Top picks for iPhone 2024 earphones

If you love Apple and use multiple iOS devices, it seems silly to stray away from the Apple ecosystem, especially as they all work together in perfect harmony. If you decide to add the Apple AirPods Pro Gen 2 to your iOS collection, you’ll get some peace and quiet courtesy of the ‘two times’ noise canceling capabilities of the earphones, improving upon the previous model. Given how comfy these buds are, it’s never been so easy to sit and listen to your music for hours on end. The most important thing to remember is that, as is the case with other iOS devices, you need to pay the Apple tax.

The powerful H2 chip is key to all of this, including its spatial audio capability, allowing you to enjoy movies and TV shows with an approximation of surround sound that many other devices just can’t compete with. The AirPods Pro Gen 2 also boast a great sound profile, with crisp high-frequency sounds and hefty bass, capable of loud volumes without distorting or getting uncomfortable.

Plus, the Airpod Pro Gen 2 come in a suitably premium case featuring a tiny speaker so that you can set off an alarm when you’ve misplaced your pods (again). The case is also Magsafe wireless charging equipped and has a hole if you want to attach the case to a lanyard (or adorn it with a bunch of old-school phone charms). With the high-quality materials and the sleek design of the white case, these definitely earn their price point.

Finally, AirPods are compatible with the ‘Find my iPhone’ app, so you can keep a close eye on your beloved earbuds. They even vibrate when you try to track them down, meaning you can always hear them should they get lost in your couch.

Sony has been a big name in the audio game for a while now, so it should be no surprise that the brand’s AirPods alternative is high on this list of the best earbuds for iPhone. With a build made up of recycled materials and discrete noise canceling features, these earbuds might be just as expensive as their Apple counterparts, but they’re also just as reliable.

They also have great touch controls and a quick pause when taking out an earbud when you quickly need to chat with a pal. The Sony WF-1000XM5 also features touch-sensitive controls, so it’s easy to tap your earbuds to control your music and take calls. This is alongside fantastic ANC, allowing you to take in that tremendous audio quality in peace.

Finally, Sony has a proprietary headphone app and audio profile settings so you can customize your sound to your heart’s content. Coupled with the astonishing sound quality, these devices boast some of the best sound on the market. That explains the major price tag that comes with these earbuds.

An improvement on almost any previous Samsung Galaxy earbuds, these newest additions to the team bring a lot of neat changes for Samsung users. If you own several Samsung devices like a smartwatch or TV, it’s very easy to move between devices and keep your favorite sound profiles.

They also look professional with their single-color design, though they do fit into ears at a slightly odd angle. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro also features one neat mechanic for anyone who uses their phone a lot, as they use accelerometers to detect where you’re pointing your head. If you spend too much time staring down, the headphones notify your device, telling you to give your poor neck a break and look up straight again. I know I could use these after spending hours on Coin Master.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro doesn’t feature the industry-leading sound of Sony or Sennheiser, but they still have a clear and concise profile with great noise separation for music. Much like other devices in this price range, they also feature fantastic noise canceling and splash resistance so these are probably better for use in day-to-day life and during gym workouts than in the studio truly inspecting your soundscapes.

Sennheiser is a market leader in sound quality. Up until recently, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 earbuds boasted some of the best wireless audio on the market, with a few drawbacks. Well, the king has returned, and the True Wireless 3 improves on audio and ANC. It even starts at a lower price.

Unlike some gaudy earbuds, the Sennheiser’s look and feel sturdy and professional, and feel great to wear for extended periods. The True Wireless 3 earbuds have a comfortable build and these handy wing tips, that keep the buds firmly in your ear during exercise as well as keeping a lot of noise out alongside that brilliant ANC.

But the star of the show is the astounding audio quality, boasting an incredible frequency range that still managed to clearly separate instruments and sounds no matter the volume, This dynamic audio can also be fine-tuned within the Sennheiser earbud app for all you audio perfectionists.

