Just 2% of Tom's Guide readers want AI in earbuds & headphones — so why do audio brands like Apple, Samsung and Soundcore keep pushing it on us?

If one more audio brand releases earbuds/headphones with "AI features", I'm going to scream. And, as it turns out, so will 98% of Tom's Guide readers. Or, put bluntly, so will you. Of 200 responses, only five readers said they specifically look for AI features in the best earbuds and best headphones. Most readers voted sound quality as their most important feature: 135 people, specifically. ANC came second with twenty-seven votes. Yes, first place received five times as many votes as second place. This got me thinking: Why? Why do audio brands keep pushing AI features down our throats when we so clearly don't want them? Do said brands worry they'll be "left behind" in the AI race? Do brands consider sound quality, ANC, and call quality last year's news? Or is it something else...? Let's dig in.Results at a glanceI ran a poll for three weeks here on Tom's Guide. I asked, and you all answered! Here are the exact results.(Image credit: Tom's Guide / 5of10.com)As you can see, sound quality is by far the most important feature for you. ANC came second with 13% of the vote, then call quality and other came joint third with 6% of the vote. Second-to-last we have battery life, 4% of the vote. And, trailing last, we have AI features — with just 3% of the vote. I could've predicted that sound quality would win, but I was genuinely surprised when I saw AI features lost by that much. I thought it would get more like... maybe 10%. I thought some people really liked having AI in earbuds, but evidently not. Case study: Anker Soundcore Space 2 Pro(Image credit: Tom's Guide)I loved the Anker Soundcore Space One Pro headphones. They were my biggest surprise of 2025 and I ended up recommending them to pretty much everyone. I even got my sister a pair for college! They're the perfect headphones for studying thanks to the incredible ANC, comfort, and foldability. I feel like Anker put so much effort into AI features, it forgot what the Soundcore Space 2 Pro were: headphones. For music. And ANC. Not glorified chatbot earmuffs. So when I reviewed the successor, Space 2 Pro, they left me with a sour taste in my mouth. This was especially sour because I wasn't expecting it. I was expecting anotherThe reason? The AI features. I feel like Anker put so much effort into AI features, it forgot what the Soundcore Space 2 Pro were: headphones. For music. And ANC. Not glorified chatbot earmuffs. (Image credit: Tom's Guide)Don't get me wrong, I still awarded the Space 2 Pro 3.5 stars — this means "very good." And the headphones are very good. Sound quality is great, call quality is great, and ANC is great. Triple whammy there... as long as you ignore the purported AI functionality in the Anker app. Let me set the scene: the Soundcore Space 2 Pro are advertised as having the "world's first neural-net compute-in-memory AI audio chip". If you don't know what that means, you're not alone!Amanda Caswell, AI Editor here at Tom's Guide, translated this into real terms. "AI-powered audio processing inside that's efficient enough to run continuously on a tiny, battery-powered device."So this could help with smarter noise cancellation, voice isolation, always-on listening (to detect words). But "neural-net" is the chip that runs artificial neural networks trained to recognize and process sounds, such as speech, background noise and potentially voice commands." (Image credit: Tom's Guide)And there's a lovely chatbot in the Anker Soundcore app! However, Anker's marketing doesn't actually specify that the Space 2 Pro are compatible with the in-app chatbot. Might it be my fault that I assumed the app features would work? If I connect headphones to my phone, download the companion app, open the companion app, see a big "AI chatbot!" tab that can supposedly adjust my EQ in real-time, I'd assume it works, right? Well, yes? Surely? Take a look at this. These are real screenshots from the Anker app. (Image credit: Anker / Future)When I asked Anker's representative about this, I was told, "Currently, Anka on Space 2 Pro only supports activation via “Hey Anka” and basic voice interactions or chats. Other features, including voice controls, audio playback and text-based interactions in the app, are still in development, not ready for release." So why are the features present in the app? I've been in further contact with Anker, which has informed me it is looking into the issue — so that's a win! But the most frustrating part is this: I don't actually care if headphones or earbuds have (useless to me) AI features or not. I won't mark down audio products for simply including things like Live Translation — if it works, it's actually a huge plus, like with the AirPods Max 2 or Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.(Image credit: Tom's Guide)When I reviewed the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max, which can accurately transcribe calls and meetings directly to the app, I gave them four stars and our coveted Recommended badge. So what was different with the Space 2 Pro, then? Same audio brand, same AI features, right? Hm.The Liberty 5 Pro Max's AI features actually worked. If the AI features work, regardless of my personal dislike of AI, I mark it as a positive and go on about my day. I don't write a 2,000-word long-read about the state of AI in earbuds and headphones (...). And do you know what the worst part is? The Space 2 Pro sound amazing. They don't need any gimmicky AI features. If Anker had positioned them as straightforward, comfy, great-ANC wireless headphones, they'd have received a 4.5-star rating. Case study: Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 SE(Image credit: Tom's Guide)Now let's go to the opposite side of the earbud/headphone coin: the Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 SE. The Melomania A100 SE came out in October 2026. I loved these earbuds enough to award them four stars and the sought-after "Tom's Guide recommended" badge. The sound quality is supreme, they're comfy, and they have excellent battery life. The only thing holding them back is the mediocre ANC, but if you're not part of that 13% of readers who prioritize ANC, this shouldn't be an issue. And the best part — they're just $149. At that price point, there's not much competition. Naturally, there's the AirPods 5 at $129/$149 or the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 at $149, but the Melomania A100 SE are (literally) music to my ears. Pardon the cliché, but I said what I said. (Image credit: Tom's Guide)Michael Laws, a product manager from Cambridge Audio, doesn't seem to think the Melomania A100 SE need AI. "We haven’t put resource into implementing AI features, because so far we haven’t found it’s a requirement when listening to your favourite music on the go. That’s not to say we won’t explore further if there prove to be ways in which, for instance, AI can “help” with different listening profiles." I completely agree. AI is not a requirement at all. There's a reason why wired audio gear is making a comeback. Consumers are literally rejecting AI being forced into every aspect of our lives. Just this year, Sony has relaunched its original Walkman headphones, and Bose is releasing wired earbuds. I don't think it's a coincidence. I think people are voting with their wallets, and showing audio brands what they really want.My takeaway"One thing that always gets commented on is the sound; that’s our bread and butter," said Cambridge Audio's Laws. For me, too, sound is my bread and butter. I would much rather have earbuds and headphones that make my music sound alive than a chatbot built into the app — that doesn't even work.I'm not saying these AI features can't be useful. Live Translation would be useful if it worked, but it's too slow to benefit real-time conversations. On top of that. we've coexisted with machine learning since the '70s — autofocus is machine learning. DSPs in various audio products, from mics to earbuds, use machine learning. But what is new is a generative AI chatbot in my headphones' companion app. And I'm so over it. If this trend continues, I'll switch to Bose's new Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds (whenever they come back in stock). 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