Technologies
Best Budget Noise-Canceling Headphones Under $100 for 2025
Get a set of premium noise-canceling headphones that are great for a budget.
Our Experts
- Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
What to consider
How cheap?
You’d be surprised what difference an additional $20 makes when buying budget headphones.
Design
The right design, especially weight, means a lot for how headphones fit your head.
Comfort
Whether you’re only wearing these every couple of days or you plan to rarely take them off, the right headphones make a huge difference.
Durability
If headphones look cheap, there’s a good chance they may not last long.
Return policy
Know where you’re buying from, and what options are available to you if you end up not enjoying your purchase.
Editor’s note, Nov. 20: Black Friday falls on Nov. 28 and Cyber Monday is on Dec. 1, but the holiday deals are already in full swing. That means there should be plenty of opportunities to save on noise-canceling headphones and earbuds, as many top headphone brands, including Apple, Sony and Bose, discount certain models to their lowest prices of the year — or close to their lowest prices. Several models on this list should be on sale.
HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK
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After evaluating hundreds of wireless headphones over the last 10 years, I always look forward to testing the latest top premium noise-canceling models from Sony, Bose, Apple, Bowers & Wilkins and others. But I know a lot of people can’t afford those higher-end models or simply don’t want to spend that much on a headphone. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for value noise-canceling headphone options that fit comfortably and perform well for their more modest prices. While you probably aren’t going to get audiophile-grade sound in a sub-$100 headphone, you can get a set of cans that sounds quite good and has solid noise-canceling and voice-calling performance. If you prefer earbuds to over-ear headphones, I also have a lists for best cheap earbuds of 2025 and top wireless earbuds of 2025 that you should check out.
What’s the best cheap noise-canceling headphone overall?
The new Bose-infused Baseus Inspire XH1 lists for $150 but often sells for closer to $100 and delivers very good bang for the buck. I also like theSony CH-720N, which carries a similar street price to the Baseus and is one of my favorite value headphones.
Best cheap noise-canceling headphones for 2025
Pros
- Comfortable fit with an attractive, sturdy design
- Affordable price
- Very good sound for the price
- Decent noise-canceling and voice-calling performance
- Strong battery life
- Hard case included
Cons
- Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio mode doesn’t really improve the sound
- Noise canceling could be a little better
- No USB-C audio or ear-detection sensors that automatically pause your music when you take the headphones off
Why I like them
Baseus has two new-for-2025 earbuds — the Inspire XP1 and Inspire XC1 — and one set of full-size headphones (the Inspire XH1) that feature Sound by Bose, and they’re all good values. They have impressive sound for their price, a more premium design than most «value» headphones and good performance overall. The XH1 are not only fairly lightweight (275 grams) and comfortable to wear, but they have decent build quality, respectable noise canceling and voice-calling performance, as well as very good battery life. I also liked how they not only fold up but fold flat and come with a carrying case and a 3.5mm cable for wired listening. Their controls for playback are also good, though I had to dig into the instructions to figure out that you hold down the volume buttons to advance tracks forward and back. Read review.
Reasons to buy
You’re looking for a comfortable, well-designed set of noise-canceling headphones that sound good and cost a lot less than premium models from Sony, Bose and others.
Reasons to skip/keep looking
Premium flagship models from Bose and Sony offer better sound and noise-canceling performance. In other words, you can only expect so much from headphones at this price.
Pros
- Lightweight and comfortable
- Good sound with very good noise canceling and ambient sound mode
- Good voice-calling performance
- Multipoint Bluetooth
- 35 hours of battery life
- Robust EQ settings
Cons
- No carrying case or pouch included
- Missing more advanced features like ear-detection sensors, LDAC audio codec support and Sony’s Quick Attention and Speak-To-Chat
Sony’s improved entry-level noise-canceling headphones, the CH-720Ns, have a bit of a plasticky, budget vibe, but they’re lightweight and very comfortable. Part of me was expecting them to sound pretty mediocre, but I was pleasantly surprised. No, they don’t sound as good as the WH-1000XM5s. But they sound more premium than they look (and feel), and their overall performance is a step up from their predecessor, the CH-710Ns. Are they worth $150? Maybe — or maybe not. But the good news is that, like the CH-710N and WH-XB910 before them, these have already seen significant discounts, with prices dropping to as low as $90 during flash sales.
