The best noise-cancelling headphones for your iPhone: our top 3

The AirPods Pro are facing stiff competition these days. But how do all these noise-canceling smart headphones relate to each other? We’ve put the three best iPhone earbuds in the box ring to answer: AirPods Pro 2, Sony WF-1000XM5, and Nothing Ear(2).

The best earbuds for your iPhone in 2023

Anyone who thinks of noise-canceling headphones for the iPhone probably immediately envisions a pair of AirPods Pro. But there are many more good options out there than just Apple’s own earbuds, and especially in 2023, the competition has increased exponentially.

That’s why we’ve listed three pairs of noise-cancelling earbuds: the AirPods Pro 2, the Sony WF-1000XM5, and the Nothing Ear(2). We look at sound quality, wearing comfort, ease of use and noise reduction quality. Which earbuds are the best choice for you?

AirPods Pro 2: The gold standard

The second generation AirPods Pro ($299) are the most advanced earbuds Apple has ever made. It’s packed with smart features: spatial audio, Find My support, automatic switching between your Apple devices, a charging case with a built-in speaker, and touch volume control. Despite the number of functions, it leaves little to be desired in terms of ease of use, as we are used to from Apple.

The audio experience is also top-notch. The AirPods Pro 2 have a new H2 chip and new drivers, which together ensure that the sound quality is much better than the first generation AirPods Pro. And we can confirm this with our own experience: AirPods Pro now have beautifully clear highs, deep bass tones, and truly excellent sound (for wireless earbuds).

Noise cancellation, but smarter

Noise cancellation on the AirPods Pro 2 is very good, but this is slightly limited by the design of the ear tips. Due to the somewhat slippery silicone material, they tend to slip out of the ears (at least with us), so they don’t seal perfectly. As a result, there is still some ambient noise passing through. Of course this won’t be the case for everyone, but you have to be lucky.

If you have good closure, you won’t notice much around you. The sound is well filtered, from high to low tones. And the built-in Transparency Mode, which allows you to listen to your surroundings as if you didn’t have earbuds, is better than any earbud.

Finally, some useful additional features for the AirPods Pro 2 will be coming in an update this fall. For example, there will be conversation detection, which will lower the music volume when you start speaking. There will also be adaptive sound, which analyzes the sound around you and chooses what should and shouldn’t be filtered out. So this is a combination of transparency mode and noise reduction: great!

Apple AirPods Pro 2 specifications – the best iPhone headphones

Sony WF-1000XM5: The biggest competitor

Sony has been following Apple for years when it comes to wireless earbuds, and this year they’ve taken a big step forward with the WF-1000XM5. These new headphones are now (almost) as compact as AirPods, which greatly improves wearing comfort.

The drivers and audio chip have also been processed, and you can hear that. There are simply no better wireless earbuds than the XM5. The bass is deep, the highs are brilliant, and all instruments and voices are clearly distinguishable from one another. The foam ear tips help with that, as they seal everything in really well.

Completely isolated

The tips also help cancel out the noise. Since they passively block out a lot of noise, noise cancellation is made a little easier. The result is that ambient noise is filtered out very well – much better than the AirPods Pro 2, in fact.

Then use: On both sides of the earbuds you will find touchpads with which you can control your music. It works easily, but it’s a little less intuitive than the AirPods. Also nice: the XM5 supports multipoint, so you can connect your earbuds to multiple devices at the same time. Oh, and the charging case has a USB-C port. So searching for your own Lightning cable is not an option.

Sony WF-1000XM5 specifications – the best headphones for iPhone

ear none (2): as much as less

There is nothing relatively new when it comes to earphones. The British brand has only been around for a few years, and the Earbuds 2 are only the second generation of earbuds – but they’re already competing with the big brands.

This is mainly due to the price: 149 euros for noise-canceling headphones that are hardly inferior in functionality to more (much) more expensive earphones. There are some compromises — for example, the battery life is somewhat lower and the sound quality is more on the level of older AirPods models — but it saves you half compared to the AirPods Pro 2 and Sony WF-1000XM5.

Budget noise cancellation

The Nothing Ear(2)’s noise cancellation isn’t as good as the above-mentioned earbuds, but it’s a nice plus for the price. Low-mids are well filtered out, but high-tones still drop out a bit. This is also due to the silicone tips, which, like the AirPods Pro tips, close only to a limited extent.

Where the Ear(2) exceeds its budget is in ease of use. They have almost the same stems as the AirPods for operation, which works intuitively. It also supports multiple points, uses USB-C for charging, and the charging box also serves as a standard for the phone. And to discuss the design: these are by far the prettiest earbuds on the market, with an ultra-clear design reminiscent of science fiction movies.

The specs are nothing short of in-ear (2) – the best headphones for iPhone

Conclusion The best iPhone headphones with noise cancellation

Although we’d like to decide a definitive winner, it’s very difficult with these headphones. Every couple excels at something else. For example, AirPods Pro are the easiest to use and have the most intelligent functionality. The Sony WF-1000XM5 looks its best, with micro-foam tips that insulate you well from the outside world. Nothing Ear(2) once again excels in design, and even more so in price.

However, if we had to pick a winner, it would be the AirPods. These earphones are the most complete in terms of functions, sound good, have strong noise cancellation, and work perfectly with your iPhone. Their price also usually starts at 250 euros. And it should fit your ears: if you can try it one way or the other, definitely do!

At iPhoned we test the latest iPhones and other Apple products. The editorial team compiles reviews (just like all other content on the site) with a lot of time, care and attention.

That way, you, as the reader, know exactly what to expect from the tested smartphone (and other products). In the reviews we go deeper, but in an understandable way. In the end, we want everyone to understand the story and finally know how good (or bad) the device tested is.