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The Best Wireless Earbuds and Headphones for iPad (2021 Reviews)

September 14, 2021
16 min read
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Hot: Apple's ninth-generation iPad hits an all-time low of $199

Even when Apple removed the 3.5 mm headphone jack in 2016, they still provided customers with their trusted Apple EarPods and a lightning dongle in the box. But after the launch of the iPhone 12, everything changed as they stopped providing it to cut down costs on packaging and reducing carbon footprint.

This is an excellent thing for the environment but has made us look for some good quality wireless alternatives to listen to some sweet music. That is why we provide you with this list of the best wireless earbuds and headphones out there for your Apple devices. 

Best wireless earbuds for iPad

Best wireless headphones for iPad

BEST WIRELESS EARBUDS FOR IOS

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 – Power-packed features for a premium price.

Pricing: $299.95

The most expensive wireless earphones out there that offer you the best sound quality and an ergonomic fit is the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2. It has active noise cancellation (ANC) with Bluetooth 5.1 support and has an IPX4 rating, perfect for your intense workout sessions.

One of the key features is that it has the NFMI technology, which ensures low latency audio output and provides you with perfect synchronization between the left and right earbuds. It also has a Transparent Hearing mode that allows you to listen to your surroundings while listening to your favourite music.

Having to pause your music whenever you take off your earphones can be a little annoying, but you don’t have to worry about it anymore with the Smart Pause feature that automatically stops the second you remove an earbud and resumes as soon as you put it back on. It also offers you several touch controls for you to attend phone calls, control the playback or even access the voice assistant Siri.

Reasons to buy the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2

  • It supports an AAC codec and has a Smart Control App through which you can customize your touch controls and fine-tune your listening experience with the Built-in Equalizer.
  • It has a playback time of 7-hours that can be extended up to 28 hours with the charging case.
  • It supports USB Type-C charging and comes with ear tips in 4 sizes for you to choose what fits perfectly for your ears.

Reasons to not buy the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2

  • It doesn’t support wireless charging
  • It has a bulk feel to it and is very expensive.

Apple AirPods Pro – Feels like Magic, feels like Apple.

Pricing: $249.00

The Apple AirPods Pro is the latest generation of AirPods from Apple and is designed in such a way that you will forget your surroundings when you use them. They have made significant improvements in the designs to give you a more secure fit and a better active noise cancellation (ANC).

They contain two microphones, one that is present outside and detects external sound and another that faces inside and counters it with an equal and opposite noise to cancel out the external sound. This is done continuously at 200 times per second to give you the best ANC so that you can forget your surroundings and drown in your own world.

The Apple AirPods come with three sizes of soft, flexible silicone tips, and you can use the Ear Tip Fit Test to choose the right tip size for your ears, giving you the best seal for effective noise cancellation.

Another important feature that comes with the Apple AirPods Pro is the Spatial Audio which gives you a surround sound effect. It also has a force sensor that you can use to switch between ANC and Transparency Mode.

Reasons to buy the Apple AirPods Pro

  • It has an IPX4 rating and is perfect to use for sports and workouts.
  • It has the H1 chip that enables you to sync and switch between all of your Apple devices perfectly.
  • It gives you 24-hours of total battery life and supports Wireless charging, and with 5 minutes of charge, you will get around 1-hour of playback time.

Reasons to not buy the Apple AirPods Pro

  • It uses a lightning cable to charge rather than a USB Type-C cable.

Pamu Quiet – Dual chip earphones that satisfy all your needs.

Pricing: $119.00

If you want the most comfortable wireless earphones, then the Pamu Quiet is your perfect choice as it has been perfectly designed to fit right into your ears. It supports Bluetooth 5.0 and an AAC codec with an IPX4 rating.

Pamu Quiet is different from the other earphones as it supports both feedback and feed-forward noise cancellation to provide the best ANC experience along with a hybrid noise cancellation.

The most important feature is that it is the first dual-chip wireless earphone that has both the QCC5124, which handles your Bluetooth connection and the AMS 3460 ANC chip, which is capable of reducing background noise up to 40 dB like no other earphones.

You can feel the bass when it comes to listening to music with the Pamu Quiet as it supports Deep Bass, and it also has an Ambient Mode which allows you to listen to your background while listening to your favourite music.

The total playback time is about 3.5-hours, and with the charging case, you get a total of 14-hours, and it supports wireless charging with USB Type-C.

Reasons to buy the Pamu Quiet

  • It provides you with the best bass-heavy sound experience and has a Pamu Quiet App through which you can customize your touch controls and manage your Bluetooth connections.
  • It has one of the coolest looking designs when it comes to charging cases and has an LED ring around it to indicate the charging status.
  • It supports hybrid noise cancellation and comes with ear tips in 3 sizes for you to choose what fits perfectly for your ears.

Reasons to not buy the Pamu Quiet

  • It has a poor battery life when compared to other wireless earphones.

