The 12 best headphones of 2026: We tested the top contenders from Sony, Apple, Bose, and Beats

Selecting the optimal headphones is a subjective decision, influenced by personal preference and planned usage. Headphones come in various forms, including over-ear, in-ear, and earbuds, each with unique benefits and drawbacks. Factors such as comfort, battery life, portability, noise cancellation, and sound quality vary depending on the type of headphone and brand.

Athletes may favor waterproof earbuds or open-ear designs for use at the gym, while frequent flyers prioritize long battery life, comfort, and compactness. Music enthusiasts and audiophiles seek out premium features like custom equalizers, spatial audio, and top-tier active noise cancellation.

To assist with your selection, we evaluated numerous headphones in this guide (and many others that did not make the cut). Our comprehensive testing revealed the top headphones of 2026, spanning categories such as noise cancellation, music, price, and wired connections. While we did not focus on wired headphones, we acknowledge their dedicated following and suggest the Marshall Mode earbuds as our top recommendation for wired options. We also appreciate Apple's EarPods for their simplicity and functionality.

In our ongoing pursuit of the finest audio devices, we evaluated various competitors, including the Marshall Monitor III, JBL Tour One M3, and Skullcandy Method 360 ANC. Although these models exhibited strengths in their respective domains, they ultimately did not secure the top spot in our rankings. Similarly, we explored the Sonos Ace headphones and Dyson OnTrac headphones, which performed admirably in terms of sound quality and noise cancellation, but their premium pricing disqualified them from our final recommendations.

Our ongoing testing endeavors will focus on more budget-friendly noise-canceling earbuds and headphones. Recently, we designated the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 earbuds as the most comfortable ANC earbuds and celebrated the Sony XM6 earbuds as the leading contenders in noise cancellation. In December 2025, we substituted the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 earbuds, which have since become unavailable, with the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 sports earbuds.

Additionally, we removed the Marshall Mode wired earbuds from our list, as they frequently experienced stock shortages. In December 2025, we incorporated the Sony WH-CH720N Noise-Canceling Headphones into our list of the best headphones under $100. Furthermore, we added the Sony XM5 headphones, originally released in 2022, as an honorable mention pick.

Our most recent update, in August 2026, replaced the Sennheiser Momentum 4 with the newly introduced Nothing Headphone (a) as our preferred choice for extended battery life.