Pros
- Well-designed and comfortable to wear
- Good sound quality and noise-canceling performance
- Strong feature set
- Strong battery life
Cons
- Voice-calling suffers in windy environments
- Carrying pouch leaves headphones vulnerable to damage
Why I like them
The well-designed and comfortable JBL Live 770NC offers some modest improvements over its predecessor, including better battery life (up to 65 hours with ANC off and 50 hours with ANC on) and Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio (via a future firmware upgrade). Equipped with 40mm drivers, you get bold, nicely defined sound with powerful bass that’s relatively tight. JBL’s Ambient Aware and TalkThru features are on board along with multipoint Bluetooth pairing (the one feature that’s missing is ear-detection sensors that pause your music when you take the headphones off). I thought the headphones’ noise muffling capabilities were good and callers said they could hear me well even in noisier environments except when the wind picked up around me. The headphones fold up and a simple carrying pouch (no hard case) is included along with a cable for wired listening.
Reasons to buy
If you can’t afford premium noise-canceling headphones from Bose, Sony and Apple, the JBL Live 700NC are a good alternative, offering good performance for a more modest price.
Reasons to skip/keep looking
These are easier to recommend when they’re on sale for less than $200 (or even less). They’re a bargain in the $150-$170 range.
Pros
- Eye-catching design with decent build quality and easilyswappable ear pads
- Good sound quality for sub-$100 headphones with strong bass performance
- Decent noise-canceling performance
- Support the LDAC audio codec for Android devices
- Good battery life
Cons
- Voice-calling performance could be a little better
- No USB-C audio
- A cloth carrying pouch is included but not a hard carrying case
- No ear-detection sensors to automatically pause your music when you take the headphones off
Why I like them
Nothing started out with a few different wireless earbuds but has now branched into the over-ear headphones market with its eye-catching Nothing Headphone (1) and the budget-oriented CMF Headphone Pro, which also have a pretty unique look and feature interchangeable ear pads in a few different color options.
I was expecting all that much from these headphones, but after using them for a week, they check a lot of boxes for a top value headphone, including a comfortable fit (they pretty lightweight at 283 grams), decent build quality and good sound quality that’s highlighted by powerful bass that can be dialed up or down with a slider control on the left ear cup (you can also tweak the sound in the companion app). The Skullcandy Crusher 2 headphones have a similar slider, but the CMF’s bass doesn’t get to head-rattling levels (the Crusher 2’s bass literally makes the headphones vibrate).
The CMF Headphone Pro don’t offer quite as good sound quality (they lack a little bit of clarity) as the Baseus Inspire XH1 , which cost a little more and come with a hard carrying case instead of a cloth pouch and not only fold flat but fold up (the CMF Headphone Pro only folds flat). But like the Inspire XH1, they have support for the higher-resolution LDAC audio codec for Android users and strong battery — up to 100 hours with noise canceling off at moderate volume levels.
I should also point out that the noise-canceling is decent and that you get a good amount of passive noise isolation from the plush memory foam ear pads. While voice-calling performance is decent enough (I give it a B or even a B-), it’s far from top tier in terms of reducing background noise while picking your voice up clearly. And I felt the same way about the transparency mode. A cable is include for wired listening but there’s no USB-C audio.
Reasons to buy
The CMF offer a better design, fit and sound quality than many budget noise-canceling headphones that cost a little less. While they’re not exceptionally good in any one area, they’re solid all-around headphones that deliver good bang for the buck, especially when they go on sale for $15-$20 less. They also have customization options with the swappable ear pads.
Reasons to skip, keep looking
Not everybody will love the look of these headphones and you can only expect so much from a set of headphones in this price range from a performance standpoint (they sound quite good for the price but not great).
