One of the best headphones for operating in 2025

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear with wingtip | Assistant help: 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 snug, safe design, good sound high quality and transparency mode and normal ease of use, amongst different issues. As Billy detailed in his review, the Match Professional’s wingtip design units them aside from 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 strain. This helps them really feel safer once you’re transferring round lots, be it throughout a morning jog or whereas taking a HIIT class. The buds are additionally rated IPX4 — not the best stage of safety out of every little thing I examined, however sufficient for even my sweatiest periods.

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 all my few gripes: unintentional presses of the onboard controls. There have been various 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 choose 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 more durable to completely have interaction.

Sound high quality is stable and, because of its punchy bass and total steadiness, is particularly appropriate for exercising. Spatial audio help is nice to have, and whereas Adaptive EQ means you’ll be able to’t tweak the EQ your self like you’ll be able to with different buds, it does make for persistently 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 possibility.

ANC can also be nice on the Beats Match Professional, however transparency mode is what actually shines. Like I stated, full ANC may be harmful once you’re operating outdoors, whether or not you’re in the course of a metropolis or on a path. It pays to have the ability to hear what’s occurring round you, at the least a little 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 properly 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, properly, 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 supplies 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 instances on a lot cheaper alternate options felt extra substantial than the Beats Match Professional’s, however I acknowledge that it received’t deter most individuals (together with me). Other than that and the contact controls, the Beats Match Professional provides an entire package deal for runners and different athletes alike, one which can be utilized all day, not simply throughout coaching periods. Plus, their normal $200 worth isn’t too cost-prohibitive, they usually can typically be discovered on sale for much less.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: In-ear| Assistant help: 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 in the end the latter received 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.

At the beginning, the Elite 8 Lively has one of many highest sturdiness rankings of any earbuds we examined. Rated IP68, it’s protected towards every kind of mud and particles and it’ll survive being submerged in water at excessive strain. 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 would possible give some folks peace of thoughts to know that these buds can take a beating. For runners, you received’t have to fret for those who get caught in a sudden downpour throughout your ultimate mile.

That further safety doesn’t make the Elite 8 Lively cumbersome or unattractive as one may assume. These buds are among the most snug 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 the majority others I examined didn’t have, too. There are onboard controls as properly, they usually’re not as vulnerable to unintentional presses as these on the Beats Match Professional.

As one in all Jabra’s dearer units, the Elite 8 Lively have an excellent sound profile out of the field however for those who choose, you should utilize the corporate’s app to tweak the EQ utilizing a line graph that spans bass, mid and treble. You may as well save custom-made presets. The app provides six preconfigured settings, and I discovered myself utilizing Bass Increase and Energize most whereas exercising (they’re fairly related 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 help spatial sound with Dolby Audio.

The Elite 8 Lively supply adaptive noise cancellation, they usually do job of analyzing your atmosphere and blocking out interferences. “HearThrough” is Jabra’s model of transparency mode, and it’s helpful when operating outdoors in a metropolis or an space with a number of site 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’ll be able to hear your podcasts regardless of how gusty the atmosphere. I ran in some significantly windy climate whereas testing these out, and I had persistently 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 may stand up to 56 hours of complete use for those who’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 unnoticed on Beats’ buds).

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

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

The Jabra Elite 4 Active supply one of the best worth for the cash of any pair of earbuds on our checklist. 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 finished.

Just like the Elite 8 Lively, the Elite 4 Lively is tremendous snug and Jabra has actually gotten the onboard controls proper on this sequence. The buttons aren’t really easy to press that you just by accident set off them everytime you regulate the match, they usually present satisfying suggestions once you truly do press them. Sound high quality and ANC are spectacular, and I mainly by no means needed to fear about operating out of battery earlier than I assumed to myself, hey, you may wish 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 score, spatial sound help with Dolby Audio, an extended total battery life (56 hours with the charging case), voice steering and that satisfying soft-touch end. The IP score and prolonged battery life are the 2 essential options that would compel some to splurge on the Elite 8 Lively as a substitute. Additionally, spatial audio is sweet if in case you have the buds semi-permanently positioned in your ears consistently pumping out tunes, whatever the exercise. In any other case, although, you’re getting a ton of fantastic options with these $120 earbuds.

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

When you have lower than $50 to spend, you’ll be able to’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. Plenty of 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 particularly are fairly versatile and have a soft-touch end, which makes them extra comfortable (I attempted a number 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 for those who’re new to it, nevertheless it’s a surefire method to get a little bit further stability throughout intense exercises.

Sound high quality is fairly good on these buds as properly, though not practically as balanced because the Jabra Elite 8 Lively or the Beats Match Professional. I additionally respect which you can cycle by three completely different EQ modes — Signature, Balanced and Bass Increase — 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 form of software program controls.

You may 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 needs to be a USB-C connector as a substitute. The case can also be on the cumbersome aspect; you’ll be able to nonetheless throw it right into a backpack or purse simply, nevertheless it’s not as svelte as instances you’ll see with dearer buds.

Connectivity: Wi-fi | Fashion: Open-ear | Assistant help: 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 aim being to let noise in relatively than block it out. The OpenFits do an excellent 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 strain 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 types 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 dying metallic (for those who can’t management your self).

Sound high quality is stable contemplating the design, and the OpenFit will get fairly loud as properly. These buds have Shokz’s Direct Pitch know-how, which makes use of reverse sound waves to optimize the gap and angle to your ear canal. The corporate claims this helps cut 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 total quantity out of all the open-ear units I attempted, however for those who crank the quantity 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 is likely to be the best choice for individuals who stay in cities or anybody who consistently runs outdoors amongst site visitors, pedestrians and different hazards. There’s no query that you just’ll hear what’s occurring round you and that may be essential to protecting your self secure on these streets.