The most effective headphones for operating in 2024

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear with wingtip | Assistant assist: Google Assistant, Siri | Water resistance: IPX4 | Lively noise cancellation: Sure | Battery life: As much as six hours

Read our full review of the Beats Fit Pro

The Beats Fit Pro got here out on the head of the pack because of their comfy, safe design, good sound high quality and transparency mode and common ease of use, amongst different issues. As Billy detailed in his review, the Match Professional’s wingtip design units them other than different Beats earbuds and makes them significantly good for operating and different exercises. The buds are pretty small and light-weight, and the wingtip on every is versatile sufficient to hug your ear snugly with out an excessive amount of stress. This helps them really feel safer while you’re transferring round quite a bit, be it throughout a morning jog or whereas taking a HIIT class. The buds are additionally rated IPX4 — not the very best stage of safety out of all the things I examined, however sufficient for even my sweatiest classes.

Because it had been, the Beats Match Professional stayed put throughout each single run and exercise. Nevertheless, adjusting their place on the fly can result in one in every of my few gripes: unintentional presses of the onboard controls. There have been quite a few occasions after I went to maneuver a bud and I ended up pausing my music within the course of as a result of the buttons are really easy to set off. Whereas I do desire the tactile suggestions of a bodily button versus the contact controls on different earbuds, Beats ought to have modified their place on the buds or made them a bit tougher to totally have interaction.

Sound high quality is stable and, because of its punchy bass and general steadiness, is particularly appropriate for exercising. Spatial audio assist is nice to have, and whereas Adaptive EQ means you may’t tweak the EQ your self like you may with different buds, it does make for constantly good audio high quality. It’s additionally one much less factor to play with out of the field, which I count on many individuals will respect; these earbuds are a real unbox-and-go choice.

ANC can be nice on the Beats Match Professional, however transparency mode is what actually shines. Like I stated, full ANC will be harmful while you’re operating exterior, whether or not you’re in the midst of a metropolis or on a path. It pays to have the ability to hear what’s occurring round you, not less than a bit bit, and the Match Professional’s transparency mode was one of the best out of the earbuds I attempted. Much like Apple’s AirPods Professional, it sounded extra pure than on our runner-up choose, and it’s straightforward to activate or off both with onboard buttons or from the management panel in your iOS or Android smartphone.

Talking of, the Beats Match Professional works significantly effectively with iPhones because of the built-in H1 chip, however Android customers can obtain the companion app to entry issues like fast pairing, management customizations and a battery standing indicator. I didn’t get into element in regards to the setup course of as a result of, effectively, there isn’t a lot of 1. As quickly as you unbox the Match Professional and open the case, the H1 chip communicates with iPhones and different iOS units to nearly immediately pair the buds and get them prepared to be used.

I’ll say, although, that I used to be stunned by one factor after I unboxed the Match Professional: how low cost their charging case feels. Whereas it gives an additional 21 hours on prime of the buds’ promised six hours of life, the construct high quality of the case itself appears like an actual step down in comparison with the buds themselves. Some charging circumstances on a lot inexpensive alternate options felt extra substantial than the Beats Match Professional’s, however I acknowledge that it gained’t deter most individuals (together with me). Apart from that and the contact controls, the Beats Match Professional presents a whole bundle for runners and different athletes alike, one which can be utilized all day, not simply throughout coaching classes. Plus, their normal $200 value isn’t too cost-prohibitive, and so they can usually be discovered on sale for much less.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear| Assistant assist: Siri, Google Assistant | Water resistance: IP68 | Lively noise cancellation: Sure | Battery life: As much as eight hours

The Jabra Elite 8 Active nearly bested the Beats Match Professional, however finally the latter gained because of their wingtip design and extra natural-sounding transparency mode. However except for these two issues, the Elite 8 Lively are simply pretty much as good, if not higher than, the Match Professional.

