android User
• Wide Variety of controls in Companion Apps
• Premium feel and build quality
• Fast Wired and Wireless charging

Cons:

• Transparency mode does the job but the voices sound robotic and unnatural.
• Some People might experience ear popping and pressure in their ears when using the Noise Cancellation mode.
• Sound Quality and Noise Cancellation are good but not class-leading.

These earphones, even though they are of high quality, are not affordable for everyone. But, if money is not a barrier for you these earphones are truly no-brainers.

Written by: Shagun Shukla