Apple’s AirPods are impressive pieces of technology, but their average-at-best sound quality and limited compatibility might inspire you to look for alternatives. Here are our recommendations — starting with five completely wireless earbuds.
5. Jabra Elite Sport (£229)
Jabra has been making Bluetooth headphones and other gadgets for years, so it’s no surprise that they’re turning their hand to the latest trend of fully wireless in-ears. Their first effort is the Elite Sport, which has a focus on fitness. That includes IP67 waterproofing, a secure fit, and exercise tracking (heart rate and VO2 max) via the Sport Life app. The headphones will start shipping in mid-November.
4. Earin True Wireless Headphones (£199)
Earin offered one of the first truly wireless Bluetooth headphones, with a Kickstarter campaign in 2014 and shipments in 2015. They focused on size and weight, trying to get the smallest usable wireless headphones — each only weighs three-and-a-half grams. A review from Wired praises the simple but effective design, the sound quality and the earphones’ small size, but noted that the headphones fell out during exercise and Bluetooth connectivity troubles. For comfort and cost then, these rank quite highly.
3. Bragi The Dash (£249)
The Dash is perhaps the first set of properly wireless in-ear headphones to attract attention. Bragi raised $3 million on Kickstarter to make the headphones, with a sleek look and a feature list as long as your arm. These headphones can track your heart rate and fitness, can be controlled with gestures, and have a few gigabytes of music storage built in. The whole package is polished, but Bluetooth connectivity issues have been mentioned in reviews.
Bragi are also working on another grammatically questionable set of headphones, called simply The Headphone. The Headphone is a simplified version of The Dash, which removes its fitness features, onboard storage and touch controls. In exchange, you get double the battery life (6 hours), physical controls and a microphone for calls… and they’re also much cheaper, at €119 (approximately £100), although they’ll go up to €149 (£130) after the first units start shipping by the end of the year.
2. Erato Apollo 7 (£299)
The Erato Apollo 7s are another strong choice, on the back of a positive review from The Verge. According to the review, these tiny in-ears offer an excellent Bluetooth connection, avoiding the connectivity issues that plague many small form factor headphones. They’re also good looking, like tiny speakers, in space grey or gold. However, they only last for three hours before needing a recharge, limiting day-long use.
Shop Erato Apollo 7 in Space Grey > In Gold >
If you like the look of the Apollo 7s, then you might want to stay tuned for Erato’s forthcoming Muse 5 — a bigger, more polished version that offers four hours of playback time. Interestingly, the Muse 5 also has a two-piece fitting system, letting you tailor the headphones to fit both the size of your ear canal and concha. That could mean a better fit, although reviews aren’t out yet.
1. Samsung Gear IconX (£199)
Most of the contenders on this list are made by small startups, which brings some risks — the core product may be good, but testing, shipping and support may be lacking. That makes Samsung’s Gear IconX a novelty in this space; the first truly wireless headphones to come from a major manufacturer (apart from Apple, of course) with all of the benefits that brings.
Judged on their own merits, the Gear IconX still look pretty good. They’re available in multiple colours, sport a comfortable fit, and they’re a bit cheaper than many of their competitors. They weigh 6.3 grams each, and include features like heart rate monitoring, 4GB of internal storage and gesture controls. On the whole, they seem like a more polished version of Bragi’s The Dash headphones, and reviews seem pretty positive so far — Bluetooth connectivity seems good, although battery life is mixed.
Wrapping up
Writing this article, I’ve come to appreciate Apple’s offering — £169 for headphones sounds expensive, but it’s still cheaper than every truly wireless alternative on this list. If sound quality is decent, connectivity is good and battery life is five hours as claimed, then the AirPods could be a pretty sensible choice.
If you’d prefer the lower cost of more traditional Bluetooth headphones, check out Part 2: 5 Bluetooth headphone alternatives to Apple’s AirPods.
Thanks for checking out the article, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below. If you’d like to share your own recommendations or ask a question, of course you can do that too!