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AirPods Pro vs. The Competition: $30 to $150 Challengers | All Things Mobile

There are hundreds of Bluetooth earbuds on the market for way less money than Apple’s AirPods Pro. Are any of these more affordable options good enough to make me consider switching the earbuds I wear for hours every day? You can find the products mentioned in this video linked below Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen)…

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There are hundreds of Bluetooth earbuds on the market for way less money than Apple’s AirPods Pro. Are any of these more affordable options good enough to make me consider switching the earbuds I wear for hours every day?

You can find the products mentioned in this video linked below
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) Wireless Earbuds
Apple AirPods Pro 3 Wireless Earbuds
Nothing Ear (a) Wireless Earbuds
SoundPEATS C30 Hybrid ANC Earbuds
Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro Earbuds
Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro by Anker
*CNET may get a commission on these offers

Read more on CNET.com
Best Wireless Earbuds of 2026

00:00 – Introduction
01:03 – Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro Testing
03:52 – Nothing Ear (a) Testing
05:54 – SoundPEATS C30 Testing
07:35 – Why Stick with AirPods?
09:30 – Final Verdict and Comparison

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#earbuds #nothing #samsung #anker #apple #airpods #tech

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29 Comments

29 Comments

  1. @DLG24

    March 30, 2026 at 7:02 am

    Battery life is the most important consideration for me.

  2. @iOZKERTV

    March 30, 2026 at 7:04 am

    Soundpeats always been trusty ✅

  3. @chrisak49

    March 30, 2026 at 7:12 am

    For less? AirPods cost between $60 to $180 when on sale which is year round. If you can’t afford them at that price something is wrong with you.

  4. @Ghost818-x8c

    March 30, 2026 at 7:33 am

    As long as they have a really good battery life, that is all that matters

  5. @causeydawg

    March 30, 2026 at 7:36 am

    A lot of earbuds sound better than the AirPods. I keep a pair of AirPods just because oh the Apple ecosystem which to me is shaky at times especially when it comes to the Apple Watch. Not being able to EQ the AirPods is frustrating.

  6. @ZeroCool_17

    March 30, 2026 at 7:59 am

    My $50 Skullcandy earbuds from Walmart are better than AirPods. With AirPods, my volume needs to be at minimum 75%. With skullcandy, 45% volume is noticeably louder & cleaner

  7. @Wolvie10

    March 30, 2026 at 8:07 am

    I got the nothing ear a for £50 on amazon during the spring sale.

  8. @Treborray

    March 30, 2026 at 8:08 am

    SoundPEATS have such a dope sound! Especially for the price 🔥🔥

  9. @wmassey683

    March 30, 2026 at 8:12 am

    He’s not wrong that Find My is the main reason to stick with Apple products

  10. @Eloise-Os

    March 30, 2026 at 8:41 am

    As long as they have a really good battery life, that is all that matters ……

    • @iamthye

      March 30, 2026 at 7:01 pm

      AirPods Pro 3 has 8 hours which is really good.

  11. @adh2298

    March 30, 2026 at 8:48 am

    Don’t worry, Apple is coming out with a new ultra tier in September, they’ll reign supreme once again 😂

  12. @Chickeny

    March 30, 2026 at 9:31 am

    I don’t need the microphone a whole lot, but I’ve had nothing but issues with both mics on my Liberty Pro 4 buds. Multiple devices. Sent them in for warranty repair once, not much of a difference. Otherwise, they’re ok. Can’t set up notification announcement with Google on my Android because Assistant/Gemini isn’t native to the buds. All-in-all, they sound fine but I’ll probably be replacing them.

  13. @robertravare3992

    March 30, 2026 at 9:39 am

    I don’t really like the sound on the soundpeats c30s too much. Good for videos but not for music.

  14. @maxziebell4013

    March 30, 2026 at 9:50 am

    The design of these is god awful.

