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Constantly draining the battery on your wireless headphones can be a chore, right? Even the best wireless headphones (Opens in a new tab) So far I’ve tried that it doesn’t support wireless charging, which means I have to remember to hunt down the charging cable and USB-C power adapter every time I want to charge my headphones.
When I’m on a long commute, business trip, or vacation, the last thing I want to worry about is charging the battery on my headphones. As Sod’s (or Murphy’s) Law says, ‘everything that goes wrong will go wrong’, and my headphones can run out of battery when I’m in the middle of watching my favorite TV show. Listen to a music playlist or enjoy a podcast.
So sturdy and reliable headphones with great sound and practical battery life are always at the top of my travel bag.
While wireless headphones are increasingly incorporating adaptive technologies to help block out environmental noise and tailor the sound to our ears, the drain on battery life can quickly occur when these features are enabled.
Thankfully, many of the latest headphone designs have significantly increased their battery life, and even come with a fast charger that can achieve hours of playback time from a 10-minute quick charge.
So what are the best wireless headphone models for battery life? Read on for my recommendations for the best models that I’ve tried to keep you listening for a long time.
Best battery life for travel
1. Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless
With 60 hours of ANC fully activated, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless (Opens in a new tab) The headphones have the longest battery life of any noise-cancelling headphones we’ve ever seen. This is exceptionally high for a headphone of its type, and is 30 hours longer than the Sony WH-1000XM4 (below) in comparison.
This is a big step up from the Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless’ 17 hours of playback time, which claims 17 hours, but gives a little more when ANC is enabled. It’s not yet clear how the company managed to maximize battery life, but it’s likely that you’ll need to charge these headphones every two weeks at most (or once a month if you’re only listening for two hours a day). A perfect model for business trips, business travelers and vacations, they are highly sought after. Moreover, if the battery life is this good, you may not need to carry the charging cable and USB power adapter with you.
Even when charging is needed, it claims to be quick, taking just 2 hours from empty, and a 5-minute charge delivers up to 4 hours of playback time.
Best value foldable headphones
2. Clear Enduro ANC
Clear Enduro ANC (Opens in a new tab) The headphones are incredible value for money. Battery life is said to match that of the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless above, and with the help of an easily adjustable headband and earcups in a design that can both rotate and fold, these are especially good for travelers.
Is the battery life too good to be true? As it turns out, yes, although the Enduro ANC is anything but clunky. With ANC enabled, volume at 50% and Bluetooth connected, it delivered more than 50 hours on a single charge in our tests. Most of our best over-ear headphones, with or without noise cancellation, don’t come close.
We first tested the Cleer Enduro ANC headphones in 2021, and back then these were easily the longest-lasting noise-canceling headphones Tom’s Guide reviewed. Battery life may have been improved by Sennheiser (above), but the Cleer Enduro ANC remains the best cheap noise-cancelling headphone out there. (Opens in a new tab) all in all.
The only downside is the long empty-to-full charge time of 3 hours, although you can get 2 hours of playback time from a quick 10-minute charge.
4. Sony WH-1000XM4
Overall the best travel headphones
As I’ve mentioned in previous travel headphone recommendations, I feel a little guilty for not choosing the new Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones that replaced the XM4 last year. But there are strong reasons why these are my best travel headphones for work commutes.
First, they are foldable, which makes them more practical to fit into my work or travel bag, and the protective case is very small. And judging by the number of commuters I have on my commute sporting old Sony’s XM-series headphones on their heads, I’m not alone.
Battery life may only last half the time of the above models, but at around 30 hours, it is the same as the new XM5 version with ANC enabled, and it is enough for many travelers. Do the math, and that’s enough juice to keep you entertained on a sightseeing flight to Japan, with some power left over for hacking YouTube clips during Uber rides to and from airports.
Based on our testing, our couple listened for 29 hours with ANC, so the rated time was about an hour off. High volume, heavy streaming and extra features barely affected gaming times, so we have Sony to thank for its impressive work with battery management. Fast charging alleviates any low battery stress by generating up to 5 hours of playtime in 10 minutes increments.
Best value with high quality LDAC audio support
4. Anker Soundcore Gap Q45
Like the Cleer Enduro ANC (above), Anker’s Soundcore Space Q45 is a bargain with impressive battery life, features, and effective ANC performance. Anker has never cheated customers on battery life. After all, they built their legacy by selling high-powered portable chargers. No matter how many headphones you use, it should come as no surprise that the Space Q45 have some of the longest playtimes in the category.
A full charge is 50 hours with ANC on and up to 65 hours with ANC off, putting them in the same company as the Sennheiser Momentum 4 (60 hours). It’s worth noting that these aren’t exact playtimes, though, as higher volume and features like high-resolution audio LDAC support keep it down to between 37 and 45 hours. A moderate user of Space Q45 can get about a month of use. Music lovers like me have to listen to ANC for about two weeks before needing a recharge, making them an ideal choice for vacations.
If that’s not enough, Anker’s fast charging technology helps you get 4 hours of listening time in 5 minutes, which is really impressive. These are a great value travel companion and worth keeping an eye on.
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