The Best Wireless Headphones to Buy in 2026

I've spent well over the past six months using a variety of different wireless headphones from

brands like Sony, Apple, Bose, Sonos, and Nothing, and even have the brand new QuietComfort Ultra Gen

2 from Bose. I use noise-cancelling headphones for pretty much hours every day, and I'm going to take

you through which one of these I think are the best wireless headphones. First up is, of course,

sound quality. When it comes to sound quality, the AirPods Max are the only ones that don't give you

any EQ adjustment. Well, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra as well as the Sonos Ace headphones don't

give you a full EQ, just a three-band EQ, where Sony and Nothing provide a full eight-band EQ,

which I definitely prefer. Having an EQ can really help you tune the sound of the headphones to your

liking, which is important because not all of these headphones sound perfect out of the box,

to me at least. But how do they sound in general? Well, first let's start with the Bose. They have a

really punchy sound and by default are heavier in the mid-range and bass. They've got great clarity,

a pretty wide sound stage, and that really deep bass can get deep without getting too muddy.

Vocals sound very centered with these headphones, like right in the middle of my head. The only

adjustment I made was tweaking their treble, just pushing that up a bit. But overall, if you like

a really dynamic, punchy sound, you're going to like the sound signature on these. Moving on to

the Sonos Ace, compared to the Bose, vocals don't sound quite as centered in the middle of your

head, and you don't get as much clarity as with the Bose. I find that these sound pretty balanced

in their default EQ. You don't get that really deep bass that's more pronounced on the Bose,

and these definitely don't sound as punchy, which depending on what you're listening to might be a

preference. Moving on to the Sony's, their audio is a bit more clear than what I hear on the Sonos.

Also, a bit more dynamic, but not in the way that the Bose is by making the bass and mid-range a bit

more punchy. The Sony's are a bit more restrained in doing that, which I appreciate. Honestly, these

just sound freaking great out of the box. It feels like the instruments are right outside your ears,

and the sound by default is well balanced. Vocals sound great. Nothing feels like too much bass or

too much treble. Moving on to the AirPods Max, I think they sound very well balanced with a nice

amount of detail. Uh, they're not overly heavy in their mids or bass and they have a pretty wide

sound stage. And if you like the sound profile of the AirPods Pro 3, which I have a video out on

and why you might want to upgrade to these if you have the AirPods Pro 2, I'll leave that video here

if you're interested. But uh, these have a very similar sound signature to these. And though you

can't adjust the EQ on the AirPods Max, I've never really felt the need to because they just sound

great out of the box. And these are about the only headphones that actually make Dolby Atmos music

via Apple Music sound fantastic. All right, and last but not least is the Nothing Headphone One.

Definitely one of the most interesting headphones out there. Now, by default, out of the box,

I thought these just sounded way too flat. The bass was a bit muddy. However, thanks to Nothing's

advanced EQ tuner, which is by far the best I've seen out of any of these headphones, you can not

only fine-tune these to sound not just decent, but actually pretty great. I'm able to get their sound

signature to almost be within the same universe as the AirPods Max and Sony's. And one of the

coolest features is the ability to import other EQ settings right from within the Nothing X app,

which isn't just available for Android, but it's available on iOS as well. You can import curated

ones from Nothing, like one from SoundGuys.com. Browse others on Nothing's Playground, or scan a

QR code to import into your app. And the profile you set is saved on the headphones themselves,

so they'll stay tuned as you switch from device to device. And I'll leave a link to the one I've been

using, which is a slightly modified version of the LTT tune, down in the description and pinned

comment. Now, what about lossless audio quality over a Bluetooth connection? The Sony and Nothing

headphones support LDAC on Android devices, while the Sonos Ace and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2

support aptX Lossless. Now, the AirPods Max does not support lossless streaming like the AirPods

Pro 2 and the AirPods Pro 3 earbuds do, uh, specifically with the Vision Pro. So, we know this

is a technology that Apple can technically do now. And in terms of lossless audio over a wired USB-C

connection, that's supported by all the headphones except Sony's, which is an odd miss for them. Now,

sound quality is pretty subjective, but if you were like, "Okay, if I had to pick one, which

one do I prefer?" Uh, I like the sound signature of the Sony's slightly better than the Nothing

Headphone One and the AirPods Max. So, those would be my top three, closely followed by the Bose, and

then I'd put the Sonos Ace last. Next up, noise cancellation. For this category, the Bose ranks

number one, followed closely by the AirPods Max and Sony WH-1000XM6. Those two are pretty close.

