The Best Wireless Earbuds

How (and Why) I Spent Many Hundreds of Dollars to Find the Perfect Solution

David Koff

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I won’t be dealing with these anymore… Photo by rupixen.com on Unsplash

The Background

I became a dad in December of 2018. As a human, I was delighted, astounded, and excited to spend time with my son. As a technologist, I wanted to see how I could use tech to simplify my life while being with him. I started with the powerful computer in my pocket: my iPhone 7+.

I wanted an easy way to answer calls and listen to music/podcasts that didn’t include my son getting tangled up in wires, cords, or adding weight around my neck. This eliminated solutions like my white Apple headphones, my wife’s “neckband” style of Bluetooth headphones, and even my reliable and lightweight Aukey “wireless” headphones which still include a wire to join the two earbuds together.

No, friends, I needed something small, easy, intuitive, and fun. Enter: wireless earbuds.

The Earbud Revolution

Wireless earbuds were, for me, like magic when I saw them for the first time. There were no cords, they hung in your ears without falling out (or so I was told) and some even included voice integration with Alexa, Siri, and other assistants. Cool.

Therefore, I did what any technologist worth $0.02 would do when faced with a newborn child and a non-emergency technology curiosity: I stayed up too late, lost sleep, and did a ton of research into which earbuds I should buy. Good news: now you won’t have to. :)

At the time I began my research — November of 2018 — there were really only two companies that were considered top-tier contenders: Apple and Jabra. Let’s briefly examine each…

The New Kid on the Block: Apple

We’ll begin in September of 2016 when Apple announced the original AirPods. Here’s a link to just that portion of the Fall Keynote, with Apple’s favorite Teddy Bear, Phil Schiller, on the stage:

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David Koff

I’m a tech writer who focuses on digital privacy & security. Subscribe to my easy-to-read tech newsletter to learn more! https://www.technologytalk.net/