Technologies
Best Wireless Headphones and Earbuds for iPhone 12
Need a swanky new pair of the best earbuds for iPhone? We’ll run through all the top options.
Sure, you can buy an adapter to use wired headphones with your iPhone 12 or any of the latest iPhones, including the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14, that don’t have a headphone jack. But most people are looking for a pair of wireless earbuds or headphones to use with their new iPhone, whatever model it may be.
As we’re all quite aware, Apple offers buds and headphones under its own brand and its Beats brand (yes, Apple owns Beats), and we’ve included the AirPods 3, AirPods Pro 2 and Beats Fit Pro on this list, but there are plenty of non-Apple-branded Bluetooth headphones and earbuds that work really well with iPhones, as well as other Apple devices and non-Apple devices, including Android smartphones and tablets.
For those looking for more budget AirPods alternatives, we’ve got a list of the best cheap earbuds and five true wireless earbuds worth buying for under $40.
David Carnoy/CNET
Battery Life
Rated up to 6 hours
Noise Canceling
Yes (ANC)
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
Wireless earbuds
Water-Resistant
Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)
The new AirPods Pro (2nd generation) are powered by Apple’s new H2 chip, which delivers more processing power while being more energy efficient, according to Apple. The new chip, combined with new low-distortion drivers, allows for improved sound that offers better clarity and depth. The noise canceling is also improved — Apple says the new AirPods have «double» the noise canceling of the original AirPods Pro. Additionally, the new AirPods add an extra hour of battery life, up from five to six hours with noise canceling on. Plus, a speaker in the case that emits a sound that helps locate your buds via Find My should they decide to hide from you.
Screenshot by David Carnoy/CNET
Earfun has put out a series of wireless earbuds over the last couple of years with one important commonality: They’re very good values, made more so by frequent discounts. The company’s new-for-2023 Earfun Air Pro 3 earbuds feature the latest Qualcomm QCC3071 system-on-a-chip with aptX Adaptive for Android and other devices that support the new LE Audio standard and LC3 audio codec, which is superior to the SBC codec (they also support AAC for Apple devices).
Lightweight and comfortable to wear — I got a good seal with the largest ear tip size — these aren’t a huge upgrade over the Earfun Air S, but they are better. They have slightly larger wool-composite drivers (11mm versus 10mm), slightly improved noise canceling and better battery life (up to seven hours with noise canceling on, according to Earfun).
In short, the Earfun Air 3 deliver strong performance for their modest price, with robust bass, good clarity and a relatively wide soundstage. They also pack in a lot of features, including a wireless charging case and «multidevice» connectivity. (I could pair them to two devices simultaneously but had to pause the music on one device and hit play on the other for the audio to switch.) They’re IPX5 splash-proof and also work well (though not exceptionally well) as a headset for making calls.
Note that after you activate the instant 10%-off coupon at Amazon, adding the code EAP3CNET at checkout gives you an additional 20% off, bringing the buds’ price down to $56.
David Carnoy/CNET
While the Beats Fit Pro (on sale for $160) technically aren’t AirPods, they’re built on the same tech platform as the AirPods Pro (yes, Apple owns Beats). Unlike Beats’ earlier and less expensive Studio Buds, the Beats Fit Pro include Apple’s H1 chip and have most of the AirPods Pro’s features, including active noise canceling, spatial audio and Adaptive EQ. I’d venture to call them the sports AirPods you’ve always wanted. And for some people, they might just be better than the AirPods Pro.
David Carnoy/CNET
Over the years, JBL has put out some decent true-wireless earbuds, but nothing that really got me too excited. That’s finally changed with the arrival of the Samsung-owned brand’s new Live Pro 2 and Live Free 2 buds. Both sets of buds — the Live Pro 2 have stems while the Live Free 2 have a pill-shaped design — offer a comfortable fit along with strong noise canceling, very good sound quality and voice-calling performance, plus a robust set of features, including multipoint Bluetooth pairing, an IPX5 splash-proof rating and wireless charging.
The Live Pro 2 and Live Free 2 are equipped with the same 11mm drivers, six microphones, oval tubes and oval silicon tips. Aside from the design, the biggest difference between the two buds is battery life; the stemless Live Free 2 is rated for up to seven hours, while the Live Pro 2 is rated for 10 hours. The Live Pro 2 is available in four color options.
David Carnoy/CNET
Battery Life
Rated up to 9 hours
Noise Canceling
Yes (ANC)
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
Wireless Earbuds
Water-Resistant
Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)
Unlike the «open» LinkBuds, the LinkBuds S are traditional noise-isolating earbuds with tips you jam in your ears. They’re more compact and lighter than Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM4 and also feature Sony’s V1 processor. While their sound and noise canceling don’t quite measure up to the XM4’s, they’re close and cost less. They’re the Sony buds for people who can deal with larger buds like the XM4 but want 80 to 85% of those buds’ features and performance for $80 less.
