I tried the ‘world’s smallest’ noise-cancelling earbuds — and the size isn’t even the most mind-blowing thing about them

We've been fans of JLab's original JBuds Mini since their launch – the teeny tiny buds featured high in our list of the best budget earbuds for quite a while. Now the company has announced the new version, the JLab JBuds Mini ANC, and after testing them, I think they might be the cheap earbuds to beat in 2026.

Like their predecessors, the JLab JBuds Mini ANC will still cost just $39.99 full price when they release in March 2026 (global pricing TBC, but expect around £39 / AU$80 based on the previous model), and JLab says they're the "world's smallest" noise-cancelling earbuds. I certainly can't think of anything to compete with their 19x21x14mm dimensions.

The addition of active noise cancellation is the big change here, though JLab has also added a Spatial Audio mode this time. Beyond that, you've got Bluetooth multi-point pairing, a 10-band EQ, a built-in interval timer tool for exercise, a volume limiter to protect your hearing, and 6.5 hours of battery life promised from the buds, with 24 hours from the case.

As before, the case comes with a clip attached so you can pop these on a keyring or on your bag, so they can go everywhere with you – and when they're this small, this cheap, and this good, I think just about anyone would benefit from having them around.

The 2026 budget buds to beat? When they're this small, this cheap and this good…

I've been trying them out, and honestly I'm blown away by how good they sound for the price. Which I probably shouldn't be, because that's basically JLab's raison d'être, but I think these might be the most impressive earbuds I've heard from the company yet when it comes to bang for buck.

First, a quick note on the tiny size and the fit. They feel incredibly slight going into the ear – not just because they're small, but because the ear tip material is very flexible, and I'm used to the particularly robust tip of the AirPods Pro 3 now.

But the fit seems to be totally stable despite that – they haven't dislodged after walking, going to the gym, or a good vigorous shake of the head.

The only potential issue with the fit is that when changing my head angle a lot (particularly leaning back) the seal of the left ear tip was disrupted, and some outside sound came in. This is probably partly to do with my ear shape, but I'm certain it's because the ear tip material is so flexible.

But I never felt there was any change in the stability – they never felt looser or anything like that.

That being said, you can only just feel that they're in your ears at all, which is maybe no surprise given they weigh practically nothing – but it's still possible for companies to get the fit wrong. I think it's really good here.

The fact that they're so small does mean you really have to focus if you want to use the on-ear touch controls, hoever – you need an accurate bit of 3D positioning with the finger, but that's a pretty inevitable trade-off.

Sound that's not just 'good for the money' – it's just plain 'good'

The audio quality is not just 'good for the price', it's just plain 'good'. If you told me these cost twice as much, I'd say that seemed fair.

The sound is thinner than you get from more premium buds, but the balance is absolutely spot on, and what I'm impressed by most is the perceived detail. You're not going to use them as studio monitors to reveal deep insight, obviously, but they're really nimble in transients, so drumstick hits have a sharp edge just like they should, and you can hear all the elements in complicated mixes with individuality I just don't expect from budget buds.

This dynamism means they're stunningly expansive for something so inexpensive, they deliver vocals with remarkably natural clarity, and they're energetic and fun at the same time.

Bass is really well-handled overall, but there is the feeling that buds are making up for a lack of true lower-frequency depth by laying on a bit more impact – basically, bass is a little boomy and less controlled than the rest of the mix, but in a way I can happily live with for the price.

Treble also feels just a little on the harsh side when it's the dominant frequency in the mix. Again, nothing to make you wince, but it's where you can hear that these are working within cost limitations.

But the thing is, I'm getting into quite fine levels of critique with these complaints, because they're at the level where that's what you need to do. When I switch from my AirPods Pro 3 (official price: $249) to the JLab for testing them with music, I don't feel any strong pull to switch back to the more premium buds ASAP, as is often the case.

I'm able to fully just get lost in the music, even as a picky audio writer. I have a pair of $899 Dali headphones 10 inches to my right, and I'm perfectly happy just vibing along with the $40 JBuds Mini ANC. These are a little miracle.

The noise cancellation is another really strong area. I mentioned above that in a few awkward poses (mostly at the gym) the seal was disrupted – but in 90% of use, they're actually excellent at drowning out sound.

Traffic noise was busted down to practically nothing when walking in a city. In the gym, the talking and background music was cut out and only the occasional high-pitched noise of metal knocking against metal crept in.

We obviously have more testing to do before reaching a final verdict, but when it comes to the really core elements of being good earbuds, I'm already very impressed with what the JLab JBuds Mini ANC can do.

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