Pros
- Comfortable fit for long wear
- Respectable sound with punchy bass
- Decent noise-canceling and voice-calling performance with two levels of ANC
- Support for high-quality LDAC audio codec with compatible devices
- Included hard carrying case and cable for wired listening
Cons
- Bit generic looking
- ANC disabled when in wired mode
- They’re a bit lacking in clarity and bass definition compared to more expensive models
Why I like them
Earfun has made some very solid budget earbuds, and now it’s entered the full-size ANC headphone space with a few different over-ear models, including the Wave Pro (add the code EWPROCNET at checkout on Amazon to receive an additional 10% off). While they may not sound as good as premium noise-canceling headphones from Bose or Sony, they’re comfortable to wear, feature decent sound with punchy bass (they’re a bit lacking in clarity and bass definition compared to more expensive models), and they offer respectable noise canceling (you can toggle between two levels of ANC) and voice-calling performance. The headphones do come with a cable for wired listening — you can plug into an inflight entertainment system — but the noise canceling cuts off when you’re in wired mode, which is unfortunate.
Reasons to buy
For less than $60, you’re getting decent sounding headphones with effective noise canceling that are comfortable to wear and have long battery lfie. They’re also one of the few budget headphones that come with a carrying case.
Reasons to skip/keep looking
If you’re a critical listener, these probably aren’t for you as these headphones lack the treble clarity and bass definition found in higher-end models.
Pros
- Comfortable fit for on-ear headphones
- Folding design
- Good sound quality
- Active noise canceling
- Very good battery life
Cons
- No case included
JBL’s Live 670NC and Tune 670NC are among the relatively small number of on-ear models that offer active noise canceling. They’re both relatively affordable, but the Live 670NC version has a more premium look and feel to it, with better ear pads that are clearly more durable. It also has sound that’s a little better, with 40mm drivers that offer good detail and punchy bass. Battery life is rated at up to 65 hours (or 50 hours with ANC on), and an extra four hours of battery with just five minutes of charge. This model includes the latest Bluetooth 5.3 (with LE Audio) and multipoint Bluetooth pairing. It also has JBL’s Ambient Aware (transparency mode) and TalkThru features. It’s available in black, white, blue and sandstone and comes with a cord for wired listening.
The headphones list for $130 but regularly dip to less than $100.
Pros
- Affordably priced
- Comfortable and well-designed
- Sound reasonably good for their low price
- Noise-canceling does a decent job muffling ambient sound
Cons
- No wired mode
- Clarity could be slightly better
- No carrying case
JLab still sells its older Studio Pro ANC wireless headphones for around $100, but its latest budget noise-canceling model is the Lux ANC Wireless. While they list for $80, they’ve dipped to as low as $46 during flash sales, and they’re a good value at $60. For budget headphones, they look pretty good (they don’t stick out from your head too much), are comfortable to wear with nicely padded ear cups and seem pretty well built (they fold up but no carrying pouch or case is included). As far as sound goes, while they just don’t offer the clarity of more premium headphones, they sound fairly decent and kick out a good amount of bass. Everything could be a little more well defined, but since they’re a bit on the warm side and have no treble harshness, you don’t experience any listening fatigue, which is one of the key things you want to avoid with headphones.
Noise canceling performance is decent (you can toggle between «smart» ANC on, ANC off and a transparency mode using the NC button on the headphones) and callers said they could hear me pretty well (though not great) when I used the headphones in the noisy streets of New York. They don’t have a port for a headphone cable so you can’t listen to them in wired mode (there’s no USB-C audio either). But they’re simple to use and the JLab companion app for iOS and Android allows you to tweak the sound profile, customize the touch controls and receive firmware updates. There’s also Bluetooth multipoint pairing and Android users can take advantage of support for Google Fast Pair and Google Find My Device.
Pros
- Strong feature set
- Very good sound quality for their price
- Decent noise canceling and voice calling
- LDAC audio codec support
Cons
- Bit bulky-looking
Available in three color options, the Soundcore Space One is Anker’s latest noise-canceling headphones. They’re a good value for around $100, offering a strong feature set along with good sound quality and performance. They can’t quite compete sound-wise with many of the premium noise-canceling models, but you don’t feel like you’re giving up that much on the sound front to save a good deal of money. They lack a bit of that natural, refined quality you look for in a great set of cans, but the Space One sounds respectable, with decent clarity and bass definition and measures up well to the more expensive Soundcore Space 45.
