The JBL Tour One M3 carries the longest rated figure at up to 70 hours over Bluetooth, or up to 40 hours with canceling on. The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless is the longest single quoted number at up to 60 hours, the Soundcore Space 2 gives up to 50 hours with canceling on for far less money, and the EarFun Air Pro 4 is the longest-lasting earbud at 52 hours in total with its case.
Read the mode
Every big number is measured in a mode you will not use
A rated-hours figure is a laboratory result at a fixed volume in a named mode. The number printed largest on the box is almost always the canceling-off figure, because switching canceling off is the single biggest saving available — the Soundcore Space 2 goes from 50 hours to 70 by doing nothing else.
If you bought canceling headphones to use canceling, the canceling-on figure is your number. On this page that reorders the field: the JBL’s 70 becomes 40, and the Sennheiser’s 60 stays 60.
Spatial audio is the second hidden cost
Bose rates the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones at up to 30 hours with canceling on, up to 45 with it off, and up to 23 with Immersive Audio running. That is a third of the battery spent on a processing mode many people switch on once and then forget about.
Quick charge beats rated hours in real life
The failure you will actually have is not running out at hour 48. It is arriving at the airport on 4 percent. Five minutes for five hours on the JBL, five minutes for four hours on both Soundcores: those figures save more flights than the headline ones do.
A 70-hour rating and a five-minute top-up solve different problems. Only one of them is the problem you will have.
The figures
Published battery ratings, side by side
| JBL Tour One M3 | Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 | Soundcore Space 2 | EarFun Air Pro 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headline rating | up to 70 h Bluetooth | up to 60 h | up to 70 h, ANC off | 52 h with case |
| With canceling on | up to 40 h | quoted as one figure | up to 50 h | 11 h per charge |
| Quick charge | 5 min = 5 h | Not published | 5 min = 4 h | Not published |
| Full charge | approx. 2 h | Not published | approx. 2 h | Not published |
| Weight | 278 g | approx. 293-295 g | 264 g (9.31 oz) | Not published |
| Form | Over-ear | Over-ear | Over-ear | Earbuds |
| Wired fallback | USB-C to 3.5 mm supplied | 1.2 m 3.5 mm supplied | 3.5 mm input | None |
What it buys
How many hours do you actually need?
One long-haul: 20 hours is enough
A 14-hour sector plus a three-hour connection plus the airport either side is comfortably under 20 hours of possible listening, and almost nobody listens for the whole flight. Anything rated 30 hours or more covers a single long trip with room spare — the long-haul battery guide works that arithmetic through properly.
A two-week trip without a charger: 40 hours and up
This is where a 50 or 60-hour rating changes behavior rather than just a spec sheet. If you can leave the cable at home for a fortnight, the headphone has stopped being a device you maintain.
A daily commute: quick charge beats capacity
Two hours a day means even 20 rated hours lasts a working fortnight, and you are near a socket every evening regardless. Spend the money on comfort and fold size instead — the commuting roundup ranks on those.
What to look for
Four checks before you buy for battery
- Find the canceling-on figure. It is usually a line further down the same page as the headline number, and it is the one that applies to you.
- Check the quick-charge claim. Five minutes for four or five hours is worth more on a real trip than twenty extra rated hours.
- For earbuds, separate buds from case. The big number is the case total. Your continuous listening number is the smaller one, and the case needs charging too.
- Confirm a wired mode exists. A 3.5 mm cable turns a dead headphone into a working one, and it is the only genuine zero-battery fallback. Wired options never run out at all.
The earbud version of this ranking, where the figures are far smaller and the two numbers on the box answer different questions, is at longest battery life earbuds.
In short
Key takeaways
- JBL Tour One M3: up to 70 rated hours over Bluetooth, up to 40 with canceling on, and 5 minutes of charge for 5 hours.
- Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless: up to 60 hours quoted as a single figure, the most trustworthy number here.
- Soundcore Space 2: up to 50 hours with canceling on and 70 without, for a fraction of flagship money.