The new case now features wireless charging, which, alongside the slightly smaller earbuds and case does mean the buds are more portable. However, the case is still a fair amount larger than some others on the market, though this does give you around 20-something hours of overall battery. If you also want to connect to several devices at once, the True Wireless 3 headphones allow you to quickly move between devices. The downside is you can’t use multiple at once like some other pairs on the market.

Sometimes you need a cheap and cheerful pair of headphones that are reliable, comfortable, and still boast some neat features. This is where the Jabra Elite 3 slots into our list of the best earbuds for iPhone, and they absolutely achieve the goal of a fantastic overall ‘budget’ device.

The sound is fantastic for the price range, though there’s some slight hissing at low volumes and a bit of a dull distortion to the lower ends, but they are still perfectly capable of pumping out some belting tunes. These tend to dip towards being quite bass-heavy, but the handy Jabra app does allow you to adjust your preferences, just not quite to the minutiae of a Sony or Sennheiser pair of earbuds. But, the sound is dynamic, clear, loud, and feels great for the price point. You can’t get better without spending some serious money folks.

The Jabra Elite 3 also comes in a variety of nice colors, and while they do look slightly cheaper than some, they are still nice to look at. They are compact and fit nicely into the ear, and the smaller case might not have wireless charging, but they can reach up to over 20 hours of charge, around 6-7 hours in one single stint. Basically, these are likely the best earbuds under $100.

One thing we love doing on our iPhones is gaming, and if you want to balance great gaming earbuds with some great sound quality, then the Razer Hammerhead Hyperspeed Pro earbuds are a premium choice with some fancy features. The earbuds arrive with a USB-C 2.4hz adapter allowing for superfast audio connections, perfect for gaming.

Plus, if you’re a streamer who likes a fancy touch, the Razer Hammerhead earbuds feature an RGB light on either earbuds, ready to dazzle people on the bus or to help light up your frame while playing games on Twitch. You can set them to phase between colors, or instead react to sound for a real display. Make sure you read our Razer Hammerhead Pro Hyperspeed review for more.

Sometimes it’s just easier to be in the Apple ecosystem, and if you can’t quite stretch to the AirPod Pros, then the regular AirPods are still a good fit that can easily slot into your life. They’re very small and portable at least, though they don’t have the comfort of their larger counterpart, and sometimes feel a little loose when they sit in the ear.

However, they are great as day-to-day earbuds, with unique features like spatial audio, which adds a bit of atmosphere to your YouTube viewing habits. The sleek AirPod case also barely makes a dent in your pockets, and the addition of MagSafe charging makes these earbuds even more convenient. However, for wired charging, they still need the Lightning cable connection.

This entry of our list of the best earbuds for iPhone holds around 6-7 hours of consistent sound a charge, and at least three times that with the charger. Plus, you can easily control your music by tapping them, and even quickly access Siri to utilize the functions of your phone. While the sound quality is good, it’s not impressive, and there’s no active noise cancelation, either. But if you’re an Apple user, the Apple AirPods are still a great choice thanks to their form, function, and convenience.

What sets the Beats Fit Pro aside from other earbuds is the fact that they deliver an AirPod-like experience at a lower price point. If you’re looking for an earbud that boasts active noise cancellation, hands free Siri on iPhone, and spatial audio support, these are a great choice. 

Like AirPods, the Beats Fit Pro have a H1 chip, which can be used to access a wide range of iOS features, such as audio sharing and automatic switching. The H1 chip also allows users to speak to Siri using voice commands, in addition to being able to set up the buds on the location tool, FindMy. 

Designed to be used for workouts, the Beats Fit Pro earbuds are snug-fitting and are made to remain securely in the ear, regardless of what you’re doing – whether you’re gaming on your iPhone or doing a workout, these buds should remain in place. 

One of the best features of these earbuds is their active noise cancellation and transparency mode, which allows you to switch between total noise cancellation and transparent cancellation, where you can still hear some exterior sounds.