Noise-canceling and voice-calling performance are also good for headphones in this price range, although the transparency mode is only OK. Anker has developed a version of Sony’s Speak-to-Chat feature — Anker calls it Easy Chat — that automatically pauses your music and enters a transparency mode when you walk up to someone and start a conversation. The headphones are equipped with wear-detection sensors, a feature not usually found at this price, and include a carrying pouch. LDAC audio codec support is available for Android users.
I found them comfortable to wear, but they do look a bit bulky compared to more premium models.
Pros
- Comfortable
- Decent build quality for their price
- Good sound for their price
- Good battery life
Cons
- Voice-calling performance could be better
- Noise-canceling performance is fine but not great
As far as sound, comfort level and build quality go, you’d be hard-pressed to do better than Anker’s Soundcore Life Q30 for the money. It doesn’t have quite the clarity or bass definition as some of the top premium models, but it’s less than a third of the price and gets you about 75% of the way there in terms of sound. It’s well-balanced overall, with punchy bass, and there’s an app that allows you to tweak the sound. Noise-canceling is good for the price, although certainly not up to the level of the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones. Battery life is rated at an impressive 40 hours with USB-C charging.
The only area where the Q30 falls a little short is for voice calls. It picks up your voice fine in quieter environments but it just doesn’t reduce background noise all that well.
Compared to the Q20 (see below), the Q30 does offer improved sound (it’s not a huge difference, but it definitely is a notch up) and a more premium design. There’s also the newer Life Q35 ($100, currently out of stock), which adds support for Sony’s LDAC audio codec for high-resolution audio streaming with music services that support it.
Factors to consider when buying budget ANC headphones
How cheap?
Budget active noise-canceling headphones tend to range in price from $50 to $100. The question you’ll have to ask yourself is whether you’re looking for the cheapest ANC headphones, or are you willing to spend closer to $100? There usually is a significant difference between a set of ANC cans that cost $50 to $60 and ones that cost $80 to $100, particularly when it comes to build quality. If you’re looking for a step-up in audio performance, your best bet is to stick to the higher end of a budget price range.
Design
Budget headphones tend to be a little bulkier than more premium models and can also look and feel a little, well, cheap. All our picks on this list offer a reasonably good design (at a minimum), but some are more appealing than others. Finding a design that’s appealing to you is obviously important.
Fit
It’s key that the headphones you buy fit your head well. The key to good noise canceling headphones is the fit of the ear cups around your head, so the best pair should offer a comfortable fit that’s snug, yet not too snug. Ideally, you want headphones you can wear over a day with minimal breaks. Budget headphones can offer a comfortable fit, but more premium headphones tend to feature better memory foam and more ergonomic designs.
Durability
You want headphones that hold up well over time, so look for models that we note have sturdy build quality. Even budget models can come equipped with excellent resiliency in several tougher conditions.
Maximize performance and features for your budget
You want the best-sounding headphones with the best noise canceling, call quality and features like wireless charging for whatever you’re able to spend. Be sure to pack in as many features as you think you’ll need when choosing a set of headphones, even on a budget.
Return policy
It’s critical to buy your headphones at a retailer that has a good return policy, in case you have buyer’s remorse. Some people who are having trouble deciding between two models sometimes buy both, try them out for a few days, and then return one.
How we test budget noise-canceling headphones
We test budget noise-canceling headphones based on six key criteria: design, sound quality, noise-canceling performance, voice-calling performance, features and value.
Design
We assess not only how comfortably the headphones fit (their ergonomics) but also their build quality and how well the controls are implemented. Only a few full-size headphones have water- and dust-resistance ratings, so those that are more durable are noted in this list.