Nothing Ear 1 – Feels like you have nothing on your ears

Pricing: $99.00

Using in-ear earphones for a long time can be really uncomfortable, but with the Nothing Ear 1, you will forget that you are even wearing one. It is the lightest wireless and most comfortable earphones out there and only weighs 4.7g, giving you the feeling like you have nothing on your ears.

It supports the latest Bluetooth 5.2 and AAC codec with an IPX4 rating. You get up to 5 hours of listening time with the earbuds and a total of 34 hours with the charging case.

It automatically stops playing once you take them off your ears and resume as soon you put them back on. It also supports gesture controls with sliding up or down on the stem of the earbuds to control volume.

Nothing Ear 1 uses Clear Voice technology and three high definition microphones to isolate any background noise and amplify your voice during calls. It has both active noise cancellation (ANC) mode with two levels to choose from and a Transparency mode that amplifies ambient noise.

Reasons to buy the Nothing Ear 1

  • It supports wireless charging with USB Type-C and comes with two liquid silicone tips out of the box.
  • You can customize the equalizer in their Ear (1) app, which comes with a Find my Earbuds function in case you forgot if you had them on your ears.
  • It has a transparent design that looks clean and gives you a retro-futuristic look.

Reasons to not buy the Nothing Ear 1

  • It doesn’t have voice assistant support.
  • The in-ear detection has some room for improvement.
  • It doesn’t support custom EQ.

Fiil T1XS – The best and most affordable wireless earphones out there

Pricing: $49.99

The Fiil T1XS is one of the best wireless earphones when it comes to its pricing. It offers a lot of premium features for such a low price point. It supports Bluetooth 5.0 and an AAC codec with an IPX5 rating that is perfect for use during intense workout sessions as well as under the rain.

It comes with three size ear tips and three size sport-wings so that you can wear them to match your fit. It also has an automatic pause feature that detects when you remove an earbud from your ear, which stops it from playing, and you can resume it by tapping it twice when you put it back on.

The touch gestures are great and are reliable, and you can easily customize these controls with the Global Fiil+ app. You can also try out the custom equalizer with three different preset options available for you to choose from using the app.

The best feature is that it has fast charging support with 6-hours of playtime and can be extended up to a total of 24-hours with the charging case and uses a USB Type-C cable for charging.

Reasons to buy the Fiil T1XS

  • The charging case is easy to fit in your pocket, while the earbuds provide a tight fit in your ears.
  • It supports custom EQ and provides a lot of customization features through the Fiil+ app.

Reasons to not buy the Fiil T1XS

  • The mic quality depends on the surrounding, making it harder to use in noisy backgrounds.
  • It doesn’t have an ANC feature but supports passive noise isolation to reduce external noise.

BEST WIRELESS HEADPHONES FOR IOS

Apple AirPods Max –The best headphone designed for the Apple ecosystem.

Pricing: $549.00

The Apple AirPods Max is the absolute best when it comes to active noise. It comes with the H1 chip that integrates well with all your Apple device and is equipped with an Optical Sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope and much more to give you a full immense sound experience.

It weighs around 386 grams, making it the heaviest headphone out of all other headphones, but the headband is designed in such a way that it distributes the weight evenly to both the ear cups.

The standalone feature is the Spatial Audio which gives you a similar feeling to surround sound technology and will make you wonder where the sound is coming from. It also has the best Transparency mode and comes with Adaptive EQ.

The Apple AirPods Max gives you up to 20-hours of playback time even with ANC turned on. The fast charge is the absolute best because with just a quick 5-minute charge; you will get up to 1.5-hours of playback time.

Reasons to buy the Apple AirPods Max

  • It has the best active noise cancellation and Transparency mode out of all the over-the-ear headphones with Spatial Audio Technology.
  • It has big, deep and comfy ear cups, making it perfect for anyone with any ear size to use these headphones comfortably.
  • It works best with the Apple ecosystem since it has the H1 chip and supports the AAC codec.

Reasons not to buy the Apple AirPods Max

  • It uses a lightning cable for charging and doesn’t have a headphone jack.
  • It doesn’t have an IPX rating and is not even waterproof.
  • The headphones are not foldable, and the smart case serves no protection to the headband.

Sony WH-1000 MX3 – The perfect all-rounder headphone for your work life.

Pricing: $349.99

The Sony WH-1000 MX3 provides everything that the Apple AirPods Max doesn’t and even better features for a better price. Even though it supports Bluetooth 4.2, it still works best with the Apple ecosystem as it supports AAC codec along with aptX, aptX HD and LDAC codec.

It is the best headphone when it comes to portability as it is foldable and comes with a sturdy case. It has a 3.5 mm jack and a USB Type-C charging port and lasts up to 30-hours of playback time with ANC turned on.

Sony has included some smart features that make your life a little better, including the Adaptive Sound Control, Voice Assistant compatibility, touch control and much more.

One key feature is the Quick Attention mode which makes it easier for you to hear ambient sounds so that you can listen to announcements in airports or subways without having to remove your headphones.

