The best wireless headphones of 2026

The Sony WH-1000XM6 further improve on previous Sony flagship headphones with a more balanced sound, improved noise cancellation and a better design than before.

They’re as comfortable to wear as the WH-1000XM5, though this newer model has reverted back to the foldable design of the WH-1000XM4. That means they take up less space in either your bag or the carry case.

The WH-1000XM6’s noise cancelling is stronger than previous models, tackling all types of sounds with confidence. If there’s an area we’re not too sure about, it’s how they handle voices, especially higher pitched voices, which still have a way of getting through to our ears.

The Ambient mode is excellent, offering lots of clarity, detail and a natural sense of the world around you. We wouldn’t say that they offer the best noise cancelling bar none. We’d put them on the same level as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones.

They’re laden with features such as the Quick Attention mode that filters outside world at a moment’s notice. Speak To Chat pauses music when you’re speaking; while there’s Google Assistant voice control (no Alexa this time). and Sony’s own voice control for hands-free use.

Call quality is excellent, though we found that the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 offered a slightly more silent performance during calls.

Battery life sticks around 30 hours, though fast charging has been improved as long as if you have a specific USB-C cable that Sony sells separately

As far as the sound goes, the WH-1000XM6 have a more balanced sound profile than before. It’s not as rich as older models, nor does it have as much bass, but midrange detail and clarity is better, bass is more balanced, and the highs have more clarity and detail.

We’d still say that the Px7 S3 offers a better sound, but as an overall experience, it’s had to look past the Sony WH-1000XM6.

The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 replace the excellent Px7 S2e, raising the bar for wireless headphone audio.

Despite looking relatively the same as the older models, B&W have given it a significant overhaul. The headband has been redesigned to fit a wider range of heads, the controls reshaped to be easier to find and use, while the headphones are slimmer for a more attractive profile.

The only issue we have is with the controls, which we didn’t feel as if they needed to be changed but they work fine enough.

These headphones feature noise cancelling and a transparency mode and despite Bower’s claims of improving both areas, the noise cancelling isn’t as strong as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones or Sony WH-1000XM6. The transparency mode could be clearer too. ANC is not these headphones’ strongest point.

The Bowers & Wilkins Music app offers the means to customise bass and treble, as well as a custom EQ  option to create your own sound profile, a first for a pair of Bowers wireless headphones.

These headphones keep the feature set relatively simple, and aren’t as ‘smart’ or as feature-laded as the less expensive Sony WH-1000XM5 but the app does have built-in streaming support for services such as Qobuz, Deezer, and Tidal.

The battery life remains 30 hours of listening from one charge, though in our tests we found it could go longer with an Android smartphone.

Bluetooth support includes aptX Lossless, the one of the higher quality wireless codecs, and as usual the wireless connection is excellent.

These are also one of the best headphones for call quality, offering great clarity and detail while keeping background sounds to a minimum.

The sound quality here is the best it’s been for the Px7 range. It’s energetic, clear, expressive and natural in how it sounds, the headphones’ levels of detail, dynamism and sense of spaciousness make it one of the best-sounding models on the market.

Low frequencies have more depth and power, the midrange is detailed and the high frequencies clear. If you’re after a pair of wireless headphones for the sound, there’s none better at this price than the Px7 S3.

As of this moment, there’s no finer true wireless we’ve tested than the Technics EAH-AZ100.

They are a fantastic all-round effort, that give the likes of the Sony WF-1000XM5 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds a run for their money.

The call quality is an improvement on both those rival earbuds, with the AZ100 picking up your voice clearly and blocking out almost all the sounds around you. It’s the best call quality we’ve heard on a true wireless.

The audio offers a rich but detailed sound, with stronger bass performance than the AZ80 model and a more dynamic and musical presentation.

The soundstage is wide, highs are clear, and the midrange detailed, making these the best-sounding true wireless from Technics yet.