Sound quality
We evaluate sound quality by listening to a set playlist of tracks from various music styles and comparing headphones to top competing products. Sonic traits such as bass definition, clarity, dynamic range and how natural the headphones sound are key factors in our assessment, especially as noise-canceling features can sometimes hinder audio production. If your biggest use case is listening to music, this factor will be a key determinant in choosing your new headphones.
Noise-canceling performance
Because each model on this list features Active Noise Canceling (ANC), we evaluate ANC performance by wearing the headphones in the same spot indoors near a noisy HVAC unit to see how well they do at muffling lower frequencies. Then we head out onto city streets to test the headphones in a real-world environment where we see how they do at muffling not only traffic noise but also people’s voices.
Additional features
Some great-sounding budget noise-canceling headphones aren’t loaded with features, but we do take into account what extra features are on board. These include everything from quick-access awareness with touch controls to transparency modes (your music pauses and the headphones open up to the outside world so you can have a conversation) to special sound modes to ear-detection sensors that automatically pause your music when you take the headphones off your ears. We also take a look at the companion/control app for the headphones (if there is one) and how user-friendly the app controls are.
Voice-calling
When we test voice-calling performance, we make calls on noisy city streets and evaluate how well the headphones or earbuds reduce background noise and how clearly callers can hear our voices.
Value
We determine value after considering the strength of the headphones against all these criteria and what they’re able to deliver compared with other models in their price class. Because the models on this list are priced similarly, we’re sure to compare each one head-to-head to deliver you the best value.
Other budget noise-canceling headphones we tested
Edifier W830NB: The Edifier W830NB remain a good value noise-canceling headphone pick. They look slightly more premium than their predecessor, W820NB Plus, and and are fairly lightweight (265 grams) and comfortable, with cushy memory foam ear pads. They also sound very good for their price, offering decent clarity and fairly well-defined bass with an amply wide sound stage (they lack the refinement and depth of higher-end headphones, but you can’t expect the world from sub-$80 headphones). You can tweak the sound profile in Edifier’s companion app for iOS and Android.
QCY H3 Pro: QCY is another Chinese brand like Tribit, Earfun and plenty of others that make budget-priced headphones that sound better than you’d think they would for their relatively low price (the company says the Q stands for quality, C stands for creative and Y stands for youth). Its new-for-2024 H3 Pro headphones are similar to models in this price range from 1More, Tribit and Edifier, but they arguably sound a touch better and I found them relatively comfortable to wear, as they feature a lightweight design and memory foam ear pads.
1More SonoFlow: The design of 1More’s SonoFlow headphones reminds me a little of some earlier Sony headphones and also the newer Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 4. They’re a bit generic looking but sleek enough and more importantly, comfortable to wear. They also feature very respectable sound quality. It doesn’t quite measure up to the sound quality of what’ll get with more premium models like the Momentum Wireless 4, it isn’t that far off. The SonoFlow headphones deliver smooth sound with good clarity and relatively well-defined bass (they’re just not quite as rich or dynamic sounding as those premium models I mentioned). They also have support for the LDAC audio codec.
OneOdio A10: The OneOdio A10s deliver more than you’d expect for their relatively modest price. They’re not only built better than you think they would be for around $80 and are pretty comfortable to wear. They have a dual-hinge design and feel sturdy, weighing in at 395 grams. They sound surprisingly decent and have reasonably good noise canceling with a transparency mode (which has a slight audible hiss). No, they’re not as comfortable as Bose’s and Sony’s models (they do feel a tad heavy) and their sound lacks that extra bit of clarity, bass definition and depth that more premium headphones tend to deliver. They did exceed my expectations and come with a decent carrying case, even if the OneOdio logo splayed across it is a bit garish.
JBL Tune 670NC: The JBL Tune 670NC is one of a relatively small number of on-ear headphones to offer active noise canceling. It’s something of a value model — no carrying case is included — but it does have memory foam ear pads that get you a comfortable fit for an on-ear headphone. Deliver clear sound with punch bass, it has 32mm drivers and improves on its predecessor’s battery life, offering up to a whopping 70 hours (or 44 hours with ANC on), and an extra three hours of battery with just five minutes of charge.
Budget noise-canceling headphone FAQs
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Nov. 22
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 22.
