With all the advancements in smartphone technology, it’s astonishing that making a phone call still sounds like two people talking through old tin cans and string. One way to improve the clarity and sound of the important calls you have to make — whether at home on Zoom or in a noisy airport or coffee shop — is to get yourself a great pair of earbuds.
There are several great earbud options on the market to improve your calling game substantially, and they boast features such as active noise cancellation (ANC) and transparency modes that are highly configurable and adaptive to a wide range of noisy situations.
No matter your usage levels, budget range, and style preferences, there’s something for every user in the market. From the high-end $249 AirPods Pro 2 (now with USB-C) for Apple users to the budget, but still excellent Soundcore Liberty 4 NC, there’s a lot to pick from.
Want to avoid confusion and quickly narrow down the best earbuds for phone calls? We’ve rounded up a list of the top picks, with pros and cons for each. And if you decide that earbuds aren’t right for you, we also have a roundup of the best over-ear style headphones for making phone calls.
Sony LinkBuds
The best for hearing yourself and those around you
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Sony WF-1000XM5
The best for sound quality and battery life
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Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
The best for Samsung Galaxy owners
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Status Audio Between 3ANC
Be stylish while talking on the phone
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Zeke Jones / Digital Trends
Apple AirPods Pro 2
The best for iPhone users
Pros
- Excellent noise canceling
- Best conversation mode we’ve tested
- Solid audio quality
- Capable of wireless lossless audio
- Yes, USB-C
Cons
- Best features only for Apple products
- Still no biofeedback
Regardless of whether you get the original 2nd generation of the Apple AirPods Pro or the latest and greatest USB-C version, the AirPods Pro 2, offer some of the best noise cancellation and calling features of any pair of earbuds on the market. The AirPods Pro line has always featured excellent active noise cancellation and transparency mode, but the second-generation model takes it one step further with improved ANC and a new Adaptive Transparency mode that adapts to the sounds around you.
This means your calls will be crystal clear, and you don’t have to worry about traffic noises or background sounds disturbing your important discussions. Our in-depth review found the call sound quality has improved too, as hardly any background noise was heard, especially in indoor settings. Loud, outdoor settings may muffle your voice slightly, but it’s still clear enough to understand.
Apple has also improved the battery life on the second-gen AirPods Pro, which now offer up to six hours per charge. This figure will be lower if you use ANC continuously. Our reviewer got a solid five hours during a noisy motorcycle trip, so you know it’ll be sufficient for most calls on the go. Plus, a quick five-minute charge will give you back an hour of listening time.
The biggest issue, however, is that Android users miss out on many of the cool features, limiting the AirPods Pro 2 largely to iOS users. They’re also a bit on the pricier side compared to other earbuds with decent calling functions, but if you love Apple, this is the best pick for you.
Apple AirPods Pro 2
The best for iPhone users
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends / Digital Trends
Jabra Elite 7 Pro
The best for noisy or windy conditions
Pros
- Super comfortable
- Great sound quality
- Excellent call quality
- Very good ANC and transparency
- Good battery life
- Wireless charging
- Tons of customization options
- Excellent water/dust protection
The Jabra Elite 7 Pro offer everything you need in earbuds but at a lower price tag. They’re comfortable to wear, so you avoid those itchy, irritating ears after long phone calls. The best part is the MultiSensor Voice technology, which uses an extra set of bone conduction mics. When conditions get windy, these mics kick in, giving the Elite 7 Pro a way to avoid all of that extra wind noise.
This is further boosted by the excellent ANC that you control through the Sound+ app. The customizable settings are a huge plus for users who like their calls to sound a particular way. You don’t have to worry about noise either. The ANC works well even in the loudest of settings, but like most other earbuds, you get the best call quality in relatively quieter environments.
One of the biggest differentiating features is the microphone-mute option, which almost no other popular earbuds have. This lets you mute your sound for a while if there’s a disturbance while continuing to hear what the other person is saying. This unique feature can come in handy during meetings where everyone takes turns to speak.
The Jabra earbuds are not as popular as the AirPods Pro, Pixel Buds, or Galaxy Buds but offer excellent call clarity with highly functional ANC for even the noisiest settings, so if you frequently make calls in loud public places, these are a great option for you.
