LG Xboom Buds (2025)

The Xboom fall short of X-cellence

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Your reaction to hearing that will.i.am had a hand (and ear) in helping to tune LG's latest pair of affordable wireless earbuds might vary depending on your attitude to the Black Eyed Peas man. But, whether you listen to will.i.am or Stevie Wonder, LG will need all of the help it can get if its Xboom Buds (2025) are going to muscle into some decidedly tricky territory. Sony's WF-C710N offer decent noise cancelling and excellent sound at a supremely competitive price. And if you want to go cheaper, the non-ANC Sony WF-C510 (£55) are also a five-star buy.

Nothing about the LG Xboom Buds' design does a great amount to set the heart aflutter. Not that they are badly made, there's just little aesthetically interesting. Our matte black test pair are functional, utilitarian operators. Perhaps the only evidence of any design flair comes from a small, fin-like ridge at each unit's top to improve in-ear stability.

The stabilising ridge does offer a bit of security, but it isn't enough to negate a poor fit if the tips themselves don’t want to stay in your ears - and you get only a relatively meagre choice of small, medium or large silicone ear-tip options.