글 수 128,736
Best Cheap True-wireless Earbuds In 2020: Top AirPods Alternatives For $100 Or Less
조회 수 7 추천 수 0 2020.07.10 16:52:08id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body">
If you're like me, you may have poked around Amazon looking for cheaper audio alternatives to Apple's AirPods. Apple's wireless earbuds start at $159 a pair and hit $199 a pair if you want wireless charging, which beats the alternative when battery life gets low. (Read our in-depth review of the AirPods Pro here.) There are plenty of bargain wireless earphones out there with high ratings that work with iPhones, Android phones and everything in between, but are these cheap earbuds alternatives really any good?
In my experience, most of the time sports earbuds, noise-canceling earbuds and other wireless bluetooth earbuds are just all right, not elite -- and some earbud options aren't good for listening to music at all. An increasing number of wireless headphone models beat the "meh" cheap AirPods alternatives classification, however, and a few are actually decent wireless earbuds. Here's a look at the best of these best AirPod alternatives among the current crop of budget true-wireless earphones I've tested -- all are under $100 a pair and several are under $50. All of these earphones feature Bluetooth 5.0 and maintain solid wireless audio connections. I encountered minimal Bluetooth audio pairing hiccups while listening to music with them. Most wireless ear buds aren't great for making phone calls but they do work well enough in quieter environments. I also provided information on the earbuds' battery life and charging, as well as carrying case. I'll update this earbud list and my list of best AirPod alternatives as I test more earphones.
If you love AirPods but don't want to spend a lot of money, here are a few wireless headphone options, any one of which would be a great AirPod alternative.
Sarah Tew/CNET
For more TV & Audio
Subscribe to the TV & Audio newsletter, receive notifications and see related stories on CNET.
Read more: How to choose the best earbuds
Best under $50
EarFun Free
Sarah Tew/CNET What's most impressive about the EarFun Free earbuds is its features: Bluetooth 5.0, both USB-C and wireless charging and fully waterproof (IPX7), according to their specs. Is the audio elite? No, but these Bluetooth earbuds sound pretty good -- it's not just noise coming out of the bluetooth earbud speaker. They don't have the audio clarity of higher-end true wireless earbuds that cost $150 a pair or more, but they do have plump bass and enough audio detail to make you think you got your money's worth with the sound quality then some. The earbuds are also pretty solid for making calls. The battery lasts six hours at moderate volume levels and the case provides four charges on the go. An elite value at $45. Read our EarFun Free first take.
$50 at Amazon
Very solid for around $50
Fiil T1X TWS
David Carnoy/CNET Back in 2017, I wrote about Fiil's launch in the US and how company reps claimed that it was a top-selling premium headphone brand in China that's as well known as Beats. I hadn't heard much about Fiil since then (I reviewed a Fiil on-ear model that was decent but a little pricey). But it turns out its T1X TWS is very solid for its modest price of a little more than $50. (Fiil now appears to be connected to Acil Audio).
It delivers great sound for the money (there's a touch of presence boost in the treble to add clarity, which is both good and bad), fit my ears well and I was impressed by how quickly the buds paired with my phone.
These have an IP65 sweat- and water-resistance rating so they can take a sustained spray of water. Battery life is around 5 hours on a single charge (at higher volume levels) and there's a quick charge feature that gives you 2 hours of juice from a 10-minute charge (the simple, fairly compact charging case charges via USB-C). The buds have touch controls and there's a companion app that allows you to tweak the sound with EQ settings (I left it on the default setting).
$52 at Amazon
Under $50 standout
Anker Soundcore Life P2
Sarah Tew/CNET Half the price of Anker's Soundcore Liberty Air 2 with similar features, the Soundcore Life P2 earbuds are an excellent value option. The buds charge horizontally in their case rather than vertically, and there's a slightly cheaper feel to both the case and the buds compared with the Liberty Air 2. Their sound doesn't have the presence boost in the treble that the Liberty Air 2 buds have, so they're not as clear-sounding with well-recorded tracks and the bass isn't quite as well defined. But they're warmer and more forgiving, which I appreciated, and they sound more like the original Liberty Air. (I would buy these instead of the Liberty Air, which are now $60.)
