ANC wireless earbuds: tests from four countries
Wireless earbuds with active noise cancelling are sold worldwide under the same name and tested in many countries – often with quite different results. We bring together tests from Germany, the UK, France and the US and show the source, country of origin and original verdict for every test. Verdicts from Stiftung Warentest were not freely accessible for these models and are therefore missing; there is no French test of the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2.
- Top rated
- Technics EAH-AZ100
- Tests reviewed
- 40 across 4 countries
- Not from the UK
- 27 of those tests
- Last updated
- 2 October 2026
- Prices last checked
- 8 October 2026
Side-by-side comparison
Close comparison| Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) Rank 3 of 7 | Apple AirPods Pro 3 Rank 5 of 7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 90 | 88 |
| Test basis | broadly tested 6 tests from 4 countries | broadly tested 6 tests from 4 countries |
| Sound | 90 | 95 |
| Noise cancelling | 84 | no test value |
| Comfort | 90 | 100 |
| Battery | 70 | no test value |
| Verdict by test country | ||
| DE Germany | 91 | 90 |
| FR France | 80 | 78 |
| UK United Kingdom | 100 | 95 |
| US USA | 84 | 90 |
| Price United Kingdom | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.co.uk |
| Strengths |
|
|
| Weaknesses |
|
|
| Battery life (manufacturer) | 6 h with ANC | 8 h with ANC |
| Battery life with case | up to 24 h | 24 h |
| Weight | 7.7 g per earbud | – |
| Ingress protection | IPX4 | – |
| Heart-rate sensor | – | yes |
Same source, several devices
What the same publication concluded about the selected devices – original verdicts.
| Source | Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) | Apple AirPods Pro 3 |
|---|---|---|
| HIFI.DE | 9.1 07/2025 | sehr gut (9 von 10 Punkten) 09/2025 · as reported by testberichte.de |
| TechRadar | 5/5 07/2025 | 4.5/5 10/2025 |
| What Hi-Fi? | 5/5 07/2025 | 5/5 01/2026 |
What matters to you?
Wireless earbuds
By your weighting · Prices for United Kingdom- 01 Technics EAH-AZ100 6 tests · DE FR UK US· no data: Noise cancelling, Battery 94 Amazon.co.uk
- 02 Sony WF-1000XM6 6 tests · DE FR UK US 91 Amazon.co.uk
- 03 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) 6 tests · DE FR UK US 90 Amazon.co.uk
- 04 Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro 6 tests · DE FR UK US 89 Amazon.co.uk
- 05 Apple AirPods Pro 3 6 tests · DE FR UK US· no data: Noise cancelling, Battery 88 Amazon.co.uk
- 06 Nothing Ear (3) 5 tests · DE FR UK US 86 Amazon.co.uk
- 07 Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 5 tests · DE UK US· no data: Noise cancelling, Comfort, Battery 82 Amazon.co.uk
The individual scores come unchanged from the tests we reviewed. Only their weighting changes. Your settings stay stored in this browser.
Where the tests disagree.
Each dot is the average test result of one country, converted to 0–100. The further apart the dots, the more it pays to read the individual reports.
All models compared
The same order in every language version. The country column shows which markets a model’s tests come from.
| # | Model | Points | Tests | Countries | Test basis | Battery life (manufacturer) | Battery life with case | Weight | Price UK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technics EAH-AZ100 | 94 | 6 | DE · FR · UK · US | broadly tested | 12 h | 29 h | 5.9 g per earbud | – |
| 2 | Sony WF-1000XM6 | 91 | 6 | DE · FR · UK · US | broadly tested | 8 h with ANC | 24 h | 6.5 g per earbud | – |
| 3 | Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) | 90 | 6 | DE · FR · UK · US | broadly tested | 6 h with ANC | up to 24 h | 7.7 g per earbud | – |
| 4 | Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro | 89 | 6 | DE · FR · UK · US | broadly tested | 6 h with ANC, case adds 20 h | – | 5.1 g per earbud | – |
| 5 | Apple AirPods Pro 3 | 88 | 6 | DE · FR · UK · US | broadly tested | 8 h with ANC | 24 h | – | – |
| 6 | Nothing Ear (3) | 86 | 5 | DE · FR · UK · US | 5.5 h with ANC | 38 h | – | – | |
| 7 | Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 | 82 | 5 | DE · UK · US | 12 h | 48 h | 4.7 g per earbud | – |
Frequently asked questions
Where do the scores come from?
From published tests by consumer organisations, labs and specialist publications. Every product lists each source with its country, issue and original verdict, with a link where possible. We run no tests of our own.
Why do some sources say “zitiert nach” (cited from)?
Some organisations, such as Stiftung Warentest, publish their detailed results only behind a paywall. In those cases we take the overall verdict from a freely accessible report that states the grade and issue, and we name that report.
Was exactly this model tested?
Manufacturers often sell the same appliance under different model numbers or with different accessories in each country. We group variants of one model line and name the tested variant next to the test when the source states it.
Why do the verdicts differ?
Test programmes differ: labs measure things like dust pickup or durability in endurance runs, while editorial reviews weigh everyday impressions more heavily. We do not smooth over such differences; the spread chart shows them.