Headphones
13 products rated across 2 categories · Last updated: 5 Jun 2026
Headphones split into wireless earbuds (in-ear) and noise-cancelling over-ear / on-ear headphones. The right pick depends on use case: commuting and gym for earbuds; flights, open-plan offices, and music listening at home for over-ear ANC. Pick the form factor first, then the platform-matching brand (AirPods for iPhone, Galaxy Buds for Samsung, Pixel Buds for Pixel, Sony for cross-platform).
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Headphones jargon, explained
The acronyms and features you will run into shopping for headphones, in plain English. See the full glossary.
- Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)
- Microphones listen to the world around you and the headphones generate an opposite sound wave to cancel it. Brilliant for plane engine drone and office hum, less effective on sudden or high-pitched noise like a crying baby. The headline feature on premium headphones, and the battery drain that comes with it. More →
- aptX
- A Bluetooth audio codec (the rules for compressing sound over a wireless link) that sounds better than the basic SBC standard, with aptX HD and aptX Adaptive better again. It only works if both the headphones and your phone support it, and most iPhones do not, so check before you pay extra for it. More →
- Transparency Mode
- The opposite of noise cancelling: the headphones pipe the outside world in through their microphones so you can hear a barista or a train announcement without taking them off. How natural it sounds is a real point of difference between cheap and premium pairs. More →