  15. @elguaguagua93

    March 30, 2026 at 10:31 am

    Who do i write about you tube speeding music videos by 10 or more seconds is this been done or proven my favorite songs sound like an eminem song please help me

  16. @bavariancarenthusiast2722

    March 30, 2026 at 12:08 pm

    The sturdy part is keeping me away from AirPods, I had several and they always broke fast, so did not enjoy this part, so I went to a different product

  17. @alexarna

    March 30, 2026 at 12:17 pm

    I recently got the Huawei Freebuds Pro 5. The noise cancelling, sound quality and overall build quality have my Airpods Pro 2 beat. I loved my Airpods and honestly expected the Huawei’s to be “just good enough”, but they’ve totally exceeded expectations. Depending on where you are, they’re heavily discounted with launch offers at the moment as well. I paid about 99USD/75GBP for mine direct from Huawei. The levels of customisation to the ANC, transparency and EQ all make meaningful and useful differences too

  18. @li-ham803

    March 30, 2026 at 1:32 pm

    I had the original AirPods Pros for years. The left buds mics are dead, and the battery life is awful. I was going to get the AirPods pro 3’s, but for $325 in Canada, I decided to shop around. 3’d party earphones have gotten really good, and Ankers batteries are the best around, so I decided to go with Soundcore. I got the P31i’s and for $40 on amazon (on sale, $70 regularly), and I must say, I feel stupid for giving Apple $325+. Sure they don’t connect as fast as AirPods do, but the quality is almost identical, and the battery life blows Apple out of the park! So happy I went with Soundcore!

  19. @MrEvtmazda

    March 30, 2026 at 5:00 pm

    Washed my soundpeats, dried em out and they still work 😂

  20. @funnyunkle

    March 30, 2026 at 6:12 pm

    I have the nothing ear (a) and AirPods Pro 3 and like them both but noise cancelling wise AirPods are far superior.

  21. @Rob-p2c

    March 30, 2026 at 11:40 pm

    What is ANC level?

    • @JoshG_CNET

      March 31, 2026 at 9:36 am

      active noise cancellation. on many models, you can adjust how much ANC is used.

  22. @CNET

    March 31, 2026 at 2:09 am

    Read more on CNET.com
    Best Wireless Earbuds of 2026

  23. @hankuk777

    March 31, 2026 at 6:45 am

    It was just a formal comparison, and no matter how good the product was, the answer was already decided.

  24. @TechnotMe

    March 31, 2026 at 8:37 am

    THE BEST NOISE CANCELING, BATTERY Life and Audio Quality for $23 on AMAZON is (sry for the Caps): Baseus Bass BP1 Pro Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds

    Please review them they are incredible, superior to everything featured in this video. Baseus are known for their batteries, but they knocked it out of the park with the BP1 Pro.

  25. @RichTallent

    March 31, 2026 at 9:57 am

    Great video, I just wish AirPods were black. The only reason I’ve never bought a pair is because I hate the white the other headphones you tested in this video looks so much cooler.

  26. @kjayamit

    March 31, 2026 at 12:26 pm

    Your kids, your dogs are always the best. I do not disagree with the conclusion per say, but whats the point of this video ?

  27. @murmerjangle3016

    March 31, 2026 at 6:43 pm

    Imagine, if you will…you go back a thousand years ago. Five thousand years. With an iPhone and any of these amazing wireless earbuds. You walk into a kingdom, dressed appropriately for the time. You tell an official that you have magic that only the King or Queen can witness. (Then you bribe the official with a Snickers bar you brought along.) So, you get an audience with the royal family. You explain that you’re from the future and that you have magic to share only with them. After the shock and horror and, hopefully, awe…you are brought into their inner circle. Becoming a shaman and trusted advisor. The court magi. Then, your earbuds and iPhone stop working because you have no electrical outlet to plug them into. You have no solution. They turn on you. They call you a false prophet. And then they barbecue you publicly like Joan of Ark. What song are they humming that they heard on your iPhone?

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#robot #tabletennis #faceoff #machinelearning

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