Sound and Vision: Are there too many true wireless earbuds to choose from?

Hither at Trusted Reviews, nosotros cover all sorts of products. Withal, I reckon no production in the past year has hit the number of announcements nosotros've seen with truthful wireless earbuds.

While it's a pleasure to test audio products, information technology's been a struggle to sift through the sheer number available. From as low as £nineteen.99 to equally much as £349.99, bandage a cyberspace and likely simply a fraction of what's available will be caught.

The true wireless market has come a long way since the first effort – by Onkyo, not Apple – in the W800BT. Await at them now and they're a bulky effort with an fifty-fifty bulkier charging example but laid the foundations for what would come.

They had their issues: no onboard touch controls, a wireless performance that was upwards and down and a limited feature set. But they probable inspired the Apple tree AirPods that launched the nascent applied science into popular consciousness the following year.

From in that location we can trace the true wireless revolution and development. The AirPods were flawed but presented as a product that supplemented the iPhone feel, something to untether the listener from those lacklustre wired EarPods. It'south now not a surprise Apple tree ditched the physical headphone jack from their iPhones in the same year and others followed every bit wireless headphones gained traction.

Soon afterwards sound quality become a priority with Sony'due south WF-1000X. That was followed by improved wireless connectivity, a wider feature set and active noise counterfoil (ANC). We've hit a bespeak where Sony's WF-1000XM4 see truthful wireless hitting its highest apex so far, wringing out efficiency and performance in spades.

But information technology does experience like we are submerged in this quicksand of true wireless. Innovation – while all the same possible – feels less notable. B&W Pi7'south wireless transmission example is a great feature but costs £349. Bose and Sony have already pushed noise cancellation to the point where information technology'southward hard to experience information technology could be massively bettered.

With the launch of Diesel fuel's true wireless earbuds, even fashion brands are getting in on the act. The market is reaching saturation if information technology hasn't already, and from a consumer indicate of view, I wonder if it's condign an increasingly tricky choice to find a pair that's right for them.

Each week there'southward a brand yous've heard of – and probably one y'all haven't – announcing a new earbud. From premium models to budget offerings, fettle focused efforts and earbuds optimised for smartphones, trying to keep rails is a gargantuan task. There are more than announcements in pipeline that suggest things are only ramping up.

Selection tin can be good, every bit tin competition. Features that were once premium – such as active noise cancellation – take trickled down to more than affordable efforts, but there comes upwards a signal where quality control isn't as expert, and features become a box ticking exercise.

And that's possibly the point I've stumbled on to. If you want true wireless excellence, you'll have to stump up the cash. If you lot want affordability at that place'due south plenty that exercise that, just in that location's no middle ground, no ideal marriage of features and performance unless you wait a couple of years for a once premium model to drop downwardly in cost, by which point it's likely to have been usurped and the merry-get-round continues.

True wireless earbuds started off by offering convenience over wired options and now are some of best all-round headphones yous can buy. The amount of progress has been astonishing to watch, only I suppose the question is, have we already hit the ceiling?