The best wireless workout headphones for 2024

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear with wingtip | Assistant help: Google Assistant, Siri

Read our full review of the Beats Fit Pro

The Beats Fit Pro got here out on the head of the pack because of their comfy, safe design, good sound high quality and transparency mode, amongst different issues. As my colleague Billy Steele detailed in his review of the Fit Pro, the buds’ wingtip design units them other than different Beats earbuds and makes them significantly good for working and different exercises. The buds are pretty small and lightweight, and the wingtip on every is versatile sufficient to hug your ear properly with out placing an excessive amount of stress on it. This helps them really feel safer whenever you’re shifting round so much be it throughout a morning jog or whereas taking a HIIT class. The buds are additionally IPX4 rated — not the best quantity of safety I encountered, however sufficient to maintain the buds working effectively even throughout my sweatiest periods.

Because it had been, the Beats Match Professional stayed put throughout each single exercise. Nonetheless, adjusting their place on the fly can result in one in every of my few gripes with the buds: unintended presses of the onboard controls. There have been quite a few instances after I went to regulate a bud and I ended up pausing my music within the course of as a result of the buttons are really easy to set off.

Sound high quality is stable and significantly nice for exercising because of its punchy bass and general balanced profile. Spatial audio help is nice to have, and whereas Adaptive EQ means you’ll be able to’t modify the EQ your self like you’ll be able to with different buds, it does make for persistently good audio high quality. It’s additionally one much less factor to play with out of the field, which I anticipate many individuals will recognize; these earbuds are a real unbox-and-go possibility. ANC can be sturdy and transparency mode will come in useful for many who typically run, cycle or in any other case train exterior. It was probably the most natural-sounding transparency mode of any earbuds I attempted, and it’s simple to activate or off both with onboard controls or from the management panel in your iOS or Android smartphone.

Talking of, the Beats Match Professional work significantly effectively with iPhones because of their built-in H1 chip, however Android customers can obtain their companion app to entry issues like fast pairing, management customizations and a battery standing indicator. I didn’t get into element in regards to the setup course of as a result of, effectively, there isn’t a lot of 1. However I’ll say that, upon unboxing, I used to be shocked how low-cost the charging case feels. Whereas it offers an additional 21 hours of charging on high of the buds’ promised six hours of life, the construct high quality seems like an actual step down in comparison with the buds themselves. Except for that and the contact controls, although, the Beats Match Professional supply an entire package deal for athletes, one which can be utilized all day along with coaching periods. Plus, their commonplace $200 value isn’t too cost-prohibitive, and so they can typically be discovered on sale for much less.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear | Assistant help: Siri, Google Assistant

The Jabra Elite 8 Active virtually bested the Beats Match Professional, however finally the latter gained because of their wingtip design and extra natural-sounding transparency mode. However except for these two issues, the Elite 8 Energetic are simply nearly as good, if not higher, than the Match Professional.

Initially, the Elite 8 Energetic has one of many highest sturdiness rankings of any earbuds we examined. Rated IP68, it’s protected in opposition to every kind of mud and particles and it’ll survive being submerged in water at excessive stress. Jabra additionally subjected the Elite 8 Energetic to military-grade testing, defending them from extreme humidity, excessive temperature, rain and altitude. That is extra safety than most want, however it would doubtless give some individuals peace of thoughts to know that these buds can take a beating.

That further safety doesn’t make the Elite 8 Energetic cumbersome or unattractive as one would possibly assume. These buds are a number of the most comfy I attempted, with a light-weight design and a safe match. The soft-touch end on the buds and their charging case provides a degree of luxurious that the majority othersI examined didn’t have, too. There are onboard controls as effectively, and so they’re not as simple to by accident press as these on the Beats Match Professional.

The Elite 8 Energetic has an important sound profile out of the field however you’ll be able to modify the EQ throughout the companion cellular app. The app has six preconfigured settings to select from too, and I discovered myself utilizing Bass Increase and Energize most of all whereas exercising (they’re fairly related with sturdy bass, however Energize emphasizes highs a bit extra). The Elite 8 Energetic undoubtedly has a bonus over the Beats Match Professional for anybody who prefers to customise EQ, or desires to have completely different sound profiles relying on what they’re doing. On high of that, these buds help spatial sound with Dolby Audio.

The Elite 8 Energetic help adaptive noise cancelation, and so they do job of analyzing your setting and blocking out interferences. “HearThrough” is Jabra’s model of transparency mode, and it’s the setting to make use of when working exterior in a metropolis or an space with numerous visitors. Sound isn’t drowned out by wind on this mode both since HearThrough is designed to neutralize wind noise whereas additionally letting you keep conscious of your environment. I ran in some significantly windy climate whereas testing these out, and I had persistently good listening experiences each with HearThrough and ANC activated.

As for battery life, the Elite 8 Energetic will get eight hours on a cost with ANC turned on, and an extra 24 hours when using their charging case. You possibly can rise up to 56 hours of whole use for those who’re not utilizing ANC, which is exceptional. The case additionally helps wi-fi charging, a characteristic that the Beats Match Professional’s lacks, and it additionally feels extra substantial.