- EarFun Air Pro 4: 11 hours per charge and 52 with the case, the longest earbud total on this site.
- Headline ratings are canceling-off figures. Always find the canceling-on number before you compare.
- A single long-haul needs about 20 hours. Above 40, battery stops being something you think about.
At a glance
Quick picks
Scores are our editorial judgment from published specifications and cited third-party measurements, not our own testing. The rubric is published in full. Tap any row for the full write-up.
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  JBL Tour One M3The only headphone here that ships with the answer to the airline-jack problem in the box: the Smart Tx transmitter plugs into the seat and sends the movie to your headphones over Bluetooth. | Longest rated figure here | 8.78.7 out of 10, our editorial score | |
| 2 |  Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 WirelessSennheiser publishes up to 60 hours. That is the difference between charging at the gate and not thinking about a charger for an entire two-week trip. | Longest single figure, canceling included | 8.88.8 out of 10, our editorial score | |
| 3 |  Soundcore Space 2Fifty rated hours with canceling on, a 3.5 mm input and a case in the box, at a fraction of flagship money. The compromise is in the last 10 percent of quiet, not the first 80. | Most rated hours per dollar | 8.28.2 out of 10, our editorial score | |
| 4 |  EarFun Air Pro 4Eleven rated hours per bud and 52 with the case, plus LDAC and aptX Lossless, for a small fraction of flagship money. It buys most of the quiet for a little of the price. | Longest total for an earbud | 8.08.0 out of 10, our editorial score |
#ad Amazon links are affiliate links. Prices come from Amazon’s own data on the date stamped under the buttons above; where we have no current figure the button reads “Check price on Amazon” instead of guessing. How this is funded.
The picks in full
Every pick, in detail
1. Longest rated figure here
JBL Tour One M3
The only headphone here that ships with the answer to the airline-jack problem in the box: the Smart Tx transmitter plugs into the seat and sends the movie to your headphones over Bluetooth.
Our editorial score: 8.7 / 10
#ad Price as of November 11, 2026. How this is funded
Up to 70 rated hours over Bluetooth, which is the largest published number on this site. The honest version of that figure is up to 40 hours with canceling on, because JBL rates the two modes separately — and 40 hours still covers a round trip to Asia with the return leg to spare.
The battery is an 850 mAh cell with a full charge quoted at approximately two hours, and five minutes of charge buys five hours. That last number is the one that matters at a gate: a 70-hour rating is useless if the charge you forgot takes all night.
It also ships the Smart Tx transmitter, which streams from non-Bluetooth sources including in-flight entertainment. That is the one feature on this page that spends battery to solve a flying problem rather than just to last longer. 278 g.
What works on a plane
- The Smart Tx transmitter solves in-flight entertainment without a separate purchase
- Up to 40 rated hours with canceling on, comfortably over a long-haul plus layover
- Five minutes of charge buys five hours
- Both a 3.5 mm and a USB-C wired path in the box
What does not
- The Smart Tx is one more small object to lose, and it needs its own charge
- 278 g sits between the Sony and the Sennheiser without beating either at their own game
- Noise canceling is very good rather than class-leading
How it scores against the five travel axes
Published specifications
| Spec | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Battery, Bluetooth | Up to 70 hours | JBL |
| Battery, ANC on | Up to 40 hours | JBL |
| Quick charge | 5 minutes gives 5 hours | JBL |
| Battery cell | 850 mAh, full charge approx. 2 hours | JBL |
| Weight | 278 g | JBL |
| Smart Tx | Transmitter streams from non-Bluetooth sources including in-flight entertainment | JBL |
| In the box | USB-C-to-3.5 mm and USB-C-to-USB-C cables, USB-C to USB-A adapter | JBL |
2. Longest single figure, canceling included
Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless
Sennheiser publishes up to 60 hours. That is the difference between charging at the gate and not thinking about a charger for an entire two-week trip.
Our editorial score: 8.8 / 10
#ad Price as of November 11, 2026. How this is funded
Up to 60 rated hours, quoted as one number rather than split by mode. That makes it the most trustworthy figure in this group, because there is no better-looking canceling-off variant to read instead.
