Best Earbuds for Android Devices in 2025

Whether it makes sense or not, Apple's Airpods have become the default choice for most iPhone owners in the new wireless earbud market. However, if you are buying an Android phone, the options are not that obvious. This is where we can help: we've tested dozens of wireless earbuds over the years, so we've broken down our best advice for Android users below. Whether you're going to cancel powerful noise, a pair of noises that can survive in the gym, or something especially effective with a Galaxy or Pixel phone, this is our favorite AirPods alternative.

Table of contents

• The best Android earbuds of 2025

• What to look for in wireless earbuds for Android devices

• How we test Android earbuds

• Latest updates

Best Android Earbuds of 2025

What to look for in wireless earbuds for Android devices

In most cases, the functionality you want is the same as what you want from a set of “Android earbuds” that you want. Pleasant sound quality, comfortable fit and adequate battery life are still the basis. Enough waterproofing is good for workouts, and no one wants a crummy microphone to make a call. Once close to the $100 range, features like Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Wireless Charging, Ambient Sound Mode (i.e. you can better hear external noise without turning off the music), and multipoint connection (which should be paired with multiple devices at the same time).

There are some extra considerations for Android devices. A dedicated app that easily switches sound mode, customizes audio profiles, and can find earbuds if they misplace or adjust other settings. Features such as Google Fast Pair or NFC-based pairing can also help you avoid browsing the Bluetooth menu to connect the earbuds for the first time, and are also a good privilege. Some Android devices can also take advantage of high-quality Bluetooth codecs, such as APTX adaptive or Sony's LDAC – these are not as important to audio quality as the actual architecture of earbuds, but if the buds are capable enough, they can help you provide more details and you can provide invalid lost files. APTX adaptation can also help reduce latency, which is great for streaming videos or games.

Diversity is the biggest advantage of Android, but it also means that some wireless earbuds play well in some devices (usually made by the same company). For example, recent Samsung earbuds come with some perks that are only available when using a Galaxy phone. We have some suggestions above related to this idea.

How we test Android earbuds

Photographer Billy Steele/Engadget

The best way to test earbuds is to wear them as many as possible, so that's what we're going to do. We usually do this in a week or two, although the embargo era occasionally forces us to complete the audit process faster. We listen to a test playlist that includes several music genres and podcasts, keeping an eye on how each pair approaches bass, middle and treble frequencies to get an accurate picture of their sound profile. We also tested in high volume and low volumes to check consistency in tuning. We can't access virtual headers to make more objective measurements, but sometimes we consider sites like this rtings,,,,, Soundguys There are other things just to make sure our impression does not show a very high foundation. If the model supports custom EQ, we will patch it up and use the available EQ presets to see if one sounds better than the others – although usually we use most of the impressions in defaults.

To evaluate the microphone quality, we recorded our own audio samples and made multiple calls with our partners both indoor and outdoor. For battery life, we will test playlist playback, with a volume of about 75%, and measure the time it takes for each set to drain. Where applicable, we have conducted a thorough review of a pair of companion applications and tested each available feature. While comfort is ultimately subjective, we notice how we feel when we move on each pair. We also use certain pairs in particularly crowded public places to better understand their passive and active noise, and their ability to maintain consistent Bluetooth connectivity.

Latest updates

April 2025: We've checked this guide to make sure our preferred choices still exist and pointed out several alternatives to the Noble Fokus Rex5 as the couple has recently encountered inventory issues. We also keep an eye on how the Trump administration’s tariff policies affect our recommended pricing and inventory (and the consumer technology industry as a whole). All of our options are still available within their regular price range, but we will update this guide if this situation changes.

February 2025:Noble Fokus Rex5 is our new “best sound quality” choice, replacing the Sennheiser momentum True Wireless 4. Our other suggestions remain the same.

December 2024: We have made a slight edit to this guide to make sure our current choices are still accurate.

This article originally appeared on Engadget