In the end, you’ll be able to’t go unsuitable with both the Beats Match Professional or the Jabra Elite 8 Energetic. However Jabra’s buds supply a bit extra customization and sturdiness than the Beats Match Professional, and never everybody will want the latter’s bonus options. Nonetheless, for those who’re an athlete who likes to mess around with sound profiles or need a number of the most sturdy wi-fi earbuds out there as we speak, the Jabra Elite 8 Energetic are those to get.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear | Assistant help: Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant

The Jabra Elite 4 Active supply the perfect worth for the cash of any decide on our listing. For $120, you get an IP57-rated design, stable sound high quality with adjustable EQ, good ANC, the identical HearThrough transparency mode that the Elite 8 Energetic have, app connectivity and a complete of 28 hours of battery life. These had been a number of the best buds for me to “decide up and go” with, whether or not it was for an impromptu stroll across the block, a sweaty HIIT session in my basement or an hour of labor by which I actually wanted to dam out distractions and get issues executed.

Just like the Elite 8 Energetic, the Elite 4 Energetic is tremendous comfy and Jabra has actually gotten the onboard controls proper on this sequence of buds. The buttons will not be really easy to press that you just by accident set off them everytime you modify the match, and so they present satisfying suggestions whenever you truly do deliberately press them. Sound high quality and ANC are spectacular, and I principally by no means needed to fear about working out of battery.

The principle variations between the Elite 4 Energetic and the dearer Elite 8 Energetic are that the latter have a better IP score, voice steering, spatial sound help with Dolby Audio, an extended general battery life (56 hours with the charging case) and that satisfying soft-touch end. The IP score and prolonged battery life are the 2 important options that might compel some to spend the additional cash on the Elite 8 Energetic as a substitute. Additionally, spatial audio is good to have when you have the buds semi-permanently positioned in your ears continually pumping out tunes, whatever the exercise. In any other case, although, you’re getting a ton of wonderful options with these $120 earbuds.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear with hook | Assistant help: None

When you have lower than $50 to spend, the $30 JLab Go Air Sport are an important possibility. I didn’t have excessive expectations going into testing these buds, however I used to be shortly impressed by their consolation and sound high quality. A number of headphones designed for exercises have this hook that wraps across the high of your ear, and it does assist the Go Air Sport keep securely hooked up to your head. The hooks listed here are fairly versatile and have a soft-touch end, which provides to their consolation (I attempted just a few equally designed buds with a lot stiffer hooks that had been a ache in additional methods than one.) Admittedly, this design will take some getting used to for those who’re new to it, however it’s a surefire method to get somewhat further stability throughout excessive depth exercises.

Sound high quality is fairly good on these buds as effectively, though not almost as balanced as that of the Jabra Elite 8 Energetic or the Beats Match Professional. I additionally recognize that you may cycle by three completely different EQ modes — Signature, Balanced and Bass Increase — utilizing the buds’ onboard controls. There’s no app to fuss with, and that was a pleasant change of tempo after principally testing buds with some form of app connectivity.

You possibly can anticipate eight hours of playtime on the Go Air Sport, plus one other 24 hours of battery life with its charging case. Whereas the USB-A cable constructed into the underside of the case is useful, I really feel prefer it ought to be a USB-C connector as a substitute (it’s the yr 2024, in spite of everything). The case can be on the cumbersome aspect; you’ll be able to nonetheless throw it right into a backpack or purse simply, however it’s not as svelte as instances you’ll see on dearer buds.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: Open-ear | Assistant help: None

I used to be apprehensive about open-ear headphones, particularly throughout exercises. However the Shokz OpenFit pleasantly shocked me from the primary time I put them on. Earbuds with open designs like this enable for extra situational consciousness, with the purpose being to let noise in quite than block it out. The OpenFit buds do an important job of this with out skimping on sound high quality or consolation.

The buds themselves virtually float over your ear cavern and Shokz’s soft-finish “dolphin arc” hook is versatile sufficient to securely wrap across the high of your ear with out placing an excessive amount of stress on it. There’s a bud-like portion on the different finish of the hook that acts as counterbalance, leading to a dependable match that by no means faltered throughout all types of actions together with working, power coaching and indoor biking. Granted, none of these workouts contain shaking your head up or down or aspect to aspect an excessive amount of; possibly don’t put on the OpenFit to hearken to head-banging demise steel (for those who can’t management your self).

Sound high quality is stable contemplating the design, and the OpenFit will get fairly loud as effectively. These buds have Shokz’s Direct Pitch expertise, which makes use of reverse sound waves to optimize the gap and angle from the buds to your ear canal. The corporate claims this helps maintain the sound directed in the direction of your ear and reduces audio leakage. In my testing, I discovered that to be true to a sure extent. The OpenFit had the perfect sound high quality and general quantity out of all the open-ear gadgets I attempted, however for those who crank the quantity as much as the max (or shut), the individual subsequent to you’ll undoubtedly hear what you’re listening to. General, these are an important possibility for anybody who doesn’t discover in-ear buds significantly comfy, or those that simply desire to have extra consciousness of their environment whereas understanding.