[Update 2/26/21] Thank you to all who have shared this article. This topic seems to have hit a nerve, and I hope it helps address the very real issue of female-first wearable product design in some small way. -Whitney
You know what really bugs me? The fact that 99.99% of tech reviews are written by men. No, this isn’t a hit piece on the tech journalism industry. That would be an entirely different article on its own.
The thing that really grinds my gears about the male-dominated tech review space is that devices are now becoming extensions of our bodies, and the male dominated viewpoint ignores and often minimizes the critical physical and lifestyle needs of women. When reviews don’t call out these differences, tech companies don’t get critical feedback from powerful voices, and continue creating devices that don’t address our needs.
Popular wireless earbuds aren’t made with women in mind, and it shows.
In the case of wireless earbuds, the lack of female representation in tech journalism exposes a big problem: Women hear differently than men. In fact, our hearing is not only more sensitive than men – likely evolved from a heightened awareness our ancestors needed to protect their children – but our ears are shaped differently as well.
The average adult woman’s ear canal diameter is 17% smaller than the average adult male. So we hear better, and have smaller ear holes. Seems like a pretty big thing missed by almost every tech reviewer on the planet…
While researching the problem, I came across a study focusing on hearing protection for workers from the Taiwanese Industrial Technology Research Institute. Their conclusion? Women in the workplace should be issued smaller ear plugs to better protect their hearing while increasing comfort.
Poorly designed devices take a physical and emotional toll on women.
Those findings translate well to a world where my iPhone is near me at all times. And now thanks to endless Zoom meetings and phone calls, my wireless earbuds are in my ears 2 to 3 hours each day, causing a creeping soreness inside my ears like an itch I can’t scratch.
And as the world returns to normal, I find myself leaving the house more often for essential errands or to get some fresh air. I’m constantly worried I will drop or lose an earbud, a feeling compounded by wearing a mask which can easily snag.
To summarize, a tech product that has become a basic requirement for the modern woman causes pain and anxiety. Sounds about right. I suspect that many, if not all, women feel the exact same way when using wireless earbuds.
But with so few people talking about this issue, it’s not surprising that quality data like the above study is hard to come by. All the same, armed with this knowledge I researched wireless earbuds that offer a better, more comfortable fit for women.
Unfortunately, most major manufacturers haven’t caught on to this opportunity. Let’s hope articles like this will help push them along. And if you are in the market for new wireless earbuds, I encourage you to reward the brands that are making a real effort to address female needs.
Mifo O5 Plus Gen 2: Editor’s pick for best female friendly wireless earbuds – $89.99 at Mifo.us
Where to buy the Mifo O5 Plus Gen 2 earbuds
The best wireless earphones offering comfort for small ears and best in class all around gym/active lifestyle use come from a brand that is fairly new to the US. But don’t let that scare you off, as these earbuds are easily some of the best I have ever tested.
BEST VALUE
- $89.99 tax and shipping included at Mifo.us – 2-day delivery
- OF NOTE: New O7 Edition $149.99 at Mifo.us – 2-day delivery
OTHER OPTIONS
- Editor’s Note: The Gen 2 is not available on Amazon or other channels at the time of publishing. The O5 Plus is available for the similar pricing plus tax on Amazon, but does not include power bank and upgraded sound quality.
So what makes the Mifo O5 Plus Gen 2 the best “daily driver” earbuds for your busy life?
The best earbuds for a busy life, period. The Mifo O5 Plus Gen 2 includes a bevy of cutting edge features that blow away higher priced brands, beginning with their form factor. Weighing in at just a few grams each, the O5 Plus earbuds feel supremely comfortable, and include 7 silicon ear tip shapes and sizes for that perfect fit. Further, once in it’s nearly impossible to get them to fall out. Readers may remember propensity to fall out was a major problem that prevented us from recommending the Apple AirPods Pro in our last wireless review.
Absurd battery life with power bank feature. The O5 Plus Gen 2 earbuds themselves will play continuously for 7+ hours, a feat we tested over several days. Not only that, but the included USB-C charging case offers an additional 100 hours of play time. No, that is not a typo. We were able to use the earbuds without charging the case for an entire week before it gave out. Not only that, but the case allows you to plug a smartphone in to charge your devices on the go. In our test, we were able to charge an iPhone 11 Pro Max from 0 to 100%. That’s stunning, and makes us wonder why earbuds from other brands costing 3-4 times more have just a third of the battery life.
