What is the best bluetooth earbuds you can buy?
If you want great truly wireless earbuds that aren't AirPods, your wait is over.
To say the AirPods were the first truly wireless earbuds would be a lie, but they're the ones that put the category on the map. Since then, nearly every headphone maker has tried its hand at outdoing the market leader.
It took a couple of years, but we're finally reached that moment. In early 2018, Jabra released the Elite 65t truly wireless headphones, and over the past few months, I've come to understand why so many people say they're best-in-class.
The Good :
Great sound for great truly wireless earbuds
Intuitive controls that make sense for the size
A great app that's actually useful
Decent battery life
A case that's pocketable
The Bad :
Micro-USB charging
Minor latency issues with video
Could be a bit too expensive for some
Here's the thing about this kind of truly wireless headphone: because of its design, it's inevitably space-constrained. There just isn't the room for a large battery or massive drivers or, most of the time, tactile controls.
Many of the earliest great truly wireless earbuds sacrificed battery life for functionality, relying on the charging case to do most of the heavy lifting. It also meant that many of these early models have enormous cases, too big to fit in a pocket. To me, that completely negates the usefulness of this compromise; there's no freedom in having to lug around a charging case in a bag or stuff it uncomfortably into a jacket or pants pocket for the inevitable short-term top-up.
Very few companies have done the charging case well; Apple with the AirPods; Samsung with the second-generation Icon X; a few others. Jabra, thankfully, gets most of it right. The rest is a bonus.
So should you buy them?
I have been a proponent of using AirPods with Android phones since Apple's white tubes were released in late 2016. They sounded like garbage but were so reliable and so convenient it almost didn't matter. Well, with the Jabra Elite 65ts, I've found a pair of truly wireless earbuds with all of the AirPods' conveniences and none of its aural flaws.
