Noise cancellation is an increasingly common feature of true wireless earphones. If you want to block out the world around you, check out the best noise-cancelling wire-free earbuds we’ve tested.
Apple popularized the true wireless earbud category when it launched the original AirPods back in 2016, so it’s no surprise that interest in pairs with noise cancellation has ballooned since the release of the AirPods Pro. Noise cancellation helps to block out sound around you, both passively by sealing off your ear canal and actively through specialized circuitry; the latter method is called active noise cancellation (ANC). The good news is that many pairs perform better than we expected and, in a few cases, are even fantastic. The unsurprising news is that, just as with standard wired and Bluetooth headphones that offer noise cancellation, there are definitely some stinkers out there. To help you figure out which pair is right for you, let’s explore some of the basics of true wireless and noise-cancelling technology and run through our current favorite models. Apple AirPods Pro What Are True Wireless Earbuds? The term true wireless (as it relates to earphones) refers to any in-ears that have two distinct earpieces without a cable connecting them. These cable-free pairs also come with a portable charging case. Most pairs get only about five to six hours of audio per charge—add in ANC and the lifespan gets lower. As a result, most cases include two full extra charges or more. True wireless earphones can seal off the ear canal (this is usually the case, as it offers a more secure fit and better audio quality), or they can sit just outside the ear canal, with an open design, like earbuds. We have yet to review a pair in this latter style that we love—typically, not sealing off the ear canal results in average-at-best audio. That’s why we’re bigger fans of the AirPods Pro (which seal off the canal and have ANC) than we are of the standard AirPods (which don’t seal off the canal, don’t have ANC, and offer a less consistent user experience).