Before everything, the Elite 8 Lively has one of many highest sturdiness scores of any earbuds we examined. Rated IP68, it’s protected in opposition to all types of mud and particles and it’ll survive being submerged in water at excessive stress. Jabra additionally subjected the Elite 8 Lively to military-grade testing, defending them from extreme humidity, excessive temperature, rain and altitude. That is extra safety than most individuals want, however it is going to probably give some folks peace of thoughts to know that these buds can take a beating. For runners, you gained’t have to fret if you happen to get caught in a sudden downpour throughout your remaining mile.

That further safety doesn’t make the Elite 8 Lively cumbersome or unattractive as one may assume. These buds are among the most comfy I attempted, with a light-weight design and a safe match. The soft-touch end on the buds themselves and their charging case provides a stage of luxurious that almost all others I examined didn’t have, too. There are onboard controls as effectively, and so they’re not as susceptible to unintentional presses as these on the Beats Match Professional.

As one in every of Jabra’s dearer units, the Elite 8 Lively have an important sound profile out of the field however if you happen to desire, you should utilize the corporate’s app to tweak the EQ utilizing a line graph that spans bass, mid and treble. It’s also possible to save custom-made presets. The app presents six preconfigured settings, and I discovered myself utilizing Bass Enhance and Energize most whereas exercising (they’re fairly comparable with sturdy bass, however Energize emphasizes highs a bit extra). These personalization choices will give the Elite 8 Lively an edge over the Beats Match Professional for some. On prime of all that, Jabra’s buds assist spatial sound with Dolby Audio.

The Elite 8 Lively provide adaptive noise cancellation, and so they do a great job of analyzing your setting and blocking out interferences. “HearThrough” is Jabra’s model of transparency mode, and it’s helpful when operating exterior in a metropolis or an space with a lot of visitors even when it’s not as natural-sounding as the identical mode on the Beats Match Professional. Jabra’s is designed to neutralize wind noise whereas additionally letting you keep conscious of your environment, so you may hear your podcasts irrespective of how gusty the setting. I ran in some significantly windy climate whereas testing these out, and I had constantly good listening experiences with each HearThrough and ANC activated.

As for battery life, the Elite 8 Lively will get eight hours on a cost with ANC on, and a further 24 hours within the charging case. You possibly can stand up to 56 hours of complete use if you happen to’re not utilizing ANC, which is outstanding. The case additionally feels extra substantial than that of the Beats Match Professional, and you may wirelessly cost it (a function that’s neglected on Beats’ buds).

Finally, the Beats Match Professional and the Jabra Elite 8 Lively are neck and neck in our prime picks listing. However whereas the Jabras provide a bit extra customization and extra sturdiness, not everybody will want these bonuses. Nevertheless, if you happen to’re an athlete who likes to mess around with sound profiles otherwise you need among the most sturdy wi-fi earbuds obtainable right now, the Jabra Elite 8 Lively are those to get.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear | Assistant assist: Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant | Water resistance: IP57 | Lively noise cancellation: Sure | Battery life: As much as seven hours

The Jabra Elite 4 Active provide one of the best worth for the cash of any pair of earbuds on our listing. For $120, you get an IP57-rated design, stable sound high quality with adjustable EQ, good ANC, the identical HearThrough transparency mode because the Elite 8 Lively, app connectivity and a complete of 28 hours of battery life. These had been among the best buds for me to “choose up and go” with, whether or not it was for an impromptu stroll across the block, a sweaty HIIT session in my basement or an hour of labor throughout which I actually wanted to dam out distractions and get issues performed.

Just like the Elite 8 Lively, the Elite 4 Lively is tremendous comfy and Jabra has actually gotten the onboard controls proper on this collection. The buttons should not really easy to press that you simply by accident set off them everytime you regulate the match, and so they present satisfying suggestions while you really do press them. Sound high quality and ANC are spectacular, and I principally by no means needed to fear about operating out of battery earlier than I assumed to myself, hey, you may need to prime these up.