The battery life depends on the mode the earphones are in. We found in the AAC mode, these earbuds can last for a long time, but with LDAC turned on we managed to get less than six hours from the battery.

The Bluetooth performance is mostly strong, though we found in busy areas the signal can get very choppy. They also feature Bluetooth multipoint, which allows them to connect to three devices at once.

The noise-cancellation is excellent, stripping away most of the sounds around us for a quiet performance whether we were on a plane, a bus on the London undergound. It’d as good as any top tier ANC you can currently get.

The transparency mode is strong, though we don’t find it to be as clear as the one on the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds.

So far, the Technics would be our choice for best true wireless, but there is competition from the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen model, and we expect the Sony WF-1000XM6 to launch in 2025 too.

When it comes to premium wireless headphones prices above £499 / $499, there’s a growing list from the likes of Apple, Master & Dynamic, Mark Levinson, and Bowers & Wilkins. At the top of the list is the Focal Bathys.

The Bathys come in a few finishes, a black/silver finish or the dune colourway that we reviewed.

They are a distinctive looking pair of headphones, sporting an elegant look that lives up to the premium price. The flame logo in the middle of the earcups lights up for added style.

The area we’re less convinced are the controls, which a little rudimentary and don’t offer the type of feedback we’d like from them.

When it comes to sound, the Bathys present a crisp, clean, and defined soundstage without sounding too sharp or too hard. It’s a more natural sound than the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 with its more musical and flowing performance.

There’s excellent balance achieved in terms of tone, enough dynamic headroom to allow voices and instruments to flourish. Listen to it through a wired connection and it sounds even better.

The ANC is an area where it’s not as strong as the Px8, but still good enough to keep most external sounds at bay.

Walking through the streets of London and we felt our listening experience wasn’t disrupted much, but on public transport and planes, there are less expensive headphones that deal with louder noises. The transparency mode is very good: clear, natural, and without producing much noise either.

Battery life is claimed to be around 30 hours, but in our tests we found that the headphones could longer, at least if you have an Android smartphone and an aptX Adaptive connection.

The wireless performance is excellent with only the briefest stutter experience in a busy area, while call quality is among the best we’ve heard with excellent voice pick-up and background noises being kept to a minimum.

There is a newer model in the Focal Bathys MG that comes with several areas of improvement. We hope to review that model soon.

When it comes to noise-cancelling headphones, Bose has always been one of the best, and with the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, they’re one of the best you can get.

We would say that they’re level pegging with the Sony WH-1000XM6; with the Sony slightly better in some areas and the Bose better in others. Either way, they remain one fo the best ANC headphones we’ve used.

They reduce people’s voices with an impressive level of precision, better we feel than the Sony do, and best of all, they cancel noise naturally without that .

The transparency mode is just as good, sounding very natural to our ears.

The Bluetooth performance is strong with only a few stutters as we walked through busy areas of interference.

Call quality is solid but could be better as these headphones have a tendency to let in noise whenever we speak. Both the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bowers Px7 S3 are better for calls.

The sound quality ditches the crisp tone of previous Bose headphones and offers a slightly warmer with a bigger bass performance, with a smooth and detailed midrange and clear highs. It’s a step up from the Bose QuietComfort Headphones, and one of the best sounding efforts from Bose so far.

The Immersive Audio feature that takes stereo music and makes the soundstage bigger, though we found that we didn’t necessarily want to hear every track in this format. Some are best left to stereo.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 remain one of the most impressive all-round wireless headphones at any price, offering great noise-cancellation, sound, features and call quality performance.

Since their launch in 2022, they’ve fallen below £249 / $249, making them great value against options such Cambridge Audio Melomania P100.

They feature a more modern look than the WH-1000XM4, and are comfortable to wear although the redesigned earcups can’t be folded in. That’ll be inconvnient for those who like to place their headphones in a bag when travelling. The change has been done to offer better noise cancelling performance, and in testing we found it did reduced wind noise for a quieter ANC experience.

