Dexerto's Hardware and Deals writer. A lover of bad games and beige PCs, he has found himself writing about these things for over a decade. You can get in touch with him over email: [email protected]

Looking for a new pair of wireless earbuds? We’ve got the best options in 2022 right here, including some excellent budget options.

Since we last spoke about earbuds, Apple has come out swinging with a new pair of AirPods Pro, which seems to be a huge improvement over the 2019 entry. However, picking the right earbuds for gaming and entertainment can be a bit of a chore. Do you go all in on pricier options, or will those cheap plastic nubs do just fine?

Don’t fear, as we have been reviewing quite a lot of earbuds and headphones recently, so we’ve decided to share with you our thoughts on the best options you can get. There are even some that are designed with gaming in mind.

Included in the box: USB-C cable, extra earbuds, charging case, and USB-C dongle.

Our top recommended wireless earbuds are the JBL Quantum TWS, which not only come in as one of the better deals you can get on the market right now but provide a great feature set, alongside its excellent audio.

The JBL Quantum TWS are marketed as gaming earbuds, but don’t let that deter you from jumping in with them. They’re perfect for music, with a fantastic suite of noise canceling features, including ‘talk through’. This dims your audio so you can talk with someone without having to take them out.

JBL has crafted an excellent all-around piece of kit, that also comes with a 2.4GHz USB-C dongle, eliminating Bluetooth from devices like the Steam Deck, Switch or PC.

You can buy the JBL Quantum TWS earbuds from JBL direct for $150.

Alternatively, you can get the JBL Tune 230NC ($99) or Live FreeNC+ ($159) for a similar overall experience, just without the dongle.

When we reviewed the ASUS ROG Cetra, we loved the way they fit in our ears, as well as the good experience while listening to music and gaming. There’s an app to adjust your settings to your liking, which was easy enough to use.

For the relatively low asking price, in a sea of low asking priced earbuds, these are premium on the budget end. We couldn’t in good conscience recommend something dirt cheap, as it’d just be a detriment to your enjoyment.

The battery life is where these come into their own, with an extraordinarily long shelf life with a fully charged case, which charges in about 10 minutes for an hour of listening. It even comes with great noise canceling to mute the wider world from your music.

You can get the ASUS ROG Cetra from Amazon UK.

The Beats Studio Buds are an impressive piece of kit. With an iconic logo and Apple behind them, you can expect great sound quality, flawless pairing for iOS devices, and even IP4X sweat resistance for use while in the gym.

We checked out the Nickmercs edition buds not too long ago, and were impressed by the audio quality, and the battery life of the buds. It should be noted however that there’s no wireless charging included, which is disappointing. However, you definitely won’t be disappointed with them, should you choose to pick a pair up.

You can get the Beats Studio Buds from Best Buy

Google does this thing on the regular, where they’ll try to undercut everyone in price and end up actually producing an incredibly decent device. Then, they’ll kill it off in favor of something a little more expensive or just never refresh them.

No, we don’t understand Google, but we understand a good deal when we see one. The Pixel Buds A-Series is getting rave reviews all over and with good reason. The low price doesn’t deter Google from producing some great-sounding earbuds, with these being excellent entry points or even rivals to Apple and Samsung’s buds.

While there’s no volume control or even noise canceling, it has major upsides in being comfortable to plug into your ears and having that excellent Google stamp of quality.

The Google Pixel Buds are available directly from Google or from Best Buy with $4 off (as of 07/26/22).

Included in the box: AirPods Pro Second Generation and charging case, USB-C to Lightning cable, silicon tips

In our review of the second-generation Airpods Pro, we found that Apple had improved on nearly everything since the release of the first. Be sure to check it out to get a deeper insight.

There’s a reason these things are in everyone’s ears and even on Android, they’re still being used. A great quality sound, combined with a genuinely comfortable fit, these are our recommendations over the non-pro AirPods.

Apple keeps improving its headphone technology, with these giving you an expected, good sound across the board. Perfect for those on iOS, the AirPod Pros come with a myriad of features, including microphones to detect noise to assist with noise cancellation.

Apple touts its battery life and in most cases, we’ve experienced that 30-hour battery life actually hit that peak on multiple occasions throughout the week.

Regardless of where you stand on Sony’s console output, their headphones and sound devices are phenomenal. They’re unparalleled in actually delivering on the price that they charge for things, with everything from their sound department pretty much on our hypothetical recommendation list.

Succeeding from the excellent XM3 earbuds, these $280 earbuds provide a near-perfect sound, along with a bevy of features that just add to the prize.

Sony claims the battery life is around 8 hours off a single charge from the case, with an additional 16, with noise canceling not included in those figures. You could expect to knock off about an hour or so from that battery life.

While we doubt that Windows will play nice with Bluetooth, there’s ‘Swift Pair’ to counteract its fussiness about Bluetooth devices, as well as access to your phone’s voice assistant.

Like on the AirPod Pros, a microphone is positioned on each bud, allowing for the XM4s to work better on noise cancellation by actually listening to the world around you.

The main selling point, although an often overlooked one, is the inclusion of LDAC. LDAC allows earbuds and headphones to transfer far more data over the airwaves, allowing for higher quality audio to be heard. While this doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to listen to lossless audio, higher-quality audio files will still come out better.

The Sony WF-1000XM4s are currently available at Best Buy for $280.

Wireless Earbuds are tough to pick out. Everyone has different preferences when it comes to their shape, size, color, and more. But, when it comes down to it, nothing can really beat trying a pair out for yourself. It is a shame if you get bogged down with the specifics, only to buy what you think is the perfect pair, only for them to be super uncomfortable.

But you also need to look at other factors, these things can include things like if the earbuds themselves have a wireless charging case, features like a transparency mode, or active noise cancellation. However, one of the most important things to look out for would be battery life. There’s no use in getting a pair if they die, and the charging case holds minimal charges for them, or if you have to attach an annoying wire if there are no wireless charging capabilities.

Just pay careful attention to the specs, features, and battery life, and give them a go. There are so many on the market that there’s bound to be a set that’s just right for you.

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