That Apple hardware attests a particularly good price-performance ratio, there is also not every day. As a rule, Apple's devices are ultimately above average expensive. The Bluetooth headset AirPods, often mocked as toothbrushes for their design, is now praised by Stiftung Warentest.

In comparison to 18 in-ear headphones, they end up in second place overall as a "price-performance tip". In the trade, they are now available for about 160 euros, two years ago, they still cost 20 euros more. They get good marks for their sound quality and the wearing comfort, point deduction gives it for the not particularly strong damping of ambient noises.

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Wireless headsets under test: Apple's AirPod and the competition

Both make the model SoundSport Free Wireless by Bose a little better, but it also costs about 20 euros more. The most convincing sound is provided by another, more favorable Bose model - which, however, requires a connection cable between the two handsets.

The most expensive headphones in comparison come from Bang & Olufsen and the Munich start-up Bragi. The latter are more than just headphones, they are also a fitness tracker and do not need a smartphone to play music thanks to their internal memory. Their weaknesses are according to the testers, especially in the battery life.

The cheapest headphones tested, in turn, cost between 24 and 77 euros, including models from Sony and Panasonic. After all, most get still satisfactory grades.

The comparison can be read in detail online as well as in the issue 11/2018 of the magazine "test", which will be published on Thursday.