David Carnoy/CNET
Battery Life
Rated up to 12 hours
Noise Canceling
No
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
Wireless earbuds
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
I didn’t think I’d ever see a version 2.0 of Beats’ once-popular BeatsX neckband-style wireless earphones, but it’s arrived with a new name — the Beats Flex — and a much-cheaper $50 price tag, which is half of what its predecessor had been selling for.
The Flex instantly becomes an affordable, Apple-friendly wireless alternative to the AirPods, which start around $100 for the standard version with a wired charging case (but will be selling for as low as $99 this holiday season). The good news is they sound better than both the original BeatsX and standard AirPods. They also work well for making calls and have better battery life than the original. The bad news? The design is passe in a world now dominated by true wireless earbuds.
They’re available in black or yellow at launch, with gray and light blue arriving in early 2021.
David Carnoy/CNET
Battery Life
Rated up to 32 hours
Noise Canceling
Yes (ANC)
Multipoint
Yes
Headphone Type
Over-ear wireless headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
When you have a product that a lot of people love, change can be risky. Such is the case for Sony’s WH-1000XM5, the fifth generation of the 1000X series headphones, which were first released in 2016 as the MDR-1000X Wireless and have become increasingly popular as they’ve improved with each generation. Over the years, Sony has made some tweaks to the design, but nothing as dramatic as what it’s done with the WH-1000XM5. Other than the higher $349 price tag most of those changes are good, and Sony’s made some dramatic improvements with voice-calling performance as well as even better noise canceling and more refined sound.
David Carnoy/CNET
Battery Life
Rated up to 20 hours
Noise Canceling
Yes (ANC)
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
Over-ear wireless headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
Yes, they’re expensive, but the AirPods Max deliver richer, more detailed sound than lower-priced competitors from Bose and Sony. They also feature arguably the best noise canceling on the market along with premium build quality and Apple’s virtual surround spatial audio feature for video watching. While they’re heavy, they manage to be surprisingly comfortable, though I did have to adjust the mesh canopy headband to sit a little more forward on my head to get a comfortable secure fit when I was out walking with them. They should fit most heads well, but there will be exceptions.
David Carnoy/CNET
Battery Life
Rated up to 25 hours
Multipoint
Yes
Headphone Type
Over-ear wireless headphones
Water-Resistant
No IP rating
The QuietComfort 45 has virtually the same design as its predecessor, the QuietComfort QC35 II, which many people considered one of the most comfortable over-ear headphones — if not the most comfortable. It has the same drivers, according to Bose, and the buttons are in the same place. However, there are small but notable changes. First off, these thankfully have USB-C instead of Micro-USB.
Secondly, the microphone configuration is different. Not only have the mics been shifted on the headphones, but there’s now an extra external microphone for voice pick-up, which means the QC45 has a total of six microphones, four of which are beamforming and used for voice. By contrast, the QC35 II has a total of four, two of which are used for voice. (The Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 also have six microphones total.)
These headphones are excellent for making calls. They’re similar to the Bose Headphones 700 in that regard. They also include top-notch noise canceling and multipoint Bluetooth pairing, so you can connect them with a PC and your phone simultaneously. Read our Bose QuietComfort 45 review.
David Carnoy/CNET
Featuring excellent sound, improved noise canceling and voice-calling performance as well a smaller, more refined design that includes stabilizing fins (so the earbuds stay in your ears more securely), the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 are among the best new true-wireless earbuds for 2022. They’re also one of the best true-wireless earbuds overall, giving the Sony WF-1000XM4 a run for the money.
David Carnoy/CNET
Battery Life
Rated up to 6 hours
Noise Canceling
No
Multipoint
No
Headphone Type
Wireless earbuds
Water-Resistant
Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)
Take one look at the new design of the third-gen AirPods ($179), and the first thing you’ll probably think is: «Those look like the AirPods Pro without ear tips.» You wouldn’t be wrong. While they’re more fraternal than identical twins, the AirPods 3 are shaped like the AirPods Pro, with the same shorter stems and same pinch controls as those of the Pro. Aside from the design change, which should fit most ears better than the AirPods 2nd Generation (though not very small ears), the biggest change is to the sound quality: It’s much improved. Also, battery life is better, and the AirPods 3 are officially water-resistant.