Excellent sound with passive noise canceling and transparency mode you have to hear to believe. The Mifo O5 Plus packs some of the best bass in any true wireless earbuds we have tested. That’s particularly helpful if you prefer energetic tracks when pushing yourself to the limit.
You won’t be able to hear any outside noise, unless you activate transparency mode. Once activated with a tap, you are able to hear ambient noise around you perfectly, including conversations. That means you don’t have to remove the earbuds when you want to order a coffee or have a quick word. We’ve never seen a premium feature like this is sub-$100 earbuds before, and it is truly impressive.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Mifo has released the new O7 with carbon nanotube dynamic drivers, Qualcomm chipset, and touch controls. It carries with it substantial added cost, but may offer a superior experience for $149.99.
US-based customer support. We have been continuously disappointed with true wireless earbuds in the past, even from tech giants like Samsung. Part of that disappointment comes with poor or absent customer service, particularly with regard to bargain and knockoff sellers who do not offer any domestic presence or support. We tested Mifo on several occasions with questions and every time received proper replies within an hour. That demonstrates commitment to the US market and contributes greatly to our award of Editor’s Pick.
Jabra Elite Active 75t: Solid but pricey small earbuds – $129.99 at Amazon.com
Where to buy the Jabra Elite 75t earbuds
If you aren’t price sensitive, Jabra may be the brand for you. These true wireless earbuds come with fewer features than the Mifo O5, but offer a comfortable fit for small ears.
BEST VALUE
OTHER OPTIONS
Why Jabra makes the list of best earbuds for women at the nexus of value and features
Good overall quality for true wireless earbuds. Since true wireless earbuds were invented, we have lamented at poor signal quality, dropped calls, and pairing fiascos. Jabra has included top quality chipsets and firmware, and we were pleased with the overall experience.
Excellent marks for sound quality. While bass isn’t as rich as the Mifo O5 Plus Gen 2, the overall high and low tones of the Elite 75t are quite good. We’ll leave it to you to determine if they sound $150 good.
Active noise canceling with some flaws. The active noise canceling (ANC) that comes standard with the Elite 75t is passable, but it did not help in louder ambient environments, and seems to have some difficulty with certain frequencies, causing uncomfortable glitching when enabled. Controls are a bit awkward via the included smartphone app, and we found leaving ANC off improved battery life and did not take away meaningfully from the listening experience.
Limited sports-specific features. While Jabra does an excellent job with calls, we aren’t typically on the phone while working out. So we were surprised to find that the 75t does not add at least the same features found on the disastrous and now canceled Elite Sport.
Bose Sports Earbuds: Earphones that live up to the Bose name, with minor drawbacks – $159.00 at Amazon.com
Where to buy the Bose Sports earbuds
Bose has delved into the true wireless category by focusing on sports. And while the generic-sounding Sports is an excellent first product, it suffers from an aging Bluetooth chipset and mediocre 5 hour battery life, costing Bose a higher position in our list.
BEST VALUE
OTHER OPTIONS
Why Bose gets our approval for performance to value
Great sound that comes at a cost. While Bose has engineered a product that is indeed comfortable for smaller ears, it does come at a cost. Poor battery life of 5 hours (approximately 4.5 hours in our real world use testing) and Bluetooth 4.1 instead of 5.0 hurt the product and age it to the first generation of true wireless product.
Fun, fitness-oriented colors. Of note are the options to pick from a bright, bold, and just plain fun color scheme. While not strictly to do with features, the Sports earbuds makes going to the gym just a bit more interesting.
Built for sports, but may not work for you. While the Sports earbuds are made for active movement, we found it a bit bulky. If you have smaller ears, you may experience some discomfort or a feeling that the earbuds may fall out. That’s not particularly comfortable when you are trying to focus on your workout. Unfortunately, Bose only includes 3 sizes of ear tips that follow the same shape, which is not adequate at this price point.
Sony WF-1000XM3: Great for days at home, tough to use on the go – $228.00 at Amazon.com
Where to buy the Sony WF1000-XM3 in the US
Sony spent years of research and development on the WF1000-XM3, but may have over engineered an expensive and somewhat clumsy product for women on the go. And while the active noise canceling and sound quality are superb, those little annoyances add up with an otherwise excellent product.