The WH-1000XM5’s noise cancelling tackles higher frequency sounds with more confidence than the XM4, although we did feel the XM4 model suppressed voices better. The Ambient Mode does offer an improvement over the older model with its clearer and more natural sound.

The XM5 copes with other noises well, with everything from big crowds to commuting on transport reduced to a hush. However, when it comes to the best ANC performance, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are better.

They’re laden with features For features the Quick Attention mode filters through outside sound at a moment’s notice, and Speak To Chat (which pauses music when you’re speaking) remain; while there’s support for Alexa and Google Assistant voice control. Call quality is top tier.

Battery life remains 30 hours of runtime, and we managed to get around a week’s use from these headphones. However, if you want even longer battery life, the Technics EAH-A800 and Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless offer 50 and 60 hours respectively.

As far as the sound goes, the WH-1000XM5 have rich but detailed audio quality. The mid-range sounds slightly richer and more detailed than before, with increased definition and clarity given to instruments and voices. The soundstage is wider and bass has more texture and clarity.

They’re a great listen across all genres, but for the best-sounding wireless headphones, we’d recommend the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e.

The WH-CH720N are Sony’s least expensive wireless over-ears, and in our opinion, they beat the competition with their audio performance.

The sound quality is a smooth, energetic and bassy performance. The levels of detail is better than it is with the Final UX3000 in its ANC mode, as well as the Soundcore Space One.

Bass is punchy, the midrange is clear and detailed, and the upper frequencies and bright and clear for the price, but it’s the level of energy and excitement that put the Sony above its peers.

There are other models that offer a better sound at this price, such as the Panasonic M600B, but that pair doesn’t have as many features or offer as much convenience as the Sony does.

The noise-cancellation is fine for the price, which focuses on reducing the impact low frequency sounds and clearing away ambient noise. For daily commutes and journeys in cities, they’ll be fine, but if you’re looking for a quieter performance, you’ll need to up your budget.

Battery life can go as far as 40 hours from our tests with noise-cancelling on, and the Sony comes with a range of convenient features such as a transparency mode, Bluetooth multipoint, app support (which provides more customisation) and voice assistants in the form of Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

Build quality is decent with no noticeable creaks or groans when we bent the frame. The use of plastic also keeps the headphones lightweight at 192g making for a comfortable wearing experience. These aren’t a particulalry flashy pair of headphones, but they’re terrific value for money.

Battery life is becoming an increasingly important feature. Who wants to be charging their headphones every few days? There are plenty that offer long lasting battery life, but there’s none that we’ve tested that offer as much as the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100.

The battery life is 60 hours, which is the same as the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless, but in our tests we found the Cambridge’s battery life drained less, so we’re inclined to recommend the Cambridge for battery life over the Sennheiser, even though the Sennheisers sound better. One hour’s drain resulted in a 1% drop in battery life, which is very impressive.

The Cambridge look good but don’t necessarily catch the eye. They are comfortable to wear with no annoying obstructions and bulky earcups to deal with. The earpada are detachable if they get damaged and the battery is replaceable, in case you need to change that too.

The noise cancellation is good, though not quite as good as the Sony WH-1000XM4 or Bose QuietComfort 45. They bring calm to the hustle and bustle of London’s streets, and remove a good chunk of noise on pblic transport, though they do leak a little more noise than we expected.

The wireless performance has been very good, as is the headphones’ call quality performance

We do feel they could sound better at default volume, but raise the volume level up and they’re an energetic, spacious and clear listen. Highs are clear and detailed, the midrange features satisfactory detail, and the bass is measured with a sense of punch to it. It’s an easy, enjoyable sound to listen to.

It’s been a while since we last heard from budget headphone specialists, SoundMagic, but we shouldn’t have worried as the P23BT are another pair of excellent value headphones from the company.

As usual, they’re affordable at just £49.99 and while they’re not big on features, SoundMagic has made some sensible choices as these headphones offer good level of convenience, too.

