Which AirPods Should You Buy in 2025?

Don't just trust our picks blindly, see how we made them with this detailed outline of our testing process.

Sound: We're not going to bore you with sound test performance. The AirPods we picked sound as good as any other wearable audio. If you care about audio you want the AirPods Max. If you don't the AirPods 4 will serve you just fine.

Active Noise Cancellation: ANC is what you're looking for if you want to block out all street noise. A lot of headphones offer the option to toggle it on and off.

Practicality: It's not just theory. When distinguishing all the AirPods models from each other, you have to think about how and when you'll use them. Some of us just want headphones that will connect to our phones as easily as possible. That's why your getting AirPods in the first place. Beyond that, though, think about the situations you will be using headphones in, which form factor makes sense for those, and whether features like noise-cancelling matter to you in practice.

Portability: This is kind of a subsection of practicality, but think about carrying these things around. This is the big factor when choosing to go with earbuds or over-ear AirPods.

Durability: The AirPods Max are—thankfully, at $500—just about bulletproof. Those will last for ages. You can't really drop them or lose them. The AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro.... well, there's always a chance you drop the case and never see those puppies again. Over the years, AirPods have gotten better at staying in the case (more durable upon collision), but it's still an Apple product at the end of the day. It's going to be a bit fragile.