Skullcandy Push Play S2PPW-S749

Great battery, tough build, meh sound. Buy them for the gym, not for the music.

Battery life is the real star here. Ten hours in the buds and 34 total with the case puts these in the top tier of our battery rankings, and the quick charge giving you two hours from ten minutes is genuinely useful. Build quality also impressed us, landing in the 91st percentile, which is rare at this price. But the sound? It's a letdown. We're talking 29th percentile, which means most earbuds in our database sound better. The mic is even rougher at 40th percentile, so don't plan on taking work calls with these.

The Soundcore P31i and EarFun Air Pro 4+ both beat these on sound quality for similar money, and the EarFun adds actual ANC. The Sony WF-C700N costs a bit more but sounds dramatically better and has better call quality. The Nothing Ear (3) is in a different league for audio, though it's pricier. If you need the over-ear hook design for intense workouts, the Push Play makes sense. Otherwise, the Soundcore P31i is the smarter buy for most people.

Pricing is all over the place depending on where you shop. In the US you'll see USD 65 to USD 75, and in Europe it's EUR 48 to EUR 62. If you're in Europe, grab them at the EUR 48 price and you're getting a decent deal. At the higher end of that spread, though, you're paying too much for what you get. The battery and build are great, but the sound quality drags the overall value down hard.

The Skullcandy Push Play S2PPW-S749 is a workout earbud that nails the basics and skips the fancy stuff. The one thing to know? You're buying these for the fit and battery life, not for audiophile sound or crystal-clear calls. The flexible over-ear hangers and IP55 rating make them a solid gym companion, but the sound quality sits near the bottom of our database.

If you care about sound quality or take a lot of phone calls, these aren't for you. The audio is bottom-tier and the mic is worse. Go grab the Soundcore P31i or stretch your budget for the Sony WF-C700N instead. You'll thank yourself.

Buy the Skullcandy Push Play if you need earbuds that won't fall out during burpees and you don't care much about audio quality. The battery life and build are genuinely impressive for the price. But if sound matters even a little, look elsewhere. These are workout tools, not music enjoyment devices.