There’s no escaping the on-ear design, which may work better for some than it does for others. Issues include pinching around the ear and leaking noise for the outside world that could interrupt your music listening session. If you’re not too bothered by the latter, some may even prefer to be aware of what’s around them, and you’re not affected by the former issue, then the SoundMagic can be comfortable enough to wear thanks to their soft-padded earcups.

They integrate touch controls, which work surprisingly well in terms of how responsive they are, and their compact, lightweight and foldable design make them, in our opinion, easy to wear and even easier to store when not in use.

You won’t find features such as noise cancellation or transparency mode here. You get a battery life that’s estimated to be around 54-60 hours, which is nearly double that of the Status BT One on-ears, but lags behind the Marshall Major IV, which have 80+ hours in reserve. They also pack aptX-HD Bluetooth, which allows for Hi-res music playback from the likes of Tidal and Deezer music streaming services.

The sound quality is far more balanced and mature than we expected for the price, our reviewer found the headphones offered a subtle, well-balanced listen with its detailed midrange performance, sharp high frequency playback and bass that features a decent amount of depth. If you do prefer a bassier sound to your headphones, you may want to give the Marshall Major IV a try as an alternative.

The Apple AirPods Max represents the best wireless over-ears available if you have an iPhone, MacBook or iPad. A recent update has added USB-C, swapping over from Lightning port used for charging with the original pair.

Their design is typically Apple with a modern aesthetic that’s unlike any other pair of headphones we’ve tested. They borrow cues from both the Apple Watch and HomePod Mini to create a set of cans that look and feel excellent, with smooth rounded metal earcups and a mesh headband with memory foam earcups that made them immensely comfortable.

At 385g, they are quite heavy, and there’s no IP rating for use in the rain or exercising, if that’s of interest. The case isn’t the most thoughtful, as it offers zero protection, and causes irritation as it’s the only way for the AirPods Max to turn off.

The feature set here is great for Apple users. For instance, Spatial Audio offers a more immersive and 3D-like sound profile that’s only available on iOS devices, and while the feature is clever, it’s availability is limited to several apps such as Apple TV+, Netflix and Disney+.

During testing, we found the noise cancellation to be very good, similar in performance to the Sony WH-1000XM4, with its transparency mode that sounded perfectly natural. We also found the battery life to match Apple’s claimed 20 hours, and while it’s less than what the competition can offers, it’ll be more than enough for long haul flights or a few days of use.

The AirPods Max’s sound takes a balanced approach. It features plenty of bass and low end rumble, alongside clean vocals and sparkly highs that don’t sound harsh. The balanced profile lent itself to the fact Apple’s premium over-ear contenders worked well with a variety of music, and the presence of Spatial Audio is useful within Apple Music with a well-mastered track. These headphones don’t support Hi-Res Audio, which is disappointing for the price, but if you’re within the Apple ecosystem, these over-ears are you best bet for an excellent experience.

There’s competition from the likes of Dyson OnTrac and Sonos Ace, but the AirPods Max remain a very good pair of over-ear headphones, especially if you’re an iOS user.

Even though it’s always tempting to seek out headphones from well-renowned brands like Sony, Bose and Sennheiser, going for the label alone can often leave you paying a premium, and when everything costs so much already, that’s hardly an ideal situation to anyone tied to a strict budget. Well, now you don’t have to pay a fortune for a high-end experience thanks to the Anker Soundcore Space One Pro.

With a price tag of just £149.99, the Space One Pro massively undercut most high-end headphones on the market which tend to cost double that (at least). What’s impressive though is that even with that more affordable cost, you’re still getting an audio experience that can rival more expensive competitors, which is a huge win for anyone looking to save.

Instead of trying to go all in on detail, the Space One Pro instead opt for a more fun and energetic soundscape, not too dissimilar to the style you’d find on the Sony WH-1000XM6. This means that you can expect plenty of bass, accompanied by melodic mids and loud, sing-along vocals – exactly the type of mix that makes it easy to get lost in the enjoyment of a particular song.

