Now, there are many wireless earbuds with good sound and long battery life. Experts at Mashable tested earbuds from top brands like Apple, Bose, and Sony to help you choose.

Mashable chooses the best tech products, including earbuds.

Wireless earbuds cost between $10 and $1,000. Some have special features like noise cancellation, which can cost $300.

Our top earbuds for 2026 are the Sony WF-1000XM6, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, and Panasonic Technics AZ100s. They have great sound and noise cancellation, but cost $299 to $329.

If you want to start shopping, here are our favorite earbuds.

We talk about earbuds and gadgets.

There are two types of earbuds: wireless and wired. Wireless earbuds connect to devices using Bluetooth.

Wireless earbuds are cordless and range from $20 to high-end models with noise cancellation.

Wireless earbuds often have active noise cancellation, which blocks out background noise. They need to be charged, but most last at least 8 hours.

Wired earbuds are the original type and are connected by a wire. They are basic and don't have noise cancellation.

Wired earbuds don't need to be charged and are a good backup option.

Mashable tested sleep earbuds and found the Anker Soundcore Sleep A30 Special to be the best for most people.

We also considered open earbuds, budget earbuds, and the Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro.

Most earbuds in this guide are for everyday use, except for one model.

For high-quality earbuds, consider the Sony WF-1000XM6, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, Apple AirPods Pro 3, and Panasonic Technics EAH-AZ100.

This guide includes other earbuds we recommend, such as the AirPods Pro for Apple users and budget buds from Marshall or Anker Soundcore.

Each earbud in this guide was tested by a Mashable reporter or contributor.

We tested earbuds for battery life, sound quality, and features like noise cancellation.

We listened to different types of music and made calls to test the earbuds.

We also checked for comfort and features like touch controls and stabilizers.

Any special feature that worked well earned points for the earbuds.

Some earbuds have customizable equalizers or 'find device' capabilities that make them stand out.