The primary variations between the Elite 4 Lively and the more-expensive Elite 8 Lively are that the latter have a better IP ranking, spatial sound assist with Dolby Audio, an extended general battery life (56 hours with the charging case), voice steerage and that satisfying soft-touch end. The IP ranking and prolonged battery life are the 2 principal options that might compel some to splurge on the Elite 8 Lively as a substitute. Additionally, spatial audio is good when you have the buds semi-permanently positioned in your ears always pumping out tunes, whatever the exercise. In any other case, although, you’re getting a ton of wonderful options with these $120 earbuds.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear with hook | Assistant assist: None | Water resistance: IP55 | Lively noise cancellation: No | Battery life: As much as eight hours

When you have lower than $50 to spend, you may’t go unsuitable with the $30 JLab Go Air Sport. I didn’t have excessive expectations going into testing these, however I used to be rapidly impressed by their match and sound high quality. Numerous units billed as workout-friendly headphones have this hook that wraps across the prime of your ear, and on the Go Air Sport it does assist preserve issues securely hooked up to your head. The hooks on these buds specifically are fairly versatile and have a soft-touch end, which makes them extra cozy (I attempted a couple of equally designed buds with a lot stiffer hooks that had been a ache in additional methods than one.) Admittedly, a hook design will take some getting used to if you happen to’re new to it, nevertheless it’s a surefire strategy to get a bit further stability throughout intense exercises.

Sound high quality is fairly good on these buds as effectively, though not almost as balanced because the Jabra Elite 8 Lively or the Beats Match Professional. I additionally respect you could cycle by means of three completely different EQ modes — Signature, Balanced and Bass Enhance — utilizing the onboard controls. There’s no app to fuss with, and that was a pleasant change of tempo for me after principally testing buds with some sort of software program controls.

You possibly can count on eight hours of playtime on the Go Air Sport, plus one other 24 hours of battery life with its charging case. Whereas the USB-A cable constructed into the underside of the case is helpful, actually must be a USB-C connector as a substitute (it’s the yr 2024, in spite of everything). The case can be on the cumbersome aspect; you may nonetheless throw it right into a backpack or purse simply, nevertheless it’s not as svelte as circumstances you’ll see with dearer buds.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: Open-ear | Assistant assist: None | Water resistance: IP54 | Lively noise cancellation: No | Battery life: As much as seven hours

I used to be apprehensive about making an attempt open-ear headphones, particularly whereas operating. However the Shokz OpenFit pleasantly stunned me from the primary time I put them on. Earbuds with open designs like this enable for extra situational consciousness, with the objective being to let noise in somewhat than block it out. The OpenFits do an important job of this with out skimping on sound high quality or consolation.

The buds themselves nearly float over your ear cavern and Shokz’s soft-finish “dolphin arc” hook is versatile sufficient to securely wrap across the prime of your ear with out placing an excessive amount of stress on it. There’s a bud-like portion on the different finish of the hook that acts as counterbalance, leading to a dependable match that by no means faltered throughout all kinds of actions together with operating, energy coaching and indoor biking. Granted, none of these workouts contain shaking your head an excessive amount of; perhaps don’t put on the OpenFit to hearken to head-banging demise steel (if you happen to can’t management your self).

Sound high quality is stable contemplating the design, and the OpenFit will get fairly loud as effectively. These buds have Shokz’s Direct Pitch expertise, which makes use of reverse sound waves to optimize the space and angle to your ear canal. The corporate claims this helps scale back sound leakage. In my testing, I discovered that true to a sure extent. The OpenFit had one of the best sound high quality and general quantity out of the entire open-ear units I attempted, however if you happen to crank the amount as much as the max (or shut), the particular person subsequent to you’ll undoubtedly hear what you’re listening to.

As I alluded to beforehand, these aren’t for anybody who desires to dam the world out throughout train (or in any other case). However the OpenFit could be the best choice for individuals who stay in cities or anybody who always runs exterior amongst visitors, pedestrians and different hazards. There’s no query that you simply’ll hear what’s occurring round you and that may be essential to maintaining your self secure on these streets.