News Summary

• We consider them the best wireless earbuds you can buy overall.The XM5s are a solid improvement over the previous generation, which suffered from bulkiness and widespread quality control issues that caused batteries in many units to fail well ahead of schedule..
• You’ll get great noise cancellation and audio quality, plus neat features like a wireless charging case, spatial audio (for Android only), automatic activity detection to optimize sound for several scenarios, and more..
• These cost $298 brand new, so if you’ve decided you absolutely need Sony’s latest flagship earbuds and can’t stomach the price, this is worth a shot..
• By Quentyn Kennemer, a writer who helps The Verge's readers save money by surfacing the best tech deals and presenting the latest product recommendations from our experts..
• / Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we've tested sent to your inbox daily..
• You’re only missing out on the latest S9 processor, precision finding (only usable if you have an iPhone 15), and the one-handed double-tap gesture present in the Watch Series 9, none of which revolutionize the wearable experience so much that it’s worth passing up hundreds in savings..