BEST VALUE
OTHER OPTIONS
The positives include a great sound profile that is well balanced with a light emphasis on lower tones, and an overall simple user interface that anybody can figure out. Unfortunately, that’s where the positives end.
Sony stumbles when it comes to features. We gave the WF1000-XM3 a higher rating in 2020, but it’s 2021 now and there are new challenger products that outperform the WF1000-XM3 on nearly every front. That includes battery life (more below), charging capabilities, and overall miniaturization of previously large components.
You’ll get 3 to 4 hours of battery life from the earbuds themselves if you listen at high volume, and the included charging case provides an added 4 charges. That’s fine and good, but not up to par with other earbuds in this price range. In the same vein, the WF1000-XM3 are not water proof and don’t do well with repeated exposure to sweat.
Lack of sports features mode is also a big miss for Sony. The WF1000-XM3 is simply uncomfortable to wear for longer than 10 minutes of movement. The earbuds themselves are too large for small ears, even when using smaller ear tips. They are far too easy to catch with natural arm motion, and tend to fall out when you least expect it.
We also wish Sony would release an updated model with very important features for sports like complete waterproofing, shock proofing, and a more durable charging case standard.
While Sony brings a decent result to the table with the WF1000-XM3, they are hurt by an uncomfortable product that should be redesigned or priced far lower than it is today.
Runners-up: Most Comfortable Wireless Earbuds for Women
There are many, many wireless earbuds in the market. And while we attempt to test as many as possible for our female readers, some units simply don’t make the cut. Here’s a quick peek at earbuds that didn’t make our top list, but may be worth considering.
Apple Powerbeats Pro – $199.95 at Amazon.com
Yes, it’s the marriage of Beats and Apple. Yes, it’s meant to be used when working out. But for the money, you can do better. The Powerbeats Pro are sleeker with better battery life than their predecessor Powerbeats model. But our biggest complaint about the Pro comes from their bulky profile. They tend to get in the way, and you can definitely feel them weighing on your ears after 20-30 minutes of use. That makes them distracting, and unsuitable for longer runs or workout sessions. Did we mention the giant clamshell charging case? Yeesh.
Raycon Everyday E25: Smart marketing with dated tech – $79.99 at Amazon.com
Raycon exploded on the true wireless scene over a year ago with a hard to ignore celebrity-backed advertising campaign. And while the earbuds are passable, they have been eclipsed in nearly every way by newer earbuds that deliver better sound and more value for the dollar.
Apple AirPods Pro – $234.00 at Amazon.com
We couldn’t do a roundup without Apple’s latest contribution to the true wireless format. The iconic AirPods now feature a revamped design, active noise canceling, and better integration with iOS. Which raises a major gripe we have with AirPods: They are uncomfortable for smaller ears. That combined with a stem design that easily catches and falls while moving, and we can’t fully recommend the AirPods Pro in their current form.
Jaybird Vista – $179.99 at Amazon.com
The Jaybird Vista are the next iteration of the dismal Jaybird Run XT earbuds, and are designed for runners. It’s a shame that these purpose-built true wireless earbuds don’t live up to the moniker. Jaybird has the right idea, but falls short in sound quality and Bluetooth signal strength, making them competitive with other earbuds in the price category, but still too expensive to warrant top marks.
Samsung Galaxy Buds – $118.99 at Amazon.com
The Galaxy smartphone is one of the most popular on the planet, and the pressure to create award-winning accessories is high. But from active movers’ perspectives, the Galaxy Buds don’t quite justify their price tag. Samsung tackled the challenge of an all around true wireless earbud, but failed to provide smaller ear tip sizes. We look forward to Samsung producing a model made specifically addressing these issues.
Soundpeats Sonic: Good for bargain bin earbuds, but left us wishing we spent more – $49.99 on Amazon.com
While the Soundpeats Sonic earbuds play well in the bargain buds space, the product does not match higher end competitors in terms of build quality, sound reproduction, battery life, and overall performance. Soundpeats’ deep discounting Amazon-dominating strategies can be tempting, but in the end left us wishing we had the vastly superior performance of a slightly more expensive product.