Sixty hours is roughly five transatlantic round trips, or six weeks of a two-hour daily commute. In practice the charging cable goes in a drawer and stays there, which is the actual benefit of a number this size.
The cost is bulk and money: approximately 293-295 g, the heaviest over-ear here, and flagship pricing. A 1.2 m 3.5 mm cable and a carry case are in the box, and the earcups fold flat. The 42 mm transducer and the gentlest clamp on this site make it the pick for a long sitting as well as a long charge.
What works on a plane
- Up to 60 rated hours, roughly double the flagship norm
- The 1.2 m 3.5 mm cable is in the box, so seatback screens work straight out of the bag
- Fold-flat earcups make the carry case slim rather than deep
- The 42 mm transducer is the most relaxed listen here over a very long session
What does not
- Published measurements consistently place its noise canceling a step behind the Bose
- The case is broad, so it eats width in a personal item even though it is slim
- Fold-flat is not fold-up, so the footprint is larger than the Sony's
How it scores against the five travel axes
Published specifications
| Spec | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | Up to 60 hours playback | Sennheiser |
| Weight | Approx. 293-295 g | Sennheiser / published reviews |
| Transducer | 42 mm | Sennheiser |
| In the box | Carry case, USB-C cable, 1.2 m 3.5 mm auxiliary cable | Sennheiser |
| Folds | Fold-flat earcups | Sennheiser |
3. Most rated hours per dollar
Soundcore Space 2
Fifty rated hours with canceling on, a 3.5 mm input and a case in the box, at a fraction of flagship money. The compromise is in the last 10 percent of quiet, not the first 80.
Our editorial score: 8.2 / 10
#ad Price as of November 11, 2026. How this is funded
Up to 50 rated hours with canceling on and up to 70 with it off, from a product that costs a fraction of the two above. On the figure this page is about, it beats every flagship.
264 g, 40 mm double-layer diaphragm drivers, Bluetooth 6.1, SBC, AAC and LDAC, a 3.5 mm wired input, and a full charge in approximately two hours with five minutes buying four. Anker publishes a canceling figure of -37 dB measured in its own laboratory, which is a vendor number and should be read as one.
What you give up against the top two is canceling depth at the very bottom of the range and pad quality past hour four. Neither shows up in a battery table, which is exactly why a battery table is not a buying decision on its own.
What works on a plane
- Up to 50 rated hours with canceling on, which beats every flagship here
- A 3.5 mm input and a case in the box, so nothing else to buy for a seatback screen
- Five minutes of charge buys four hours, which covers a gate-side mistake
- The cheapest way here to get genuinely useful drone reduction on a plane
What does not
- The -37 dB canceling figure is Anker's own laboratory number, not an independent measurement, and the gap to Bose is audible
- Plainer pad materials than the Sennheiser, so hour four is less comfortable
- Plastic build will not survive being crushed in an overhead bin the way the metal Apple would
How it scores against the five travel axes
Published specifications
| Spec | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Battery, ANC on | Up to 50 hours | soundcore |
| Battery, ANC off | Up to 70 hours | soundcore |
| Quick charge | 5 minutes gives 4 hours | soundcore |
| Full charge | Approx. 2 hours | soundcore support specifications |
| Weight | 264 g (9.31 oz) | soundcore |
| Bluetooth | 6.1 | soundcore |
| Microphones | 3, with AI enhancement for calls | soundcore |
| Codecs | SBC, AAC, LDAC | soundcore support specifications |
| Drivers | 40 mm double-layer diaphragm | soundcore |
| Canceling depth | -37 dB, measured in Anker's own laboratory | soundcore support specifications |
| In the box | Headphones, charging cable, carrying case | soundcore |
| Wired | 3.5 mm input, Hi-Res in wired mode | soundcore |
4. Longest total for an earbud
EarFun Air Pro 4
Eleven rated hours per bud and 52 with the case, plus LDAC and aptX Lossless, for a small fraction of flagship money. It buys most of the quiet for a little of the price.