It's also worth noting that instead of controls they feature physical buttons, which some people may prefer. Like the Liberty Air 2, they have four microphones, two of which are supposed to help with noise reduction when making calls in noisier environments. They do a decent job of reducing background noise when making calls, but my voice didn't sound as clear to callers as it did with the Liberty Air 2.
While there's no wireless charging, you do get USB-C charging. Battery life is rated at seven hours and they have an IPX7 water-resistance rating, which means they can be fully submerged in water to a depth of three feet and survive. They're arguably the best value in the Anker true wireless line right now. An almost identical version to these earbuds is sold at Target under the name Soundcore Life Note. Read our Anker Soundcore Life P2 review.
$60 at Amazon
Best under $100 for making calls
Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2
Sarah Tew/CNET AirPods and other name-brand truly wireless earbuds cost $160 a pair and up. But the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 earbuds have an appealing design and deliver solid audio quality at $100 for a nice listening experience. Available in black or white, this second-gen model offers USB-C charging, better battery life (up to seven hours of battery life after charging fully, in fact) and good call quality and sound quality. Except for active noise cancellation, the device offers much of what the AirPods Pro do for a lot less, including a compact charging case that has a nice matte finish. The earbuds' noise isolation audio design seals out a lot of ambient noise passively and it's an elite set of earbuds for making calls around noise -- very close to the performance level of the AirPods Pro.
With an IPX5 water-resistance rating (they can sustain a steady stream of sweat and water but can't be fully submerged), these earbuds are suitable for the gym and running.
$100 at Best Buy
Best noise-canceling under $60
Mpow X3 (out of stock till end of June)
Sarah Tew/CNET Update: Out of stock till the end of June.
The Mpow X3 sound shockingly good for the price, with good clarity and powerful bass (they play loud), and they even have active noise canceling that's fairly effective.
Mpow seems to be regularly tweaking its earphones, and the X3 was briefly taken off Amazon, before returning with its latest update: "The new version upgraded the volume control, optimized its active noise canceling function and call effect," the company told me. "It also added the super-soft ear caps which is more comfortable to wear for a long time."
They did fit me comfortably and securely and I got a tight seal from one of the XL ear tips. They're fully waterproof (IPX7) and get up to seven hours of battery life at moderate volume levels with USB-C charging. (The charging case looks like a fat version of the standard AirPods case.) Call quality is good -- they have a sidetone feature that lets you hear your voice in the buds -- but I've used other models with better noise reduction during calls. I noticed a touch of audio lag when I streamed a YouTube video, but I had no issues when streaming iTunes movies.
The touch controls take some getting used to (they're a little wonky) and it didn't help that the instructions in the box seemed to be for the old X3 (I found the current instructions online, which helped me figure things out). Aside from a few minor downsides, the X3 is a great value.
$60 at Amazon
Now playing: Watch this: The best true wireless earbuds available now
10:03
Decent for under $30
JLab Go Air
David Carnoy/CNET During the Crystal Holidays Travel last year, JLab had its JBuds Air true wireless buds on sale for $30 or $20 off their list price of $50. That was a decent deal. Now we get the Go Air, which is 20% smaller, lists for $30 and is otherwise similar to the Air. It's available in four color options.
Like the Air, for the money ($30), the Go Air is pretty good. Battery life is rated at five hours (there's an integrated USB cable on for charging), the sound is better than you might expect for a fake AirPod option and they're sweatproof with an IP44 rating (meaning splashproof). While there's no app for adjusting bass and treble, you can toggle through a few preset EQ settings -- JLab Signature, Balanced and Bass Boost modes -- by tapping either bud twice (yes, they have touch controls). I went with Bass Boost to take some of the edge off the treble and give them a slightly warmer sound.