More headphone recommendations
- Best Open Wireless Earbuds That Aren’t AirPods
- Best Wireless Earbuds and Headphones for Making Calls
- Best Wireless Headphones for Working at Home in 2023
- Best Noise-Canceling True Wireless Earbuds of 2023
- Best Headphones for Running
- Best On-Ear Headphones for 2023
- Best Workout Headphones in 2023
- Best Over-Ear Headphones of 2023
- Protect Your AirPods: 5 Cases Under $15
- Best Sony Headphones for 2023
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 29, #963
Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 29 #963.
Looking for the most recent 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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
What a fun NYT Connections puzzle today! There’s a favorite children’s story in one group, and four classic author surnames that, naturally, don’t show up in an «author surname» category. Read on for clues and all of today’s Connections answers.
The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Maybe it’s Maybelline.
Green group hint: Too hot, too cold, just right.
Blue group hint: Raise a cup.
Purple group hint: They all sound like words with a similar meaning.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Makeup.
Green group: Featured in Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Blue group: Ending with drinking vessels.
Purple group: Homophones of words meaning «brutal.»
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is makeup. The four answers are bronzer, foundation, liner and stain.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is featured in Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The four answers are bear, bed, Goldilocks and porridge.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is ending with drinking vessels. The four answers are fiberglass, Silverstein, smug and stumbler.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is homophones of words meaning «brutal.» The four answers are Gorey, Grimm, grizzly and Scarry.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 29, #493
Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 29, No. 493.
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 features some tricky terms. 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: Checkmate!
Green group hint: Think Nadia Comăneci.
Blue group hint: Soccer stars.
Purple group hint: H2O.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Chess pieces.
Green group: Gymnastics terms.
Blue group: Premier League Golden Boot winners.
Purple group: Water ____.
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 chess pieces. The four answers are bishop, pawn, queen and rook.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is gymnastics terms. The four answers are handspring, round-off, salto and twist.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Premier League Golden Boot winners. The four answers are
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is water ____. The four answers are bottle, boy, hazard and polo.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Technologies
Google Gives Chrome an AI Side Panel and Lets Gemini Browse for You
The update also includes Nano Banana image tools and deeper integrations with Google apps like Gmail, Calendar, Maps and Flights.
Google is turning Chrome into something closer to a digital copilot.
In the next wave of Gemini updates rolling out, Google on Wednesday revealed a set of new AI-powered features coming directly to its browser, aimed at reducing the frustrations of exploring the internet each day. Built on Gemini 3, the updates introduce an always-available side panel, deeper app integrations, creative image tools and a new browser agent called auto browse that can complete multistep tasks on your behalf.
Essentially, Google wants Chrome to be like an AI wingman that browses, compares and multitasks for you.
Read more: More AI Is Coming to Google Search, Including a Chatbot-Like Interface
Now you can automate browsing
To me, the standout new addition is auto browse, a browser agent designed to handle tedious and time-consuming chores. Instead of hopping between tabs, filling out forms or manually comparing prices of things like products or flights, you can ask Chrome to do the legwork.
Auto browse can research flights and hotels across different dates, collect documents, schedule appointments, manage subscriptions and help with tasks like renewing a driver’s license or filing expense reports.
In a live demo I saw, Product Lead Charmaine D’Silva used the new tools to plan a family vacation. Gemini compared destinations and prices across multiple travel sites, checked school calendars to see when her kids were off and lined up schedules to find workable travel windows. When it came time to book, though, D’Silva emphasized that the final decision and purchase were still hers, underscoring Google’s plan to keep humans in control for key tasks like booking and purchases.
The feature is rolling out to AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the US now, signaling Google’s broader push toward more agentic AI experiences.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
A new side panel experience
Another update rolling out now is a redesigned Gemini side panel in Chrome, available across MacOS, Windows and Chromebook Plus. Instead of opening a separate tab, Gemini now lives alongside whatever you’re working on, making it easier to multitask without breaking your flow. Testers have used it to summarize reviews across sites, compare shopping options and juggle packed calendars while keeping their main task front and center.
AI image editing with Nano Banana
Chrome is also trying to become more creative. Google is bringing Nano Banana, its AI image editing and generation tool, directly into the browser. You can now edit and reimagine images you find on the web without downloading files or switching apps — whether that’s mocking up a living room redesign or turning raw data into an infographic at work.
Chrome connects with other Google apps
Under the hood, Gemini in Chrome is becoming more connected to the rest of Google’s ecosystem. Integrations with Gmail, Calendar, Maps, YouTube, Google Flights and Shopping will allow the assistant to pull in relevant context and take action across apps. Planning a trip, for example, could involve referencing an old email, checking flight options and drafting a follow-up email to your travel companions. Now all in one place.
More to come
Looking ahead, Google says personal intelligence is coming to Chrome in the coming months. With user opt-in, Gemini will remember context from past interactions to deliver more tailored, proactive help across the web, while giving you control over what data is connected and when.
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