They're just a hair behind where the Bose is. And then following that is the Nothing Headphone One

and the Sonos Ace. So, you've got great headphones with ANC for your day-to-day, but what about when

you need the same noise cancellation at night? Well, that's where the Somnipods 3 from Fit Nexa

come in, who sponsored this video. These are some of the thinnest hybrid ANC sleep earbuds

on the market. Specifically designed for side sleepers and those who struggle with noise at

night. What makes these unique is their ultra-thin design. At less than 9.9 millimeters and weighing

just 3.3 grams each, they're engineered to stay comfortable even when you sleep on your side. Fit

Nexa includes 10 different ear tips, plus four wing options made out of medical-grade silicone

in the box, allowing you to find the perfect fit for your ear shape. Now, for noise cancellation,

these use what Fit Nexa calls triple noise control technology. The physical design passively seals

out ambient sounds like background noise. And the hybrid ANC actively blocks low-frequency noise

like traffic or HVAC systems. And adaptive leak compensation dynamically adjusts to your movement

and environment throughout the night. Together, Fit Nexa claims this system can reduce external

sound by up to 42 dB. It also has sleep tracking and a clever alarm system that won't wake up your

partner. Whether you're a light sleeper dealing with noisy neighbors, a side sleeper who can't

find comfortable earbuds, or somebody looking to better understand their sleep patterns,

you should check out the Fit Nexa Somnipods 3 by using the link in the description. Next up,

let's talk hardware design. Let's start with the AirPods Max since this is really the design

all of the other companies have been taking design cues from since they were released,

minus the bra case. Even though they received new colors and a USB-C connection last year,

the internals have remained largely the same as they were in the originals, which were released

in 2020. They have the same H1 chip, so it won't get adaptive transparency mode, a more enhanced

acoustic experience or improved ANC like we got with the AirPods Pro 2 and 3, which have the H2

chip. Now, one of the best parts of the AirPods Max is their hardware design. The mesh canopy

makes it so the top of your head doesn't feel as hot when you wear them for hours on end. I also

love their easy-to-remove ear cushions that have a knit acoustic mesh. This makes them feel more

comfortable than that fake leather that you see a lot of other headphones use, which isn't bad,

but you definitely can notice a difference between the two materials. Another great part of their

design is the controls. The Digital Crown is used to precisely control playback and volume, and the

noise cancellation button is just there to turn noise cancellation on and off. Now, not everything

is perfect with the AirPods Max's hardware design. There are two main downsides. First is weight.

They weigh 384 g, which is by far the heaviest headphones of this group, and some people,

depending on your head size and shape, you're not going to like how they feel on your head. Though

for me they have actually been fine. Like I don't feel their clamping pressure to be too much and I

can wear them for hours at my desk without issue, but I also have a large head. The second issue

with them is the condensation that can form inside each ear cup. Because their ear cushions are so

easy to remove, a lot of wearers, myself included, will notice depending on your environment and what

you're doing with them, like working out, which you shouldn't do with these at all because they

have no water resistance rating. Condensation can form relatively easy on the inside. And over time,

that condensation can cause the connectors that connect into each ear cup. They can get

this black kind of corroded residue on them, which can cause connection issues between the ear cups,

or the Bluetooth board on them can just eventually die on you like it did with my original pair after

4 years, which was not great. Next, let's look at Bose. The Bose are lightweight with a nice metal

used to attach the cups to the headband. And on the Gen 2, they're a polished metal, which looks

really nice in person, though some might prefer the more matte look of the previous generation.