There's no top to the charging case, but the buds stay inside the case just fine thanks to magnets. To be clear, these aren't fantastic -- and they work only OK for making calls -- but you're not going to do much better for $30. And they did fit my ears well -- I was able to get a tight seal from the largest of the three included ear tips.
$30 at Target
Best under $50 for making calls
TaoTronics SoundLiberty 79
David Carnoy/CNET TaoTronics' SoundLiberty 79 list for $60 but sell for around $50. I don't love their looks -- the little chrome accent isn't my thing -- but they fit my ears well and sound decent for the money, with just enough definition and ample bass. All that said, where they really stand out is how they perform as a headset for making calls. They are five stars in that department, with excellent noise-reduction (people had no trouble hearing me on the noisy streets of New York). The company's "Smart AI noise-reduction technology" does work.
They are fully waterproof (IPX7 certified) and you can get up to eight hours of battery life at moderate volume levels. The charging case, which provides an extra 32 hours of juice on the go, feels a little cheap, but it's compact and has USB-C charging.
Good sound
1More Stylish True Wireless
Sarah Tew/CNET I don't really know how stylish the 1More Stylish True Wireless earphones are (yes, that's their name), but these wireless earbuds do sound good. With a list price of $100, they're among the most expensive of the models on this list (Anker's Soundcore Liberty Air 2 are also $100). 1More made a name for itself with its wired earbuds, the Triple Drivers, which sound great and were a good value when wired headphones were still a thing. The same clear, balanced sound is present in 1More's Stylish earphones -- they don't sound as good as the Triple Drivers, but they sound good for true wireless Apple AirPod alternatives.
This pair of earbuds has more of an audiophile sound profile, with more "accurate" sound, so deep bass lovers may be a little disappointed listening to music, but I liked it. Of course, it helped that the ergonomic design was able to give me a tight seal with one of the included ear tips. However, the stabilizer fin did nothing for me; I just jammed the tip into my ear to get a secure fit.
The earbuds' battery life is rated at up six and a half hours (expect closer to five hours of battery life if you like listening to music at higher volumes), with an extra 17 hours or so of battery life available from the wireless charging case. Read 1More Stylish True Wireless review.
$100 at Amazon
If you're like me, you may have poked around Amazon looking for cheaper audio alternatives to Apple's AirPods. Apple's wireless earbuds start at $159 a pair and hit $199 a pair if you want wireless charging, which beats the alternative when battery life gets low. (Read our in-depth review of the AirPods Pro here.) There are plenty of bargain wireless earphones out there with high ratings that work with iPhones, Android phones and everything in between, but are these cheap earbuds alternatives really any good?
In my experience, most of the time sports earbuds, noise-canceling earbuds and other wireless bluetooth earbuds are just all right, not elite -- and some earbud options aren't good for listening to music at all. An increasing number of wireless headphone models beat the "meh" cheap AirPods alternatives classification, however, and a few are actually decent wireless earbuds. Here's a look at the best of these best AirPod alternatives among the current crop of budget true-wireless earphones I've tested -- all are under $100 a pair and several are under $50. All of these earphones feature Bluetooth 5.0 and maintain solid wireless audio connections. I encountered minimal Bluetooth audio pairing hiccups while listening to music with them. Most wireless ear buds aren't great for making phone calls but they do work well enough in quieter environments. I also provided information on the earbuds' battery life and charging, as well as carrying case. I'll update this earbud list and my list of best AirPod alternatives as I test more earphones.
If you love AirPods but don't want to spend a lot of money, here are a few wireless headphone options, any one of which would be a great AirPod alternative.
Sarah Tew/CNET
For more TV & Audio
Subscribe to the TV & Audio newsletter, receive notifications and see related stories on CNET.
Read more: How to choose the best earbuds
Best under $50
EarFun Free
Sarah Tew/CNET What's most impressive about the EarFun Free earbuds is its features: Bluetooth 5.0, both USB-C and wireless charging and fully waterproof (IPX7), according to their specs. Is the audio elite? No, but these Bluetooth earbuds sound pretty good -- it's not just noise coming out of the bluetooth earbud speaker. They don't have the audio clarity of higher-end true wireless earbuds that cost $150 a pair or more, but they do have plump bass and enough audio detail to make you think you got your money's worth with the sound quality then some. The earbuds are also pretty solid for making calls. The battery lasts six hours at moderate volume levels and the case provides four charges on the go. An elite value at $45. Read our EarFun Free first take.
