The winners – and losers – in the true wireless earbuds market

Almost every manufacturer has them in their product range, but by no means will every true wireless earbuds brand win over their user. — Christin Klose/dpa

It's fine to buy tech products from brands that you trust, but for true wireless earbuds, your loyalty might not be rewarded.

While virtually every consumer electronics and smartphone maker has a version of these earbuds in their product range, few can offer music fans what they want in terms of sound quality, finds product testers.

Testers from Germany's Computerbild magazine looked at eight models under about US$200 (RM848) to figure out which earbuds are worth it.

Buyers should first decide what kind of model they'd like: the classic in-ear version, which keeps ambient noise at bay without electronic noise suppression; the open earbud design, where the headphones sit forward and loose in the ear; or a hybrid version.

For most true-wireless earbuds, controlling the music works by tapping or swiping the outer portion of the device. Testers found this worked well in all models. In some cases, it's possible to set up per app which functions are available on the left and right buds.

For earbuds with noise suppression, most models needed just a tap to turn on or off. Many also had a practical start/stop function that stopped the music temporarily whenever the earbuds were taken out.

The product testers at Computerbild rated the Galaxy Buds Plus from Samsung highest. They lasted almost 12 hours on one battery charge and won testers over with their handling and detailed sound.

Google Pixelbuds 2 came in second place thanks to their sound, while third was a tie between Panasonics RZ-S300W and JBLs Live 300TWS. – dpa