Jabra Elite 7 Pro
The best for noisy or windy conditions
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Sony LinkBuds
The best for hearing yourself and those around you
Pros
- Unique, sound-permeable design
- Very good “open” sound quality
- Excellent for voice and video calls
- Wide Area Tap feature
- Wear sensors
- EQ and control customization
- IPX4 water resistance
Cons
- Poor battery life
- Not good for noisy environments
- Not very secure and may not fit some ears
- No wireless charging
- No Bluetooth Multipoint
The Sony LinkBuds sport one of the most unique designs around: having a hole right in the middle of them. This is designed to let the outside sound seep in so you can remain aware of your environment without having to remove your earbuds every time. It helps with overall situational awareness, but it’s also geat for calls because you can hear your voice without any of the muddiness that typically comes with earbuds that seal your ear canals.
The open design delivers an “airy” sound that feels more natural than earbuds with a closed design. The biggest wow factor, however, is the automatic volume control. The earbuds adjust to the noise outside and raise your volume when it’s loud, then reduce it when the noise subsides. This way, you don’t have to fiddle with the volume controls for every little change in the environment.
The unique design is cool but it can also become a downside as you hear every noise in the environment without an option to turn on ANC. The earbuds also don’t work too well in loud environments so they’re best suited for indoor calling.
Sony LinkBuds
The best for hearing yourself and those around you
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Google Pixel Buds Pro
The best for Google fans
Pros
- Compact and comfy
- Very good sound quality
- Very effective ANC/transparency
- Wireless charging
- Bluetooth Multipoint
Cons
- No real EQ adjustments
- No high-quality/low-latency codecs
- Still no iOS Pixel Buds app
If you’re an Android user, the Google Pixel Buds Pro are a good option for calling and overall use. Along with a gorgeous look in vivid colors, the Pixel Buds Pro impress with great ANC and clear sound quality, especially when you’re indoors. They aren’t excellent in super noisy conditions but still maintain decent sound clarity.
The Pixel Buds Pro are always compared to the AirPods Pro and do fall short in terms of noise cancellation and overall sound quality, but this doesn’t mean the Pixel Buds Pro are bad. The transparency features are top-notch, and switching the ANC on and off is fairly easy. Android users also get Bluetooth multipoint connection and Google’s renowned voice assistant features that make both calls and music easier and more enjoyable to listen to.
The biggest plus point here may be the battery life that beats the better-sounding AirPods Pro 2. You typically get seven hours of use with ANC and an impressive 11 hours with ANC off, making the Pixel Buds Pro an ideal pick for people making calls on the go.
Google Pixel Buds Pro
The best for Google fans
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Sony WF-1000XM5
The best for sound quality and battery life
Pros
- Small and comfortable
- Top-notch sound
- Excellent noise canceling
- Superb call quality
- Bluetooth multipoint with LDAC
The Sony WF-1000XM4s and the WF-1000XM3s before them have featured prominently in our best earbuds lists for ages because of their rich sound quality and excellent features. Like their predecessors, the XM5s feature support for the high-quality LDAC Bluetooth codec, and as we found in our review, sound quality has even improved over the XM4s. This all means that you’ll enjoy smooth calling, as well as being able to hear the finer details when listening to music.
The noise cancellation and transparency mode has also gotten a significant upgrade with the inclusion of a new HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN2e, which our reviewer says has improved things from 10% to 15%. ANC and transparency modes still let you seamlessly switch between paying attention to the call and being aware of your surroundings. In fact, the earbuds automatically detect when you begin speaking and pause the music so you don’t need to remove the earbuds if a friend stops by. All of these settings are also easy to customize through the app, making these one of the most easy to use pairs of earbuds for calls that you can find.
For the XM5s, Sony has thrown a ton of tech at call quality. Along with its new processor, there are also six mics and a bone conduction sensor in each earbud that uses an AI algorithm that has been trained by 500 million voice samples. Your voice is fed to the AI that Sony says intelligently separates it from background sounds. And it works like a charm. Traffic, construction, wind, and more are hushed on both ends of the call.
The battery life hasn’t changed, and still doesn’t disappoint. They run for eight hours with ANC on and 12 hours with ANC off, putting them far ahead of competitors like the AirPods Pro 2. Fast charging, however, has improved, giving you an hour of playback after just three minutes plugged in (for the XM4s, it took five minutes, so take that with some skepticism).
The downside is the price. They’re the most expensive earbuds on this list, setting you back $50 to $100 more than other popular models.
Sony WF-1000XM5
The best for sound quality and battery life
Phil Nickinson/Digital Trends
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
The best for Samsung Galaxy owners
Pros
- Excellent fit and feel
- Plenty of features
- They look great
- Acceptable battery life
Cons
- “360 Audio” is not good
- Head tracking isn’t great
If you’re a Samsung Galaxy user, this one’s a no-brainer. Going with the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro will give you good call quality and easy pairing with Galaxy phones. The Galaxy app also makes everything easy to adjust, giving you full control over the noise cancellation and transparency mode, which is ideal for making sure your call sounds right.
