True Wireless In-Ears were the hot sellers in 2018 and meanwhile all well-known headphone companies do offer this type of headphones. Although completely wireless headphones are on the market for quite a while now once again it needed Apple to really get some momentum in this product category.
And because many smartphone manufacturers killed the headphone jack in the last couple of years many users now want (and need) to listen to their favorite tracks without any cables on their headphones.
The EarFun Free Pro 2 are the successors to the EarFun Free Pro and offer good sound, a good fit, active noise cancellation (ANC) and a low-latency mode for a price of 70 euros. That might sound good at first, but all that glitters is not necessarily gold.
With the Nothing ear(1), one of the founders of the smartphone company OnePlus relies on transparent materials and, in the accompanying app, on chic design accents. The result is a successful all-round package of good sound, good app and good design – at a good price.
The Jabra Elite 7 Active are perfectly fitting and very good-sounding in-ears with extensive functions for sporty, active everyday use. The "Sound+" app enables the Elite 7 Active to be personalised in many ways.
Jabra's Elite 7 Pro are very well equipped in-ears with variable noise cancelling (ANC) and sound personalisation. While the sound of the Jabra Elite 7 Pro is impressive right from the start, there are unfortunate "hiccups" in other areas. Our test reveals where these can be found.
In their second generation, the Libratone Air+ again offer an attractive combination of sound quality, improved functionality and wearing comfort at an attractive price. Their range of use is quite universal and extends from mobile applications to sports and office use.
The House of Marley Rebel True Wireless in-ears are visually distinguished by their bamboo surfaces, which provide a pleasant feel and at the same time house precise touch controls. While the charging case can be powered either via USB-C port or wirelessly via Qi, these earpieces score points with excellent voice clarity when making calls and support a high-quality audio codec in the form of aptX.
The JVC HA-A11T impressed us with their balanced and transparent sound, a running time of eight hours and are protected against sweat, rain and water splashes thanks to their IPX5 certification.
The new Apple AirPods 3 sound decent and offer close integration with iPhone, iPad and Macs thanks to updated hardware.
The Grado GT220 excel with great sound quality and long-lasting battery life. However, you have to do without many comfort functions such as active noise cancelling, transparency mode, app integration and multipoint. With an RRP of 279 euros, the first true-wireless model from this family-run company from the USA has to go up against numerous competitors. "It's all about sound". But is that enough these days?
If you're comfortable with true-wireless headphones that use an over-ear hook, then the Shure Aonic 215 Gen 2 is attractively priced, sports-ready in-ears with convincing sound quality. What's more, they can be converted to wired operation for high-resolution music listening away from compressed Bluetooth signals.