Which wireless headphones are best for the iPhone XS?

Now that Apple has dropped the headphone jack, it has become necessary to get wireless headphones for the new iPhone range. That doesn’t mean you have to go for Apple’s expensive AirPods though. In this article, I want to show you which wireless headphones are best for the iPhone XS at different price points.

The best iPhone XS wireless headphones at three clear price points

To make it easier for you, I have picked out a selection of the best headphones and earbuds at three clear price points. I have specifically picked out an earbud choice and either an on-ear or over-ear headphone choice so that you can find something that suits you in your budget. Here’s an overview of the three price points I will be covering.

• Under £50 - Anker SoundBuds for £20 and Sony WH-CH500 for £30

• Under £125 - BeatsX for £110 and AKG Y45BT for £80

• Under £250 - Apple AirPods for £159 and Bose SoundLink II for £200

Best wireless headphones under £50

Starting at the low end, we have two surprising products from two very well known companies. First up is Anker with the in-ear SoundBuds. Better known for their portable chargers, it was surprising to see Anker branching off into the audio game.

What was more surprising though was that their Anker SoundBuds are one of the top selling wireless in-ear earbuds on the planet. It’s perhaps thanks to their ridiculously low selling price of just £18.99. Despite the low price tag, you could easily slap a £50 sticker on these at a retail store and people still wouldn’t complain.

The Anker SoundBuds’ audio quality is reasonable for the price point. You’re getting an all-round experience that’s pleasant enough to listen to for long periods. The earbuds are comfortable, the build quality is well thought out and Anker are there with their excellent customer support if anything goes wrong.

Obviously, at £20 you’re not going to be sending beautiful music notes on a royal rollercoaster ride through your ear canals, but they’re good enough to give you the satisfaction that it was money well spent.

Up next we have Sony, another long time player in the tech world. Sony’s WH-CH500s are on-ear wireless headphones that will set you back £30. Unlike Anker, Sony is well known for their audio equipment, and they are especially renowned for dominating the low end market with budget conscious choices.

So, unsurprisingly the Sony WH-CH500 on ear headphones hit all the marks you’d hope for at this price point. You get reasonable sound quality, decent volume, and they’re comfortable enough to sit on your head through lengthy travel times. If you are an audio aficionado I wouldn’t recommend them to be your top piece because the audio does fall a little flat, but at this price it’s completely understandable.

Best wireless headphones under £125

This is where wireless audio equipment starts to get exciting. Typically, I would never suggest a Beats product over something similarly priced from another top audio company, but in this rare case, I’d highly recommend the BeatsX for anybody looking at a good pair of in-ear Bluetooth earbuds under £125.

There are a number of reasons why I would suggest the BeatsX at this price point, especially if you are an Apple user. To start off, Beats has created an excellent sound profile on their BeatsX earbuds - if you are the kind of person that likes heavy hitting bass, these are for you. Surprisingly, the mids and lows are decent enough to the point where you can get a rich listening experience no matter what you are listening to.

So, with sound quality given a big green tick, what else have we got to look at? Well, I’d like to take you through the unboxing experience - something that Apple fans will know is incredibly important. When you open a new Apple product, it’s exciting. With Apple now heading the Beats brand, their same core values transfer over. I’ve never had such a wow factor moment with opening new earbuds before. Besides the beautiful box, you’re given a range of earbuds at different sizes. This is super important - finding the right size for your ears will completely change how music and audio sounds through earbuds. The BeatsX earphones also use Apple’s Lightning cable to charge, so that’s one less worry on your mind.

If you’re more of an on-ear fan, you’ll appreciate AKG’s offering at just £80. The AKG Y45BT’s are a surprising find at this price point as the product looks and feels very much like one of their higher quality wired products. If you’re looking for a reasonably priced wired pair of on-ear headphones, AKG is one of the first companies I’d suggest, but how do their wireless pairs compare?

Well, I’m very impressed. The AKG Y45BT’s will hit you hard with some deep bass but they still hit the highs and mids well. These are certainly a pair of ‘fun’ headphones, though, aimed at those that want to listen to punchier tunes over something like classical or country music. As you’d expect, AKG delivers solid build quality with the Y45BTs - these headphones are lightweight and fit comfortably on your head and they can also fold up for easier storage.

Best wireless headphones under £250

Our first suggestion at this price point is of course Apple’s very own AirPods. In my eyes, Apple jump started the whole wireless earbud game, making truly powerful buds that are free from cables. They are the perfect example of what Apple can do when they are on their A game with innovation.

One reason why the AirPods trump other options is its focus on being a true companion to your smartphone. The AirPods were built from the ground up for the iPhone, so pairing happens so fast it’s almost magic, Siri support is baked in and incredibly intuitive, and the battery length essentially matches that of your smartphone. The sound quality on the AirPods is also way up there with the greatest, and that’s something that surprised me considering their unorthodox design.

That does bring me to one glaring issue with the AirPods - their design isn’t exactly the most comfortable in the world, but Apple seems to want to stick with it and as an Apple user that’s something you’ll need to get used to. I just wished that Apple would offer a more traditional ‘bud’ style option with varying sizes like the BeatsX and most other wireless earbuds on the market.

Finally, we have the Bose SoundLink II wireless headphones for those wanting out of the earbud game. Bose are amongst the original gangsters of the audio market and they have been winning in the audio game for longer than color TV has been winning in the living room. It should come as no shock then that the SoundLink II headphones are easily the best options for this particular price range.

I really doubt you’d find it easy to locate any headphones that produce better quality sound for under £250, and if you can, it’d be a very close race. Bose also completely nailed it with the build of the SoundLink IIs - these headphones are incredibly lightweight and can sit on your head for hours without you feeling any discomfort.

Summary

Thanks for reading our look at the best wireless headphones for the iPhone XS. I hope that you have found this article useful. You can find all of these earbuds on Amazon. If you haven’t yet got the iPhone XS, you can also check that out for sale from us here.