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro aren’t the best in the market, but you get some cool features like 24-bit audio, 360 Audio (its version of spatial audio), and head tracking for an improved listening experience. The automatic voice detection is also quite useful, turning the transparency mode on and lowering the volume if you start talking to someone in front of you. The five-hour runtime with ANC on won’t last you through long journeys, but it’s more than enough for everyday calls during your commute or at the office.
The extra features like 360 Audio aren’t top-notch, but they don’t really affect the call quality that much, so you’re fine. They are a bit expensive, though, considering some of the features are subpar compared to other similarly-priced earbuds.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
The best for Samsung Galaxy owners
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Soundcore Liberty 4 NC
Best for call quality on a budget
Pros
- Thoughtful design
- Great sound
- Impressive noise-canceling
- Very good call quality
- Superb battery life
- Bluetooth Multipoint
Cons
- Mediocre transparency mode
For a more than reasonable $100, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC are earbuds that offer handsome looks and great features, including impressive sound, really good ANC, and stellar battery life at a budget price.
We’ll expand on those features in a second, but you came here looking for earbuds that are great at making calls, and the Liberty 4 NCs are just that. They boast ANC that Digital Trends’ Simon Cohen says rivals the Apple AirPods Pro 2. The Liberty 4 NCs feature adaptive noise canceling that you can either set to environmental detection mode that adjusts perfectly on its own, or you could opt for a handful of “transportation” modes, or tweak it manually to your liking with a slider in the app. All this translates to call quality that excellently blocks loud outside sounds and compresses your voice so it sounds clear in any situation.
When listening to music, the Liberty 4 NC perform well too, with excellent bass response, clear mids and highs (although a bit sibilant, Cohen reports) and low distortion. They are fully packed with eight-band EQing in the Soundcore app. Additionally, the Liberty 4 NCs have support for the hi-res LDAC Bluetooth codec that Android users can enjoy, although you probably can’t notice the difference. There’s also Bluetooth multipoint support so you can pair to two devices at the same time — think watching videos on your laptop while still being able to answer calls from your phone.
Battery life on the Liberty 4 NCs is pretty great for that $100 too, netting you eight hours with ANC on and 40 hours in the case. Turn ANC off and it’s still not bad at 10/50, and a quick 10-minute top-up will deliver four hours of non-ANC listening time.
Soundcore Liberty 4 NC
Best for call quality on a budget
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Status Audio Between 3ANC
Be stylish while talking on the phone
Pros
- Super comfortable
- Unique design
- Great battery life
- Amazing call quality
- Powerful sound
Cons
- Slightly harsh high frequencies
- No wear sensors
- No hi-res Bluetooth codecs
You might not have heard of Status Audio, but the small audio company has already turned heads with its unique-looking and stylish Between Pro wireless earbuds. While the Between Pros are a lower-priced $169 set of buds, the 3ANCs add ANC and a significant price bump, putting them on par with the likes of the $249 AirPods Pro, which may or may not bode well for the young company.
When we reviewed the Between 3ANCs, we appreciated their stylish, if slightly obtrusive rectangular shape. But they’re comfortable and secure as heck (runners will like them), and their three-driver design delivers excellent sound that’s well separated, meaning the lush low end, clear and punchy mids, and precise highs (if a bit sibilant, our review found) all cleanly run in their own lanes. There are also some great EQ options in the companion app for dialing the sound in to your precise liking. For this price range, though, we’re a little bummed that they don’t offer anything other than the basic SBC and AAC codecs.
Status Audio’s first stab at ANC is pretty impressive too, doing a great job at blocking out noisy restaurants and city streets. Transparency mode is not bad either, letting you hear just the right amount of outside noise. Which brings us to the call quality — which our reviewer, Simon Cohen, says is “amazing.” With six microphones, Cohen says that the environmental noise canceling “totally erases background sounds — even fairly loud ones.” While he does mention that the ANC does sometimes cancel out your voice too, in situations where the background noise is substantial (like a noisy truck or something), the problem is rare. But otherwise, voices sound excellent and “almost studio-like.”
The Between 3ANCs also feature Bluetooth multipoint connectivity, easy-to-use gesture control on the buds themselves that can be configured in the companion app, and bountiful battery life — eight hours with ANC on and 12 with it off. The charging case boosts this to 24 and 36, respectively, putting them in the race with the big boys like the AirPods Pro, Jabra Elite 7, and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3s. Not bad for a second outing.
Status Audio Between 3ANC
Be stylish while talking on the phone
Editors’ Recommendations
Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn