Our Favorite Family Headphones

Long car rides with our crew used to come with a soundtrack of squabbles over who got to hear what. Our oldest wanted his music, the middle kids wanted a show, and everyone wanted it loud. Somewhere around hour two of a road trip, a good pair of headphones stops being a luxury and starts being a survival tool.

We ended up leaning on the Apple AirPods 4 as our shared family earbuds. They pair effortlessly across the phones and iPad the older kids trade around, so there is no wrestling with cords or settings when someone just wants a little quiet of their own. They are comfortable enough for a long flight, light enough that our oldest forgets he is wearing them, and small enough that they actually make it home in a pocket.

Compared with the other earbuds we considered, the AirPods 4 earned their keep by simply working with everything we already own. Some cheaper buds sounded fine but were a hassle to reconnect, and a bulkier over-ear set we looked at never survived a backpack. These slip in and out of our Apple devices without a fight, hold a charge through a travel day, and are sturdier than their size suggests. For keeping the peace across a big household of gadgets, they were the sensible pick.