$50 at Amazon
Very solid for around $50
Fiil T1X TWS
David Carnoy/CNET Back in 2017, I wrote about Fiil's launch in the US and how company reps claimed that it was a top-selling premium headphone brand in China that's as well known as Beats. I hadn't heard much about Fiil since then (I reviewed a Fiil on-ear model that was decent but a little pricey). But it turns out its T1X TWS is very solid for its modest price of a little more than $50. (Fiil now appears to be connected to Acil Audio).
It delivers great sound for the money (there's a touch of presence boost in the treble to add clarity, which is both good and bad), fit my ears well and I was impressed by how quickly the buds paired with my phone.
These have an IP65 sweat- and water-resistance rating so they can take a sustained spray of water. Battery life is around 5 hours on a single charge (at higher volume levels) and there's a quick charge feature that gives you 2 hours of juice from a 10-minute charge (the simple, fairly compact charging case charges via USB-C). The buds have touch controls and there's a companion app that allows you to tweak the sound with EQ settings (I left it on the default setting).
$52 at Amazon
Under $50 standout
Anker Soundcore Life P2
Sarah Tew/CNET Half the price of Anker's Soundcore Liberty Air 2 with similar features, the Soundcore Life P2 earbuds are an excellent value option. The buds charge horizontally in their case rather than vertically, and there's a slightly cheaper feel to both the case and the buds compared with the Liberty Air 2. Their sound doesn't have the presence boost in the treble that the Liberty Air 2 buds have, so they're not as clear-sounding with well-recorded tracks and the bass isn't quite as well defined. But they're warmer and more forgiving, which I appreciated, and they sound more like the original Liberty Air. (I would buy these instead of the Liberty Air, which are now $60.)
It's also worth noting that instead of controls they feature physical buttons, which some people may prefer. Like the Liberty Air 2, they have four microphones, two of which are supposed to help with noise reduction when making calls in noisier environments. They do a decent job of reducing background noise when making calls, but my voice didn't sound as clear to callers as it did with the Liberty Air 2.
While there's no wireless charging, you do get USB-C charging. Battery life is rated at seven hours and they have an IPX7 water-resistance rating, which means they can be fully submerged in water to a depth of three feet and survive. They're arguably the best value in the Anker true wireless line right now. An almost identical version to these earbuds is sold at Target under the name Soundcore Life Note. Read our Anker Soundcore Life P2 review.
$60 at Amazon
Best under $100 for making calls
Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2
Sarah Tew/CNET AirPods and other name-brand truly wireless earbuds cost $160 a pair and up. But the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 earbuds have an appealing design and deliver solid audio quality at $100 for a nice listening experience. Available in black or white, this second-gen model offers USB-C charging, better battery life (up to seven hours of battery life after charging fully, in fact) and good call quality and sound quality. Except for active noise cancellation, the device offers much of what the AirPods Pro do for a lot less, including a compact charging case that has a nice matte finish. The earbuds' noise isolation audio design seals out a lot of ambient noise passively and it's an elite set of earbuds for making calls around noise -- very close to the performance level of the AirPods Pro.
With an IPX5 water-resistance rating (they can sustain a steady stream of sweat and water but can't be fully submerged), these earbuds are suitable for the gym and running.
$100 at Best Buy
Best noise-canceling under $60
Mpow X3 (out of stock till end of June)
Sarah Tew/CNET Update: Out of stock till the end of June.
The Mpow X3 sound shockingly good for the price, with good clarity and powerful bass (they play loud), and they even have active noise canceling that's fairly effective.