While the headphones themselves are very comfortable to wear for long periods of time, if you do need to chuck them in your bag whilst in transit then you won’t have to worry about them taking up much space. The Space One Pro can fold up to a point where they barely take up any room at all, making them better suited than most headphones for smaller bags, such as a carry-on bag during a flight.

If you’ve got a long day ahead of you, whether that involves plenty of work at the office or an extended stay at the university library, then you’ll be glad to know that the Space One Pro can last for an incredible 40-hours at a time, and that’s with active noise cancelling enabled. Again, for all that you get here, the Space One Pro are an easy pair of headphones to recommend in general, not just for those on a budget.

While there’s plenty of detail to be gained by going down the audiophile route that’s littered with tons of great wired headphones, there is something to be said about the convenience of a wireless device when you’re on the go. If you’re someone who wants to tread that line between quality and convenience then the Dali IO-8 might just be the headphone for you.

Even just to look at these headphones, you know right away that the Dali IO-8 mean business. The Caramel White version that we had in for review was constantly turning heads as the beige headband and ear cushions add an elegant dash of colour alongside the two-tone white and silver aesthetic of the circular ear cups. It all comes together with a sense of style that very few headphones can match.

There are physical controls onboard which will no doubt appeal to the audiophile crowd as you’re far less likely to incur moments of accidentally changing the volume or stopping the playback. Speaking of which, and the most important factor of all, the Dali IO-8 bring a truly showstopping soundscape to the table.

While you do have the option for wired playback, it was the performance when running on a wireless connection that truly had us floored. The amount of precision afforded to the treble isn’t something that we come across all too often, and there’s a rich and rumbling sense of action to the bass that’ll have you nodding along to the beat in no time. It’s easily one of the best listening experiences we’ve come across on wireless headphones.

If all of that sounds good and you like the idea of kicking back and listening to your favourite tunes, you’ll also appreciate the fact that these headphones are also very comfortable to wear. During our testing, the Dali IO-8 never outstayed their welcome, and the inclusion of active noise cancelling only amps up the experience even further, making it easier to hear music and podcasts when on the commute or in a busy area.

The AirPods Pro 3 are a seriously easy recommendation for iPhone users, and are a major improvement over the brilliant AirPods Pro 2. The biggest caveat is that, perhaps unsurprisingly, to get the most from the AirPods Pro 3 you’ll need an iPhone, so Android users should look elsewhere on this list. 

Otherwise, at first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking that the AirPods Pro 3’s design is unchanged from the predecessor, however Apple has made some welcome tweaks. Although the case is more or less unchanged, with a USB-C port for charging, a speaker for Find My alerts and a handy loop, the buds have been redesigned to provide a more secure and comfortable fit.

Now the buds point more inwards while the tips now sport foam inside the silicone to help aid noise cancellation too. These changes, paired with the IP57 rating and the accurate heart rate sensor, make the AirPods Pro 3 a brilliant pair of workout buds.

Other useful features include Live Translation, Spatial Audio and the Hearing Aid tool, although it’s worth noting that these can also be found on other AirPod iterations, so shouldn’t be reason alone to buy the AirPods Pro 3.

However, one of the main reasons to buy the AirPods Pro 3 is for the impressive noise cancelling ability. Powered by Apple’s H2 chip, the AirPods Pro 3 can noticeably reduce the sound of everything from traffic and the London Underground to plane engines with ease. The ANC is also adaptive, which means it changes depending on incoming noise. 

The next key reason to buy the AirPods Pro 3 is with its sound quality. Compared to its predecessors, the AirPods Pro 3’s soundstage is much wider which means songs sound more immersive than before. Although there’s no High-Res or lossless playback, there is Spatial Audio which some streaming apps support.

Essentially, if you’re an iPhone user and want a brilliant pair of wireless headphones that are designed to complement your phone, then the AirPods Pro 3 are easy to recommend.