CNET Survey of 1,071 Adults Crowns Sony, Apple Top Headphone Picks

2 articles · Updated · CNET · May 13

CNET’s People’s Picks survey found Sony and Apple led reader-recommended headphones across most categories, with Sony dominating wireless, over-ear and feature-driven rankings while Apple topped earbuds and several everyday-use measures.
Sony scored highest for active noise cancellation at 4.39, audio quality at 4.55, battery life at 4.52 and comfort at 4.44, with Bose usually the closest runner-up and Sennheiser winning wired headphones.
Apple was the most popular brand for wired and wireless earbuds and led brand loyalty, call quality, connectivity, durability and reliability, helped by strong AirPods and AirPods Pro support among respondents.
The results also highlighted use-case splits: Apple led for music, podcasts, audiobooks and calls on the go, while Sony was preferred for deep focus, sleep, relaxation and video editing.
The rankings come from an online Alchemer survey of 1,071 weighted US adults conducted April 6-30, 2026.

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