Our editorial score: 8.0 / 10
#ad Price as of November 11, 2026. How this is funded
52 hours in total, from 11 hours in the buds plus the case. For an earbud that is an unusual figure — most of this category rates 6 to 8 hours per bud and around 24 in total.
Read it correctly, though: 11 hours is your continuous number and 52 is the number before you need a wall socket. On a 14-hour flight you will visit the case once, and the case needs its own charge before you leave.
Qualcomm QCC3091, Bluetooth 5.4, aptX Lossless, LDAC, AAC and SBC, 10 mm composite dynamic drivers, and EarFun’s own QuietSmart 3.0 canceling claim of up to 50 dB — again a vendor figure. The reason to choose this over the over-ears above is that it fits in a pocket, not that the battery is better.
What works on a plane
- Eleven rated hours per bud is longer than any premium earbud here
- 52 hours with the case means a two-week trip without a charger thought
- aptX Lossless and LDAC at this price is genuinely unusual
- Losing one on a plane is an annoyance rather than a disaster
What does not
- The 50 dB figure is EarFun's own rating, not an independent measurement, and the gap to Bose is clear
- Adaptive canceling is less steady than the flagships when cabin noise changes
- App polish and firmware support are a step behind the majors
How it scores against the five travel axes
How we decide
How these picks were chosen
We do not run a test lab and we do not claim to have flown with these units. Every verdict on this page is one of three things: a measurement published by somebody who does own a test rig and is credited by name, a manufacturer specification we quote and then interpret against what a long flight actually demands, or a plainly-labeled editorial judgment. The five axes we score on — cabin-noise reduction, battery on a long-haul, pack size, comfort past hour three, and wired fallback — are the ones that decide a travel purchase, and the weighting is published in full.
Questions
Common questions
Which headphones have the longest battery life?
The JBL Tour One M3 carries the longest published rating here at up to 70 hours over Bluetooth, dropping to up to 40 hours with canceling switched on. The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless quotes up to 60 hours as a single figure, which makes it the longest number that does not depend on turning canceling off.
Why is the advertised battery life different from what I get?
Because the advertised figure is measured at a fixed volume in a named mode, usually with active canceling switched off. Canceling, spatial audio modes and high-bitrate codecs such as LDAC all draw extra power, and high volume draws more again.
Do earbuds last as long as over-ear headphones?
Not per charge. The best earbud figure here is 11 hours in the bud, against 40 to 60 for an over-ear with canceling on. Earbuds make the total up with a charging case — 52 hours for the EarFun Air Pro 4 — but that requires a break in the case.
Is 30 hours of battery enough for a long-haul flight?
Yes, comfortably. A 14-hour sector plus connections and airport time is under 20 hours of possible listening, and most people listen for a fraction of that. Thirty rated hours covers the outbound and usually most of the return.
Does noise canceling drain the battery?
Yes, and the gap is published. The Soundcore Space 2 is rated up to 50 hours with canceling on and up to 70 with it off; the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are rated up to 30 hours on and up to 45 off. Spatial audio modes cost more again.
Sources
Where these figures come from
- JBL Tour One M3 product page (70 h, 40 h ANC, 850 mAh, quick charge, weight)
- Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless product page (60 hours, weight, cable, transducer)
- Soundcore Space 2 specifications (50 h ANC, 70 h off, weight, codecs, charge times)
- EarFun Air Pro 4 product page (11 h buds, 52 h total, chipset, codecs)
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) product page (30 h, 45 h and 23 h figures)
Read next
Related reading
- Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 review
Up to 50 rated hours with cancelling on — the longest figure on this page.
- soundcore Q20i review
How a $69.99 headphone outlasts the flagships here.
- Headphone battery life for long-haul flights
The arithmetic: how many hours a specific routing actually needs.
- Best headphones for long-haul flights
Where battery is one criterion of five, not the whole test.
- Best multipoint Bluetooth headphones
Two devices at once, and what that costs in rated hours.
- Best wired headphones for flights
The option with no battery figure to read at all.