The frame of my originals made a bit of a creaking sound, though that hasn't been something I've

noticed with the Gen 2 here. They sound fine. They're also really lightweight, weighing just 260

g, which should be comfortable for most people. And the ear cups, like the AirPods Max, are deep

enough for most people's ears to wear comfortably. They also fold, which is awesome because that

means their case can be smaller to carry around. The volume controls are this touch-sensitive ridge

on the back of the right ear cup, and they work fine, but I would have preferred a physical dial.

Moving on to the Sonos Ace, they borrowed the telescoping rods of the AirPods Max and removable

ear cups, which is a nice touch. And they also have this nice connect key that you can not only

press in to control playback, but also move up and down to adjust volume, which works very well.

While not the lightest headphones of the bunch, they're not bad at 312 g. And overall, they've

got a really nice build quality to them. Moving on to the Sony WH-1000XM6, these are probably my

least favorite in terms of hardware design. These do protrude out away from your face a bit more in

a way that I find less aesthetically pleasing than most of the other headphones. Though, I do think

Sony's excellent blue color somewhat makes up for that. They are easy to adjust and they do fold,

but my goodness is their touch control interface annoying compared to all of the other headphones.

There are physical buttons, but only for turning on the headphones, putting them in Bluetooth

pairing mode, and switching between aware mode and noise cancellation. Both playback controls and

volume are controlled via a touchpad on the right ear cup, and it does work, but it just feels way

less precise than with the AirPods Max, Sonos, and Nothing Headphone One. Speaking of which,

the Nothing Headphone One might just have my favorite controls out of any of these headphones.

There's a dedicated button just for Bluetooth pairing. Then there's the roller which gives

you precise control over your volume, although it doesn't have as many volume steps as the AirPods

Max. It's a similar concept to the Digital Crown where you can press it in to play and pause media.

To skip forward or back between tracks or scrub through a song or podcast, you can just use the

paddle found below the roller. And then there's the button on the front right part of the ear cup,

which is customizable to do things like hop between services using the channel hop feature.

If you're using a device that supports the Nothing X app, or if they're connected to something like a

Mac, it'll just trigger the assistant by default. Oh, and I almost forgot. Unlike most of the other

headphones on my list here, these actually have a dedicated toggle switch for turning them on and

off, which honestly you'll want to use because I found the auto-off doesn't actually work all that

well, especially when they're like connected to my Mac. They just always stay on and just

drain their battery. The thing that Nothing did that's so brilliant here is they didn't put too

many functions into a single button, which then becomes a bit unintuitive. You're like, "Wait,

what the heck does this thing do again?" Like with the Bluetooth pairing functionality added into the

main button on the Sonos Ace, Bose, and Sony headphones, I don't have to turn the Headphone

One off and then back on again just to get into Bluetooth pairing mode, which is really nice. And

all of the buttons feel distinctly different, which also helps make them more intuitive when

you're using your thumb to feel around for a button. Also, they don't have this cheaper plastic

feel to them thanks to the aluminum used in the ear cups in conjunction with translucent plastic

to give it that real Nothing aesthetic. All right, so that's the hardware design and overall I think

that the Nothing Headphone One wins this category, followed by the AirPods Max, Sonos Ace, Bose, and

then the Sony's I'd rank last. The next category is comfort. And first, let's look at weight.

The Sony's are the lightest at 254 g, followed by the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 at 260 g,

the Sonos Ace at 312 g, Nothing Headphone One at 329 g, and the AirPods Max at a hefty 384 g. So,

the Sony's definitely win the weight category, but for me, not the comfort category. One of

their biggest design flaws is the ear cups are not very deep. And as a result, for my ears at least,

it feels like part of the inner mesh rests on my ears, making the Sony's pretty uncomfortable to

wear for long periods of time. All of the other headphones have ear cups that are deep enough to

accommodate my ears, and I wish Sony would change their design to match them. In terms of clamping

pressure, all of them have felt good there. I noticed the clamping pressure maybe a bit more

with the Nothing Headphone One. And then for my ears, because the Sony's feel like they're just

sitting right on part of them, that does affect how I perceive their clamping pressure. For the

