Wireless earbuds

True wireless earbuds, sometimes called TWS earbuds (True Wireless Sound), are 2 separate earbuds without a wire. They usually come in a sleeve or case in which they are also charged. Wireless earbuds have been around for several years but became particularly well known after Apple announced the AirPods.

• Apple AirPods
• Earbuds earbuds
• In-ear earbuds
• Noise-cancelling earbuds
• Samsung earbuds
• Sony earbuds
• Waterproof earbuds

History of fully wireless earbuds

Apple announced the first AirPods on 7 September 2016 during the unveiling of the iPhone 7. That was the first time the general public was introduced to fully wireless earbuds with a charging case. Until then, there was no real need to listen to music completely wirelessly because mobile phones had headphone inputs. Apple broke with that habit after which an alternative was needed. Many manufacturers would follow in the following years, removing the audio jack input and coming up with their own AirPod alternatives.

Yet Apple was not the first with wireless earbuds. Bluetooth earbuds had existed for much longer, sometimes with a wire between the two earbuds or connected to a headband. However, it was Apple that offered the earbuds in combination with a charging case, inventing a method to pair them easily. Previously, this Bluetooth pairing process was considered something complicated.

Fit earbuds

Most TWS earbuds consist of two earbuds with a sleeve. The caps sometimes have a stalk while others are round in shape. That stalk is used for the battery and/or the microphone. An advantage of the latter can be that it is closer to your mouth and can therefore pick up sound better. However, the difference is usually minimal to have an effect.

Especially the design of the part that sits in your ear differs. You have roughly 3 different fits; earbuds, in-ear and bone conducting. Earbuds sit in the auricle and not in your ear canal. This makes them similar to traditional old-fashioned wired earbuds. They do not seal airtight, allowing ambient noise to enter. You don't have that problem with in-ear earbuds. These have a rubber tip at the end and sit in the ear canal. They seal off outside noise and thus offer a passive form of noise cancellation. Finally, with bone conducting, there is nothing in your ear but sound is transmitted via vibration to the inner ear via the bone behind the ear. The big advantage here is that the ear is free and you can still hear ambient noise, although this is sometimes the biggest disadvantage.

General functions

Besides listening to music, wireless earphones have other functions. Most are equipped with a microphone, allowing you to use them to make phone calls as well. Another use for the microphone is for voice commands. With some earbuds, this allows you to call the Google Assistant. Google's earbuds, the Google Buds, even have a translation function. Handy abroad where you don't speak the language.

Advantages and disadvantages of wireless earbuds

The big advantage of wireless earbuds is freedom of movement. You never again accidentally pull a laptop or phone off the table when walking away. You will also no longer be bothered by a cord that gets in the way or makes side noises when it rubs against something.

Wireless earbuds have recently become a dire necessity mainly due to the lack of a headphone port. Now, you can always use a dongle (or extension plug) but then, of course, don't forget it. With wireless earbuds, you never have to think about that again. Just make sure the battery is full. Most cases have a built-in battery that is enough to fully charge the earbuds up to 5 times. Charging the case can be wired and in some cases wireless.

However, the biggest disadvantage of the caps is the possibility of losing them. With some fits, this happens faster than others. Most prone to this are the earbuds. Sometimes manufacturers supply an ear hook or rubber loop that sits inside your earbud. And yet every day people lose their wireless earbuds. So it remains to be careful.

Another major drawback is battery degradation. Lithium batteries are known to stop fully charging over time. The batteries in the earbuds themselves are not that big so cannot lack much capacity either. As a result, most earbuds become fairly unusable after a year or two.