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s a long one, since it’s Saturday, and some of them were tough today. (Two Bee clues?) Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Moves (over) in one’s seat
Answer: SCOOTS
7A clue: Capital of Taiwan
Answer: TAIPEI
8A clue: ___ Bee
Answer: SPELLING
10A clue: In the style of
Answer: ALA
11A clue: Device with a keypad that’s typed on discreetly, for short
Answer: ATM
12A clue: ___ Bee
Answer: SAMANTHA
15A clue: «Family Guy» baby
Answer: STEWIE
16A clue: Sings in the Alps
Answer: YODELS
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Like some clams and freshly cleaned shirts
Answer: STEAMED
2D clue: What an online meeting invite gets added to, for short
Answer: CAL
3D clue: Vinegar’s counterpart
Answer: OIL
4D clue: Morphine and codeine, for two
Answer: OPIATES
5D clue: First inning in extra innings
Answer: TENTH
6D clue: Greek «S»
Answer: SIGMA
8D clue: Full of back talk
Answer: SASSY
9D clue: «Allegory of the Cave» philosopher
Answer: PLATO
13D clue: Wonderstruck feeling
Answer: AWE
14D clue: Nothin’
Answer: NIL
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 22, #425
Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 22, No. 425.
Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a diverse one today. As a Seattle resident, I got a kick out of the purple category. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Gridiron numbers.
Green group hint: The Garden State.
Blue group hint: Guarding against scores.
Purple group hint: DC, or the Evergreen State.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Football defensive stats.
Green group: Teams that play in New Jersey
Blue group: US soccer goalkeepers.
Purple group: Washington ____.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is football defensive stats. The four answers are hurry, interception, sack and tackle.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is teams that play in New Jersey. The four answers are Devils, Giants, Gotham and Red Bulls.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is US soccer goalkeepers. The four answers are Howard, Naeher, Scurry and Solo.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is Washington ____. The four answers are Capitals, Huskies, Nationals and Spirit.
Technologies
The iPhone 17 Pro’s Cameras Take the Fight to the OnePlus 15, and There Are Bruises
Camera showdown: The OnePlus 15’s camera should have surprised me, but it really didn’t. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro keeps on delivering in terms of photography.
The OnePlus 15 impressed my excellent colleague, David Lumb, with its superb battery life and excellent performance, especially for gaming. I wasn’t as thrilled with the cameras in my early testing, but the proof of its photography prowess comes down to how it stacks up against the competition. In this case, the iPhone 17 Pro is one of our favorite phone cameras and indeed one of the best camera phones you can buy in 2025.
For years, OnePlus has partnered with the iconic Swedish camera maker Hasselblad to work on color science and image calibration for OnePlus phones. But that partnership has ended, which puts a lot of pressure on the Chinese company to impress with its camera suite on the OnePlus 15. Throughout all these changes, Apple released the iPhone 17 Pro, which has a brand-new 48-megapixel 4x telephoto camera and carries forward the company’s reputation for excellent photography.
I headed out to the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland, to test both phone cameras in a variety of situations. It’s important to note, though, that what I consider «better» might not be what you agree with. Photography, like all art, is subjective. While, as aprofessional photographer, I prefer more natural, true-to-life tones, you may prefer imagery with more pop and colors. Take my thoughts with a grain of salt.
Note, too, that all images were taken with each phone’s standard camera mode in JPEG format, and all images have been resized using Adobe Lightroom, with no additional edits or sharpening applied. Small print done with, let’s dive in.
Straight off the bat, I’ll admit a small mistake in the photos above. I took this shot using one of the iPhone’s Photographic Styles. I think it was Gold, and so it’s no surprise that it’s given the image a more vibrant, warmer look that suits the scene incredibly well. I only had the style active for this example and the ultrawide version below.
However, I noticed that the iPhone’s exposure is broadly better, while the OnePlus’ software processing had worked so hard in reducing image noise that a lot of the texture in the floor had been lost.
Switch to the ultrawide lenses, and things do change a bit. The iPhone’s exposure above looks preferable to my eye, but the OnePlus’ shot definitely has more detail overall.
