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It’s undeniable that Apple has made AirPods the go-to choice for many iPhone owners in the market for new wireless earbuds. However, for the millions of Android phone users, selecting the right earbuds can be a bit more complicated. If you need assistance, we’re here to guide you in the right direction. After testing and reviewing dozens of wireless earbuds over the years, we’ve broken down our top picks for Android users below. Regardless of whether you use a Galaxy or Pixel phone, and whether you’re looking for earbuds for the gym or your daily commute, here are the best Android earbuds available.
Best Android earbuds for 2025
Photo by Billy Steele / Engadget
Read our full Sony WF-1000XM5 review
The Sony WF-1000XM5 checks almost all the boxes for a premium set of wireless earbuds. Their small, rounded design should feel comfortable and secure in most ears. They’re nearly unmatched at muting outside noise, thanks to a powerful ANC feature and memory foam eartips that do a remarkable job of isolating sound passively. They sound great out of the box, especially if you like a warmer profile with elevated bass, but you can easily customize the EQ curve through Sony’s app, and they do well to draw out treble-range detail either way. They’re also loaded with extra features, including multipoint connectivity, Google Fast Pair, LDAC and spatial audio support, the ability to swap between ANC and ambient sound modes automatically, and more. The wireless charging case is conveniently tiny, while the eight- to 12-hour battery life gives little to complain about.
Still, the XM5s aren’t a total slam dunk. 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-feeling. They also cost $300, which is far from affordable. But no other wireless earbuds we’ve tested have managed to tick so many boxes.
- Strong, customizable audio quality
- Should be comfortable to most
- Loads of handy bonus features
- Expensive
- Memory foam eartips aren’t for everyone
- No battery life improvement over predecessor
Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget
Read our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds
If you don’t have hundreds to spend, our favorite wireless earbuds in the budget bracket are the Anker Soundcore Space A40. Frequently priced between $45 and $60, this pair has the kind of features we’d expect from earbuds that cost twice as much: genuinely powerful ANC, multipoint connectivity, wireless charging, a solid eight to ten hours of battery life, LDAC support, decent (if not great) IPX4 water resistance, and a usable ambient sound mode. They don’t have the most resolving or detail-rich sound of the box, unsurprisingly, but their warm profile offers pleasant, thumpy bass without totally blowing out the low-end. If you want to add more treble presence, you can customize the EQ through a clean and easy-to-read companion app. The actual earpieces are small, round, and comfortable as well.
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 no wear detection either, so your music won’t auto-pause when you remove an earbud. They also don’t support Google’s Fast Pair tech, though the earbuds should remember your device and automatically reconnect after you pair them for the first time. But for the price, it’s hard to complain.
- Excellent ANC for the price
- Warm, pleasant sound
- Comfortable and compact
- Good battery life
- No automatic wear detection
- Mediocre call quality
- Doesn’t sound as detailed as higher-end options (as expected)
Billy Steele for Engadget
Determining which set of headphones has the “best” sound quality is a subjective task — at the end of the day, it’ll always come down to personal taste. But if we had to pick one pair we’ve particularly enjoyed for music, it’d be the Noble Audio FoKus Rex5. Its unique five-driver design helps it draw out a remarkable level of detail and properly separate the instrumentation in any given track. It’s a balanced profile, with tight but not overindulgent bass, a natural-sounding midrange, and relaxed highs that don’t fatigue over time. The soundstage is wider than most true wireless earbuds we’ve tested, while support for LDAC and aptX Adaptive only assist with detail retrieval. You can set a personal EQ if you need it, but we’ve found the stock tuning to suit any genre well by default.
The FoKus Rex5 supports ANC and multipoint connectivity, while its IEM-style, metal-and-acrylic housing fits comfortably in the ear. But you’d buy it for the sound quality first and foremost: Noise cancellation isn’t on Sony’s level, the ultra-green finish isn’t for everyone, the five- to seven-hour battery life isn’t ideal, and there’s no auto-pausing when you remove an earbud. Most prohibitively, these things are damn expensive at $449. If you fancy yourself an audiophile and have cash to burn, though, they’ll be a treat.
- Detailed, immersive sound
- Comfortable fit
- Custom audio profiles that save directly to the buds
- Very expensive
- Just one color and it’s not for everyone
- Subpar ANC performance
Photo by Billy Steele / Engadget
Read our full Beats Fit Pro review
Most of our picks above will work just fine in the gym, but if you’re buying a pair for workouts first and foremost, try the Beats Fit Pro. Yes, we’re recommending a set of Apple-made earbuds in an Android buying guide. But while they work best with iPhones, most of their AirPods-style features are also available on Android through the Beats app. You can pair them with one tap through a pop-up card, view a map with their last known location, swap between ANC and ambient sound modes from the home screen, remap controls, and check their battery level from the notification tray. There’s no hi-res codec support, but in general, the drop-off from iOS to Android isn’t nearly as great here as it is with AirPods.
The main reason we recommend the Fit Pro is their lightweight design, which is equipped with bendy silicone fins that keep the earbuds secure in place while you’re moving around. Their IPX4 water-resistance rating isn’t the best, but it should be enough for all but the sweatiest gymgoers. (Just don’t use them in the pool.) We also like that the Fit Pro uses physical buttons to adjust volume or skip tracks, since touch controls can feel finicky when you’re trying to keep up with a workout. Their punchy sound is well-suited to the gym as well, with a noticeable but not overwhelming push in the bass and treble. It’s not one for purists, but it’s energetic.
If you aren’t specifically looking for workout earbuds, you can still do better. The Fit Pro lack wireless charging and multipoint connectivity, and there’s no way to customize the EQ if you don’t like the default sound. Their built-in mics aren’t anything special for phone calls, and the five- to six-hour battery life is on the edge of passable. The charging case is somewhat large as well. Plus, while the ANC mode is useful enough for tamping down the noise of a gym, it’s a clear step down from the best options on the market.
- Secure design for workouts
- Punchy sound is well-suited to the gym
- Physical control buttons
- No wireless charging or multipoint connectivity
- Battery life is just OK
- ANC isn’t fine but nothing special
