The best noise-canceling earphones for your iPhone: our top 3

The AirPods Pro have stiff competition these days. But how do all those smart noise-cancelling earphones relate to each other? We put the three best earphones for the iPhone in the box ring for the answer: the AirPods Pro 2, Sony WF-1000XM5, and the Nothing Ear(2).

The best earphones for your iPhone in 2023

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

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

AirPods Pro 2: The Gold Standard

The second-generation AirPods Pro ($299) are the most advanced earphones Apple has ever made. They are full of smart features: spatial audio, support for Find My, automatic switching between your Apple devices, a charging case with built-in speaker, volume control via touch. Despite the amount of functions, they leave little to be desired in terms of ease of use, as we are used to from Apple.

Also, the audio experience is top notch. The AirPods Pro 2 have a new H2 chip and new drivers, which together should ensure that the audio quality is a lot better than with the first generation AirPods Pro. And we can confirm this from our own experience: the AirPods Pro now have beautifully clear highs and deep bass tones, and sound (for wireless earphones) really premium.

Noise cancelling, but smarter

The noise canceling of the AirPods Pro 2 is very good, but this is limited a bit 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 by. Of course this will not be the case for everyone – but you have to be lucky.

If you do have a good closure, then you will not notice much of your surroundings. The sound is filtered out particularly well, from high to low tones. And the built-in transparency mode, which allows you to hear your surroundings as if you had no earphones in, is better than on any earphone.

Finally, some useful extra features for the AirPods Pro 2 are coming in an update this fall. For example, there will be conversation detection, which will lower the volume of your music when you start talking. There will also be Adaptive audio, which analyzes the sound around you and chooses what should and should not be filtered. So this is a combination of transparency mode and noise reduction: cool!

Specifications Apple AirPods Pro 2 – best earphones iPhone

Sony WF-1000XM5: the biggest competitor

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

The drivers and audio chip have also been addressed, and you can hear that. There are simply no wireless earphones that sound better than the XM5. The bass is deep, the highs sparkling, and all instruments and voices are clearly distinguishable from each other. The foam ear tips help with this, which close everything very well.

Completely isolated

The tips also help with noise cancelling. Because they passively keep out a lot of noise, noise canceling is made a bit easier. The result is that ambient noise is filtered out very well – actually just a notch better than with the AirPods Pro 2.

Then the use: on the sides of the earphones you will find touchpads with which you can control your music. That works handy, but slightly less intuitive than on the AirPods. Also nice: the XM5 supports multipoint, so you can connect the earphones to multiple devices at the same time. Oh, and the charging case has a USB-C port. Searching for your Lightning cable is therefore not an option.

Specifications Sony WF-1000XM5 – best earphones iPhone

Nothing Ear(2): just as much for less

Nothing is a relatively new player when it comes to earphones. The British brand has only been around for a few years, and the Ear(2) are only their second generation of earphones – but they are already really competing with the big brands.

This is mainly due to the price: € 149 for noise canceling earphones that are hardly inferior in functionality to (much) more expensive earphones. There are some concessions – for example, the battery life is somewhat less and the audio quality is more at the level of older AirPods models – but that saves you half compared to the AirPods Pro 2 and the Sony WF-1000XM5.

Budget noise cancelling

The noise canceling of the Nothing Ear(2) is not as good as the above earphones, but it is a nice extra for this price. Low and mid tones are filtered well, but high tones still seep through a bit. This is also due to the silicone tips, which, like the tips of the AirPods Pro, only close 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. They also support multipoint, use USB-C for charging, and the charging box also serves as a telephone standard. And to discuss the design: these are by far the most beautiful earphones on the market, with a hip transparent design that is reminiscent of a sci-fi movie.

Specifications Nothing Ear(2) – best earphones iPhone

Conclusion best earphones iPhone with noise canceling

Although we would like to designate a definitive winner, it is quite difficult with these earphones. Every couple excels in something else. For example, the AirPods Pro are the easiest to use and have the smartest functions. The Sony WF-1000XM5 sounds the best, with fine foam tips that close you off very well from the outside world. And the Nothing Ear(2) 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 canceling and work perfectly with your iPhone. You also usually have them from € 250. However, they should just fit your ears: if you can try them on in one way or another, then definitely do that!

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

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This way you, as a reader, know exactly what to expect from the tested smartphone (and other products). In the reviews we go into depth, but in an understandable way. After all, we want everyone to understand the story and ultimately know how good (or bad) the tested device is.