Reasons to buy the Sony WH-1000 MX3

  • You can set sleep timers, customize equalizer, add several hand gestures, all with the help of the Sony I Headphone Connect App.
  • It has a great battery life and has USB Type-C charging port and a headphone jack.
  • It is very comfortable to use and has the best ANC feature that is suitable for people who travel through public modes of transport.

Reasons not to buy the Sony WH-1000 MX3

  • It doesn’t have an IPX rating and is not waterproof or splash-proof.
  • It doesn’t have on-ear sensors.
  • It doesn’t have Bluetooth 5.0 support.

Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 – More affordable than any other headphones.

Pricing: $249.99

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 will serve as a good quality headphone providing a crystal-clear Omnisonic sound experience. It has Bluetooth 5.0 support and uses SBC and aptX codec for audio output.

The interesting feature of this headphone is its dial controls. It has 15 levels of volume control and 13 levels of ANC control which can make you feel that fade in the background noise as your turn up the dial all the way up.

It has microphones on both sides for exceptional call clarity and supports touch and voice controls to get things done. It also has the fastest Bluetooth Multipoint feature out of all other headphones and has an auto-pause feature that automatically pauses when you remove your headphone.

It has a battery life of 20-hours with noise cancellation enabled and supports fast charging with a USB Type-C port. It has a Mute Button for the microphone, which may come in handy if you use this headphone for attending calls and zoom meetings.

Reasons to buy the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2

  • It has multiple device support that automatically switches audio to the device you are using.
  • It has a decent ANC feature with good battery life and USB Type-C support.
  • You can play with the EQ settings using the Surface Audio app, customize the equalizer, or choose some presets.

Reasons not to buy the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2

  • It cannot be folded as it doesn’t have foldable hinges.
  • The touch sensors don’t work if you connect an aux cable with the headphone.
  • It doesn’t have an IPX rating and is not water-resistant.

What makes a headphone best for your Apple device?

There are lots of options available out there for a good pair of earbuds or headphones but having to choose the right one that is best for you and your device is really important. Here are some of the things that you should consider before buying:

  • Check for MFi-certification: This usually doesn’t matter when it comes to wireless products but having MFi-certified headphones means better compatibility and reliability when you connect your headphones with any of your Apple products.
  • Check for AAC codec support: There are different types of codecs such as aptX, aptX HD, LDAC and so on, but the one that Apple supports is the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC). This means that you will get a better sound quality when compared to buying a headphone that supports other types of codec.
  • Check for IPX rating: The IPX rating denotes the level of protection that you get from water, dust, weather, etc. A higher IPX rating means better quality of the product. If you are going to use your earbuds for workouts and sports, then it is necessary to make sure that it has a minimum of IPX4 rating.
  • Check for Bluetooth 5.0 support: The latest generation Apple AirPods comes with the H1 chipset, which means it supports Bluetooth 5.0. This gives you faster and better Bluetooth connectivity on all your Apple devices and extended talk time. Not all headphones come with the H1 chipset, but you can ensure that the headphone you buy is best for your Apple device if it supports Bluetooth 5.0 or higher.
  • Check for Battery Life: The battery life of an earbud depends on different factors such as the volume to which you are listening or if you are listening with Active Noise Cancelation and so on. But good quality earbuds last at least 4 to 6 hours, and premium quality headphones will last up to 12 hours.  

Other FAQs

1) Does the Apple AirPods Max feel uncomfortable because of its weight?

The Apple AirPods Max may be one of the heaviest headphones out there, but it is comfortable to use as the headband is made from a breathable knit mesh that distributes the weight evenly to reduce on-head pressure, while the ear cups are made up of a custom-designed mesh textile that provides a pillow-like softness for your ears.

2) Is the Nothing Ear 1 worth the price?

Yes, The Nothing Ear 1 is definitely worth the price as it supports the latest Bluetooth 5.2 and AAC codec with an IPX4 rating while also providing you 34 hours of total battery life, and it just costs you $99.

3) Which is the better option: Sony WH-1000 MX3 vs. Apple AirPods Max?

The Apple AirPods Max is the absolute best when it comes it ANC, but the Sony WH-1000 MX3 outshines it in other factors, including portability and price. But if you have a complete Apple ecosystem and some cash to burn, then the Apple AirPods Max is the perfect choice due to its H1 chip, allowing you to connect between all of your Apple devices seamlessly.

4) Which is the most comfortable earphone to use for extended periods?

The Nothing Ear 1 would be the perfect choice for long periods of usage as each earbud weigh only 4.7g, giving you a sense of nothing in your ears. It also has an excellent ergonomic fit with pressure-relieving vents, which increase your comfort even further.

5) What is Adaptive EQ, and why does it matter?

The Adaptive EQ feature allows the headphones to give a more personalized experience by controlling the audio to the fit and seal of the ear cups. The headphones deliver the perfect audio experience by adjusting the mid and low frequencies of the sound in real-time.

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