Apple removed the headphone jack from the iPhone in 2016. Companies like Google, Motorola, and HTC followed soon afterwards. Suddenly, in one case-niche wireless headphones were thrust into the mainstream.

Ownership Bluetooth headphones can be confusing, though. From audio quality to getting them set up, each model works differently. There'south a lot to understand, so let'due south go started.

1. Types of Wireless in Headphones

When yous think of wireless headphones, you lot probable remember of Bluetooth headphones (there are fifty-fifty truly wireless earbuds now). If your telephone doesn't have a headphone jack, then Bluetooth is your best option for listening to music.

Your other choice is to utilise a USB-C headphone dongle. That's a messier solution, and gets worse if you need to charge your telephone at the same time.

Bluetooth is user-friendly considering it'due south supported in all mobile devices, likewise as a growing number of other electronics. It has a range of about 32 feet, and is pretty energy-efficient.

It's also improving rapidly thanks to the move to impale off headphone jacks.

There are a couple of other, older wireless headphone technologies nonetheless in utilise. Both are mostly used for TV, and both need a divide transmitter. Infrared is quite rare now, and requires a line of sight connection between the headphones and transmitter.

Radio frequency, as seen in products like the Sennheiser RS120, is more powerful.

It tin work at ranges of up to 150 feet, and the signal can pass through walls, so it's usable with a home stereo also equally a Boob tube. However, information technology'south prone to interference and isn't secure in the way that Bluetooth is.

Many modernistic TVs now offer Bluetooth as standard. If yours doesn't, you tin add a Bluetooth transmitter easily enough.

2. Bluetooth and Audio Quality

The sound quality y'all'll go on your Bluetooth headphones depends on what audio codec they use. The codec is a piece of software that encodes the audio at 1 end and decodes it at the other. Both your audio thespian and headphones need to back up information technology.

SBC

Early versions of Bluetooth compressed sound very heavily, producing a harsh, digital sound.

The move to improve quality began with the introduction of the advanced audio distribution profile (A2DP). This enabled streaming of loftier-quality stereo audio via the SBC codec. Information technology'south at present effectively the standard.

A 2014 report by SoundExpert, an sound quality testing site, concluded that at its highest possible bitrate of 372Kbps, SBC was comparable to an AAC file encoded at 192Kpbs, and that "most artifacts it produces are across human perception." However, it's more often than not used at lower bitrates, and then isn't always the best quality.

aptX

The next stride up is aptX. Most Android devices from the final few years support this codec. It delivers "CD-similar" functioning, at a bitrate of 352Kbps with lower latency. This uses compressed audio.

aptX Hard disk

Better still is aptX HD, which is the high definition upgrade on the classic aptX formula. It's still compressed, but streams at a much higher bitrate of 576Kbps, and has much lower latency.

A small simply growing number of devices support aptX HD, including the Galaxy Annotation nine, OnePlus 5T, and LG V30. It requires specific hardware, then if your device doesn't back up it there's no way to upgrade.

AAC

Apple doesn't back up aptX on the iPhone or iPad. Instead, it uses AAC, an enhanced variation on SBC. It uses a lower bitrate (256Kbps), only efficiencies in the codec get in comparable to aptX, if non better. Using AAC-compatible headphones with an AAC source (like Apple Music) also reduces degradation in sound quality.

Latency

We've mentioned latency; this is a major issue with Bluetooth headphones.

Latency is the brusk delay betwixt an audio signal being sent and when you tin hear it. You won't observe information technology when listening to music, but if yous're watching a video or playing a game, it tin crusade the audio to be out of sync with the picture. That's why you can buy wireless headsets specifically for gaming. If you lot don't want to spend too much on one of these, you can buy budget gaming headsets for less than $25.

Latency varies depending on the hardware and software setups you have. aptX HD has significantly reduced latency compared to the older codecs. Apple's use of AAC with the Airpods has minimized it to barely perceptible levels.

3. Battery Life for Wireless Headphones

Bluetooth headphones get power from their own congenital-in rechargeable bombardment.

Over-ear Bluetooth headphones accept infinite for a large battery, charged via a USB cable. You should expect for betwixt 20 and xxx hours of bombardment life---the JBL Everest, for instance, promises upwards to 25 hours.

