Whether it’s fair or not, Apple’s AirPods have become the default for most iPhone owners in the market for new wireless earbuds. However, if you use an Android phone, the best options aren’t as obvious.
If you’re looking for a new pair yourself, let us help: We’ve tested countless pairs over the years, so we’ve broken down our top recommendations for Android users below. Whether you want powerful noise cancellation, a pair that will last at the gym or just something that plays nice with a Galaxy or Pixel phone, here are our favorite AirPods alternatives for Android.
The Sony WF-1000XM5 accomplish everything we want from a premium set of wireless earbuds. Their small, rounded design should feel comfortable and secure in most ears. They’re also nearly unmatched at muting external noise, thanks to a powerful ANC feature and memory foam eartips that do a remarkable job of passively isolating sound.
They sound great out of the box, especially if you like a warmer profile with louder bass, but you can easily customize the EQ curve through Sony’s app, and they somehow draw out treble-range detail well.
They’re also packed with extra features, including multipoint connectivity, Google Fast Pair, LDAC and spatial audio support, the ability to automatically swap between ANC and ambient sound modes, and more. The wireless charging case is conveniently small, while the eight to 12-hour battery life leaves little to complain about.
Still, the XM5s still aren’t entirely great. The built-in mics aren’t the clearest for phone calls. The IPX4 water-resistance rating could be higher.
Some people might find the memory foam eartips a little too full. They also cost $300, which isn’t cheap. But no other wireless earbud we’ve tested has managed to tick so many boxes.
If you don’t have hundreds to spend, our favorite wireless earbuds in the budget bracket are the Anker Soundcore Space A40. Often priced in the $50 to $60 range, this pair has all the features we’ve come to expect from earbuds costing twice as much: really powerful ANC, multipoint connectivity, wireless charging, eight to ten hours of battery life, LDAC support, decent (if not great) IPX4 water resistance, and a useful ambient sound mode.
They don’t have the most resolution or detail-rich sound out of the box, not surprisingly, but their warm profile delivers pleasant, thumpy bass without completely blowing out the low-end.
If you want to add more treble presence, you can customize the EQ via a clean and easy-to-read companion app. The actual earpieces are small, round, and comfortable, too.
The main trade-off is call quality, as the built-in mic can lose your voice in noisy environments and doesn’t handle sibilant sounds very well. There’s also no wear detection feature, so your music won’t automatically pause when you remove the earbuds.
They also don’t support Google’s Fast Pair technology, although the earbuds should remember your device and reconnect automatically after pairing for the first time. But for the price, it’s hard to complain.
Determining which set of headphones has the “best” audio quality is always a fool’s errand – ultimately, it will come down to personal preference. But if we had to pick a pair we particularly liked for music, we’d go with the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4.
These have a slightly warm but detailed and engaging sound profile that instantly sounds good with most popular music.
The low-end is a little overemphasized, but bass is perfectly controlled, while instrumentation sounds clear on most tracks thanks to a fairly neutral midrange.
The treble is a little weak, so vocals or cymbals don’t always sound as bright as some might want, but it’s smooth. In general, the ease of default tuning makes it easy to tweak in Sennheiser’s app. The pair also supports high-res codecs like aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive, which should help it reproduce some finer details with reasonable music files.
Apart from that, Sennheiser’s earbuds are well-built and IP54-rated, plus they can connect to two devices simultaneously. Battery life is also competitive at around seven or eight hours per charge.
That said, the adaptive ANC, while good, isn’t on the level of the Sony WF-1000XM5 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. Call quality also isn’t as clear as Sony’s pair, and the design can feel bulky if you have smaller ears. There’s no Google Fast Pair support either.
With an MSRP of $300, they’re not cheap, but if you like a little bass and care about audio quality more than anything else, the Momentum is a nice premium alternative to our top pick.