This example above is quite classic of the problems I have not just with the OnePlus 15, but also with most of OnePlus’ phones. The image is quite heavily saturated, with an electric-blue sky and vivid greens that look unnatural to me. The iPhone’s image has a much better handle on color here.
My other problem with OnePlus’ phones is how hard they go with their HDR processing, brightening up shadows and pulling back highlights, resulting in images that quite often lack depth and believable contrast. The image above is a prime example where the deep shadows under this bridge have been maintained in the iPhone’s shot, but where the OnePlus 15 has tried to lighten them so much that the image looks very overprocessed.
And to prove it’s not a one-off, this example above is a real low point for the OnePlus. It really tried to eliminate any kind of shadows in this scene, while pulling back the highlights in the sky outside far too much. The image looks fake, overprocessed and exactly what people would think of if you told them a photo was taken on a phone. By taking a far more subtle approach, the iPhone’s image is much more to my liking.
The OnePlus hasn’t gone as hard with its vendetta against shadows in the image above, but it does look like it’s ramped that saturation way up. It’s not that I don’t like vibrant colors — I do — it’s just that I want to add in that saturation should I want to, rather than having it forced on me by default.
The images above show a more muted scene and a good effort from both phones. Although taken just nine seconds apart (I checked the metadata), I do think the sun may have slightly peeked out from behind a cloud a little more in the iPhone’s shot, as the front of the building does look quite a lot brighter. Or maybe the OnePlus is going hard on the HDR again. Who knows? Either way, good details on this image from both phones.
The same scene in ultrawide does arguably look a little muted from the iPhone, at least when compared with the bold blue of the OnePlus’ shot above. Somewhere between the two would be my sweet spot. After I zoomed in on the details, the iPhone’s shot is certainly clearer, but at full screen — or on your Insta feed — that difference is negligible.
That brightness and color difference persists when taking each phone to its maximum default telephoto zoom, so maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with the sun and clouds after all. Colors aside, the iPhone’s shot above is also clearer, and its details look sharp without being overly digitally sharpened. The OnePlus’ image does have something of a «crunchiness» to it from its software processing that I don’t like as much.
Peeping close up at the pixels on each phone’s telephoto zoom shot, I definitely think the OnePlus has gone too hard with its sharpening in the image above of a person in a window.
I’m slightly more torn on this nighttime scene. The OnePlus shot above has yet again gone big on the saturation. Look at the overcooked green on the grass — it looks like it was taken at midday in the spring. The iPhone’s colors look way more natural. However, the OnePlus’ sharpening works in favor at night, delivering a shot with crisper details throughout.
And in ultrawide, I flat out prefer the OnePlus image above. Those vibrant tones look much better here, especially as they make the oranges of the building in the background stand out more.
And if we peep at those pixels again, it’s clear that the details on the OnePlus’ shot (left) are far better. Finally, a win for the OnePlus.
This final indoor low-light scene is a bit more of a mixed bag. The OnePlus’ image above is unquestionably brighter — especially the people nearest the camera — but its noise reduction has gone a bit too hard in some areas, reducing textures on clothing and hair that the iPhone hasn’t done. Overall, though, I’d say this example is a close fight.
iPhone 17 Pro vs. OnePlus 15: Which camera is better?
For me, it’s an easy victory for the iPhone 17 Pro. Almost across the board, its images are more natural looking with realistic colors, saturation levels and exposure. The OnePlus 15’s reliance on heavy-handed image processing has resulted in often garish-looking photos that are almost the opposite of what I look for in my photography. However, as I said at the beginning, that’s just my opinion.
As a photographer, I want my camera — any camera — to be able to capture the best-looking image straight out of the camera that I can then apply more edits to if I want to. But maybe you don’t want to do that and instead want a vibrant, punchy-looking shot that you can immediately share to social media. If so, maybe the OnePlus will be fine for you.
At the end of the day, deciding which phone to buy will come down to more than just the camera, so make sure to read CNET’s in-depth reviews of all of 2025’s best phones to decide which is the one for you.
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