JBL Everest Bluetooth Headphones
Image Credit: Harman

Bluetooth earbuds have shorter battery life. Those that apply a cable to connect the two buds tin can typically offering effectually viii hours, and charge through a USB cable. True wireless earbuds, where both parts are separate, are skillful for around three to v hours. They come with their own special charging case. which too keeps the accuse topped up when y'all're not using the buds.

airpods charging case
Image Credit:Apple

Remember that volume levels affect battery life. The louder your music, the shorter the bombardment will concluding. Battery life quotes on manufacturers' spec sheets tend to reverberate optimal conditions rather than real-world use.

4. Pairing Bluetooth Headphones

Connecting Bluetooth headphones to a phone or other device tin be as quick equally plugging them in, or information technology tin be quite frustrating.

The W1 chip in some of Apple's headphones has reduced pairing down to a three-second procedure. Open the case on the AirPods (or press a button on the side of select Beats headphones), tap an onscreen prompt, and you're done.

Android 6.0 and higher up offers a similarly quick system called Fast Pair, albeit with limited support from headsets so far.

Some headphones use NFC to speed up pairing. This is a wireless technology that enables devices to communicate by holding them close to 1 another.

When used in conjunction with an NFC-enabled device---including many Android smartphones merely not the iPhone---you can pair the headphones with the device just by tapping them against information technology.

If none of this works for you lot, you accept to pair your headphones manually. This involves locating the Bluetooth settings on your device, pressing a button on the headphones, and inbound a passcode when prompted (usually 0000). It's slower and more tedious, so you might need to refer to the manual to get it right.

5. Remote Controls for Wireless Headphones

Wired headphones often have a remote on the cablevision, but Bluetooth headphones don't have this choice.

Instead, they build some basic controls, along with a microphone, into i of the earpieces. This may be in the form of buttons or touch sensors. It could as well be a push button to activate vocalization controls.

For controlling AirPods, a double tap launches Siri. From there, you use commands like "Turn volume up" or "Skip runway" to control your music.

Companies similar Bose and Sony make Bluetooth headphones that work in the same manner with Google Assistant. Jabra is among those that supports Amazon'south Alexa.

The accessibility of the controls is something you should always test when buying, or choosing to keep, new headphones. The button blueprint and layout is sometimes determined more by aesthetics than practicality. They aren't ever easy to detect by affect alone, especially if you're in the gym.

6. Course Factor and Size

Wireless headphones come in the three standard styles: over-ear, on-ear, and in-ear. The first ii look and function much the same equally their wired counterparts. But the latter, in-ear, is quite different.

A recent trend in the in-ear format applies to true wireless earbuds. Dissimilar the primeval models, which had the 2 buds continued by a cablevision that would go effectually the back of your cervix, many models now lack wires altogether.

Sennheiser true wireless earbuds
Image Credit: Sennheiser

The move began with Apple tree's AirPods. Now, most manufacturers are on board: Sennheiser, Bose, B&O, Samsung, and more. The Jabra Elite 65t is regarded among the all-time in-ear earbuds.

These all work on the same principle: they come with a charging example that maximizes your play fourth dimension. But at that place are problems, too. Latency tin can exist an trouble, and so they aren't all platonic for video. Battery life is shorter, at up to five hours. They're more than expensive than wired earbuds. And the diminutive size makes them easier to lose.

But yous can't beat them for convenience and portability. Price is dandy likewise---check out the best wireless headphones nether $100.

Bluetooth Headphones Are the Future

Similar it or not, headphone jacks are on their manner out and Bluetooth headphones are the future.

Audiophiles may resist for a while, but for well-nigh of u.s., wireless is at present more than good enough. Information technology'southward easy to use, affordable, and the quality improves all the time. And if your headphones go along breaking because you roll over the cord, this might exist the ideal time to become wireless. Go on in mind that a pair of wireless noise-cancelling headphones tin can turn out to exist the best gadgets to help your creativity.

If you're fix to take the leap into the earth of wireless music, have a look at our guide to the all-time Bluetooth headphones you tin can buy correct now (or the best Bluetooth headsets specifically for iPhone). If you're bold, you might fifty-fifty want to try os conducting headphones, which allow yous to withal hear your surrounding.

We promise you like the items we recommend and discuss! MUO has affiliate and sponsored partnerships, and so nosotros receive a share of the revenue from some of your purchases. This won't affect the price you pay and helps usa offer the all-time product recommendations.

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About The Author

Andy Betts (215 Manufactures Published)

Andy is a freelance writer and junior editor for Android at MUO. He's been writing about consumer tech since the early 2000s for a wide range of publications, and has a passion for all things mobile.

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