AirPods Max, I find their clamping pressure to actually be pretty evenly distributed. Though,

because of their weight, you do notice it a bit more than some of the other headphones. Aside for

maybe the Nothing cans, though depending on your head shape and size, comfort and how you perceive

the clamping pressure will vary somewhat with all of these headphones. Moving on, let's talk about

battery life. The Nothing Headphone One are listed with the most amount of battery life at 35 hours,

while the Sony's, Sonos, and Bose are all rated with up to 30 hours with ANC on. Well, the AirPods

Max brings up the rear with the worst battery life at 20 hours with ANC on, and they are definitely

the pair I'm constantly having to recharge. I don't think their standby battery is as good as

some of the others, and because there's no button to allow you to actually turn them completely off,

you don't have as much control with them as you do with some of the other headphones. Next up,

mic quality. All right, and these are the AirPods Max. This is how their mics sound. And it just

sounds like right now I'm wearing headphones. All right. And these are the Sony's. This is how their

mics sound. And when I'm wearing these, I can definitely, I can hear a little bit of my voice,

but I can definitely tell I am wearing headphones. My voice sounds like it's underwater a little bit.

All right. And these are the Sonos. This is how their mics sound. And let me just say,

I can hear a little bit of my voice when I have these on in a way that, I can definitely tell I'm

wearing headphones. It sounds like my voice is maybe like slightly underwater. All right. And

these are the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2. This is how their mics sound. All right. And

these are the Nothing Headphone One. This is how their mics sound. And like with the Bose,

it did not turn on transparency mode to record this audio, which in my mind is what should

happen. I prefer that over what the Sony's and the Sonos headphones did. For mic quality, to my ears,

the Sony's sound the best, even though I don't like the way they feel when you actually have them

on using their mics compared to some of the other headphones. And I'd rank the AirPods Max second,

followed by the Bose and Sonos cans, and then the Nothing Headphone One last. Well,

the Nothing Headphone One, they sound clear. I did hear more artifacts with my voice compared to

the other headphones when using them, which just wasn't as pleasing to listen to. But sound and mic

quality is somewhat subjective. So, if you would have ranked these differently and you thought

one sounded better than what I did, definitely let me know in the comments. When it comes to

transparency mode, when listening to myself talk, the AirPods Max sound like I'm not even wearing

headphones. They're incredibly impressive with their transparency mode. The Sony's are a quick

second place, followed by the Nothing Headphone One, then the Bose, and then Sonos at the end,

which pumps in a bit of my voice too much to the point where it makes its transparency mode sound a

bit too unnatural. Now for a few other anecdotes about these headphones. The Nothing Headphone

One are also the only headphones on this list that have any form of water resistance rating,

making them more suitable for workouts or use in light rain with their IP52 rating,

which is crazy given they're the least expensive headphones on this list. Though, not everything

is perfect with the Nothing Headphone One. When they connect to a device and you're wearing them,

they make this electronic riff sound that I just find to be absolutely jarring. And they should

absolutely at first just lower its volume or let users change what sound plays and how loud that

sound is. Now, another thing to note about going with one of these headphones over the others are

the ecosystem benefits you'll get. The AirPods Max are probably the best example of this. They'll

auto-switch to whatever Apple device you're using. You can pair up to two AirPods to an Apple TV for

late-night listening and use audio sharing to share audio between two pairs of AirPods. If you

have a Nothing Phone and the Nothing Headphone One, you can set the channel hop button to do

things like record audio in your central space, and make sure you're subscribed to the channel to

see my full review of the Nothing Phone 3. Sonos has a TV audio swap feature with the Ace and Sonos

soundbars where you can move audio from their soundbars to the Ace and it'll reproduce sound in

a way that mimics a surround sound setup. And the AirPods Max and Apple TV can do something similar,

by the way. But most of these spatial audio features I've just found gimmicky outside of