Best Travel Headphones: 8 Picks for Flights, Trains and Commutes

Model WH-1000XM5, per the Sony manual.

Alisdair owns this pair and has flown it long-haul, including a Singapore flight. The multipoint is the part that earns its place: phone and laptop paired at once, handing over in a second or two when a call lands, so a laptop can stay in the bag until it’s needed.

The measured numbers hold up. SoundGuys got 31 hours 53 minutes with ANC on, beating Sony’s 30 hour claim, and 53 hours 6 minutes with ANC off against a 40 hour claim. RTINGS’s public summary lands lower, at roughly 27 hours, and it’s worth knowing both figures exist.

The honest complaints come from the same flights. Ears get warm after a few hours of wear, and the cups sit chunky against an airplane window, so resting your head sideways takes some arranging. The case is also long, because the XM5 doesn’t fold; it only swivels flat. Alisdair ends up wearing them around his neck between flights rather than packing the case at all.

Like the XM6 it plays passively over a cable with the headset off, per the Sony manual, so it survives a dead battery. It’s the value flagship because it does nearly everything the XM6 does, and the things it gives up are the hinges and a little ANC headroom.

In the box: not confirmed for this pick. Wired mic behavior is not confirmed.

QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, second generation.

The battery figures disagree, so quote them all and let the pattern do the talking. Bose claims 30 hours with ANC on. SoundGuys measured 27 hours 12 minutes. RTINGS’s public summary says 37 hours. What Hi-Fi and TechRadar both report 23 hours with Immersive Audio on and 45 hours ANC off. Every one of those clears a US to Tokyo flight.

Comfort is the reason to buy it over the Sonys. The earcups fold inward for travel, the clamp is tuned lighter than the XM6’s, and Bose’s spec sheet puts it at 0.583 lb, about 264 g, though What Hi-Fi and TechRadar both print 250 g and no independent scale weight settles it.

Connectivity is broad: Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint, aptX Adaptive alongside SBC and AAC, and two wired paths, USB-C audio and a 2.5 mm jack with the adapter cable in the box.

The catch is what those wired paths need. Both require battery, and the mic doesn’t work in either wired mode, so a dead battery means silence even with a cable attached. Fifteen minutes on the charger buys about 3 hours, per Bose, which is the right emergency plan.

In the box: 3.5 mm to 2.5 mm cable, per Bose. Wired modes need battery; wired mic does not work.

Model A3053, per Apple’s spec pages.

The numbers are strong. SoundGuys measured 8 hours 42 minutes with ANC on and a 90 percent average reduction in outside noise, with noise cancelling scoring 9.0 out of 10, though its overall review lands at 7.8 out of 10 because the value question is harsher at this tier. Tom’s Guide wore them through a 6-hour cross-country flight on a single charge.

The reason they exist as a pick is the Apple layer. Pairing is instant, switching between an iPhone, iPad and Mac is automatic, and Apple sells five tip sizes from XXS to L where most rivals stop at three. IP57 covers both buds and case, and the case itself can take a rinse.

Be clear about the limit. There is no true multipoint: automatic switching works between Apple devices only, so a Windows laptop plus an Android phone is the wrong pairing for these. And there is no wired option, so seatback screens are out unless you carry a separate adapter.

For context, Alisdair owns the first-generation AirPods Pro, not these, so this pick rests on the credited reviews above rather than owner time.

In the box: not confirmed for this pick. No wired option, with or without battery.

Model A3004, per Soundcore’s spec table.

The headline number is real. TechGearLab measured 49 hours of battery with ANC on, which beats Soundcore’s own 40 hour ANC-on claim; the 60 hour figure you’ll see is the ANC-off rating. TechGearLab compared the measurement to the wrong claim in its write-up, but against the like-for-like 40 hour ANC-on number it’s a genuine over-delivery.

Alisdair owns this pair and uses it as the no-drama backup: the set that lives in a bag so there’s always something charged. Owner impressions only, no measurements from us.

Taken on its own terms it’s easy to live with. TechGearLab measured 25 dB of average noise cancelling, weighed it at 8.6 oz (243 g), and wore it 8 hours with no pressure points. It folds, and a 3.5 mm aux input works with ANC off.

Know the two weak spots. TechGearLab found calls suffer severely in noisy conditions, and its multipoint connection became unreliable in testing, so treat the two-device pairing as a bonus rather than a promise. This is the budget pick for movies and music, not for taking a call at a station.

In the box: not confirmed for this pick. Wired aux works with ANC off; dead-battery playback and wired mic are not confirmed.