Mpow seems to be regularly tweaking its earphones, and the X3 was briefly taken off Amazon, before returning with its latest update: "The new version upgraded the volume control, optimized its active noise canceling function and call effect," the company told me. "It also added the super-soft ear caps which is more comfortable to wear for a long time."
They did fit me comfortably and securely and I got a tight seal from one of the XL ear tips. They're fully waterproof (IPX7) and get up to seven hours of battery life at moderate volume levels with USB-C charging. (The charging case looks like a fat version of the standard AirPods case.) Call quality is good -- they have a sidetone feature that lets you hear your voice in the buds -- but I've used other models with better noise reduction during calls. I noticed a touch of audio lag when I streamed a YouTube video, but I had no issues when streaming iTunes movies.
The touch controls take some getting used to (they're a little wonky) and it didn't help that the instructions in the box seemed to be for the old X3 (I found the current instructions online, which helped me figure things out). Aside from a few minor downsides, the X3 is a great value.
$60 at Amazon
Now playing: Watch this: The best true wireless earbuds available now
10:03
Decent for under $30
JLab Go Air
David Carnoy/CNET During the Crystal Holidays Travel last year, JLab had its JBuds Air true wireless buds on sale for $30 or $20 off their list price of $50. That was a decent deal. Now we get the Go Air, which is 20% smaller, lists for $30 and is otherwise similar to the Air. It's available in four color options.
Like the Air, for the money ($30), the Go Air is pretty good. Battery life is rated at five hours (there's an integrated USB cable on for charging), the sound is better than you might expect for a fake AirPod option and they're sweatproof with an IP44 rating (meaning splashproof). While there's no app for adjusting bass and treble, you can toggle through a few preset EQ settings -- JLab Signature, Balanced and Bass Boost modes -- by tapping either bud twice (yes, they have touch controls). I went with Bass Boost to take some of the edge off the treble and give them a slightly warmer sound.
There's no top to the charging case, but the buds stay inside the case just fine thanks to magnets. To be clear, these aren't fantastic -- and they work only OK for making calls -- but you're not going to do much better for $30. And they did fit my ears well -- I was able to get a tight seal from the largest of the three included ear tips.
$30 at Target
Best under $50 for making calls
TaoTronics SoundLiberty 79
David Carnoy/CNET TaoTronics' SoundLiberty 79 list for $60 but sell for around $50. I don't love their looks -- the little chrome accent isn't my thing -- but they fit my ears well and sound decent for the money, with just enough definition and ample bass. All that said, where they really stand out is how they perform as a headset for making calls. They are five stars in that department, with excellent noise-reduction (people had no trouble hearing me on the noisy streets of New York). The company's "Smart AI noise-reduction technology" does work.
They are fully waterproof (IPX7 certified) and you can get up to eight hours of battery life at moderate volume levels. The charging case, which provides an extra 32 hours of juice on the go, feels a little cheap, but it's compact and has USB-C charging.
Good sound
1More Stylish True Wireless
Sarah Tew/CNET I don't really know how stylish the 1More Stylish True Wireless earphones are (yes, that's their name), but these wireless earbuds do sound good. With a list price of $100, they're among the most expensive of the models on this list (Anker's Soundcore Liberty Air 2 are also $100). 1More made a name for itself with its wired earbuds, the Triple Drivers, which sound great and were a good value when wired headphones were still a thing. The same clear, balanced sound is present in 1More's Stylish earphones -- they don't sound as good as the Triple Drivers, but they sound good for true wireless Apple AirPod alternatives.
This pair of earbuds has more of an audiophile sound profile, with more "accurate" sound, so deep bass lovers may be a little disappointed listening to music, but I liked it. Of course, it helped that the ergonomic design was able to give me a tight seal with one of the included ear tips. However, the stabilizer fin did nothing for me; I just jammed the tip into my ear to get a secure fit.
The earbuds' battery life is rated at up six and a half hours (expect closer to five hours of battery life if you like listening to music at higher volumes), with an extra 17 hours or so of battery life available from the wireless charging case. Read 1More Stylish True Wireless review.
$100 at Amazon
