Surprisingly, many of these wire-free models are durable enough for the gym and can get wet, even though each earpiece has an exposed charging contact. The IP rating tells us what to expect. Some workout-friendly earphones have only an IPX4 rating, which means they can withstand sweat but not exposure to faucet pressure for cleaning. Others have an IPX7 (or higher) rating, which means you can rinse or dunk them with no real consequence.

If durability and a true waterproof design are your top priorities, you may have had to sacrifice some user-friendly features or opt for a traditional neckband-style wireless design in the past, but that's no longer the case. Fully waterproof entries from JBL, for instance, even have ANC.

For more information, see our selection of the best wireless earbuds for running.

No single brand makes the best (or worst) wireless earbuds overall, but if there's one area many models share, it's the on-ear control department. You might often find it's too easy to accidentally pause music, skip a track, or summon a voice assistant when you merely mean to take out or adjust an earpiece slightly. There's not a lot of real estate on most of the earpieces we test, so the outer panel area is often touch-sensitive.

Newer models manage to strike a balance between operability and layout. Some use physical buttons to control playback, call management, track navigation, and volume. Others cleverly divide controls between the two earpieces via touch panels—tapping the left earpiece, for instance, skips a track backward, whereas tapping the right one skips forward. Despite needing to do a little more thinking before you tap, eventually, the division of controls between the two earpieces should become intuitive. Look for earphones that let you customize the on-ear controls to your preference.

Battery life is the Achilles' heel of the wireless category. It's a miracle that these tiny in-ear devices can contain a battery at all, let alone one large enough to provide hours of entertainment. Typical battery life estimates (and keep in mind that your results may vary based on typical volume levels) typically top out around eight hours, although many are limited to six. Such minuscule devices can't provide unending playback time, particularly with power-sapping features such as ANC.

The necessary solution that (nearly) all of these designs share is a charging case. The cases protect the earpieces, keep the earbuds together when not in use, and charge their batteries. Most cases come with at least two extra full charges, allowing you to recharge your earphones on the go. Therefore, you can expect approximately 20 to 30 hours of battery life without needing an outlet. We expect battery life to become less of an issue in the future.