Bowers & Wilkins review

Updated September 30, 2026 · GizmoCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 30, 2026

We earn a commission when you sign up through links on this site. Partner status can affect where a brand appears in our rankings.

Our verdict

Bowers & Wilkins sells across headphones, earbuds, speakers, portable speakers, soundbars and hi-fi, so it suits buyers building a full setup rather than a single product. Entry pricing sits at $249, and the warranty of 2 years lands near the top of the brands compared.

Key facts

Best for
A single maker for earbuds, speakers, soundbars and hi-fi, with 2 years of warranty on every product.
Price from
$249 (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
Noise cancelling
Yes (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
Battery life
30 hours (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
Warranty
2 years (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
Multi-room
Yes (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
IP rating
IP54 (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
Markets
US, CA, AU, CN, JP, GB, BE, FR, DE, AT, NL (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
Legal entity
B&W Group Ltd. (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
Headquarters
United Kingdom (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
Support channels
Help-centre, Phone, Chat (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
Products
Headphones, Earbuds, Speakers, Portable speakers, Soundbars, Hi fi
Bluetooth codecs
Aac, Aptx, Aptx adaptive
Official website
bowerswilkins.com

Apps and profiles

Get the app
Google PlayApp Store
Elsewhere
WikidataWikipediaX

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Product types run to headphones, earbuds and speakers, so a single maker covers travel and home listening.
  • A warranty of 2 years compares with a site median of 1 years.
  • Noise cancelling and multiroom are both supported, so commuting and whole-home playback share the same app.
  • Codec support lists aac, aptx and aptx adaptive, so both aptx and aptx-adaptive are on the earbuds.
  • Where HyperX covers headphones and earbuds and CORSAIR covers headphones, this range also reaches speakers, soundbars and hi-fi.

Cons

  • Entry price of $249 places the brand at 57 of 64 on price from, and the earbuds are the cheapest way in.
  • Battery life of 30 hours falls short of the site median of 40 hours, ranking 36 of 61.
  • Support runs on help centre, phone and chat, and email is not among them, so buyers who prefer writing need another route.
  • JBL lists headphones, earbuds and speakers, matching this range and adding turntables, which narrows the case for buying the whole setup here.
Bowers & Wilkins

Ready to try Bowers & Wilkins?

Scored 8.7 / 10 by GizmoCue.

Visit

Who it suits

  • Buyers who want earbuds, speakers, soundbars and hi-fi from a single maker rather than mixing brands.
  • Households planning multiroom listening, since multiroom is supported alongside noise cancelling.
  • Long-warranty shoppers: 2 years against a site median of 1 years.

Who should look elsewhere

  • Headphone-only buyers: HyperX covers headphones and earbuds and CORSAIR covers headphones, and neither needs the wider shelf.
  • Turntable shoppers: JBL lists headphones, earbuds and speakers, and turntables sit outside the range here.
  • Long-trip listeners: 30 hours of battery trails the site median of 40 hours.

Where it sits among rivals

Bowers & Wilkins pulls in two directions on the numbers that move most purchase decisions. Warranty years is the strong showing, at 4 of 56 brands compared. Battery hours drops back to 36 of 61, and price from sits at 57 of 64. Taken together, the cover is the argument for the brand, while the outlay and the battery figure are the arguments against it. Buyers who put warranty at the top of their list will find little to argue with here; buyers who put battery life there should look elsewhere.

What it does well

Noise cancelling is supported, and multiroom works too, so the same app can group speakers around a home while earbuds handle the commute. Battery life is 30 hours, which covers ordinary daily use more comfortably than a long trip away. Every product in the range carries a warranty of 2 years, and that term holds across categories rather than sitting with flagship models only. Together these are the details that matter after the box opens: the sound is supported by the coverage.

Who runs it

Bowers & Wilkins is run by B&W Group Ltd., headquartered in the United Kingdom. Support runs on help centre, phone and chat, so buyers can reach a person by phone or chat as well as work through self-service material. The same warranty and the same support desk sit behind every category, which keeps a soundbar claim and an earbud claim in the same hands. Buyers buying a second room later deal with one company rather than a new one.

How Bowers & Wilkins compares

Where Bowers & Wilkins is available

Available
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States

Countries from the brand (Source, checked September 30, 2026)

Frequently asked questions

What does Bowers & Wilkins cost to get started?+

Earbuds start at $249, the lowest entry price across the range. On the ranking that puts the brand at 57 of 64 on price from, so the cheapest product sits well above the floor of the list. Headphones, speakers, soundbars and hi-fi all start higher.

How long is the warranty?+

Warranty runs 2 years, ahead of the site median of 1 years, and it ranks at 4 of 56 brands on warranty years. The same term applies across the range, so anything added to the setup later carries the same cover as what you already own.

How long does the battery last?+

Battery life is 30 hours for the over-ear headphones, against a site median of 40 hours. That places Bowers & Wilkins at 36 of 61 on battery hours, mid-table rather than at the front. Frequent travelers should weigh that before choosing a pair.

What kinds of products does it sell?+

The range covers headphones, earbuds and speakers, spanning personal audio and home audio under a single maker. JBL lists headphones, earbuds and speakers and matches that spread with turntables added, while HyperX stays on headphones and earbuds. So Bowers & Wilkins sits between a specialist headphone brand and a full home audio catalog.

Where can you buy it?+

It sells across US, CA and AU, which covers North America, Europe and parts of Asia and Australia. Buyers in GB sit inside that spread. The company behind those sales is B&W Group Ltd., so the same legal entity handles the range in each of those countries.

Does it offer noise cancelling and multiroom?+

Both are supported. Noise cancelling covers the commute, and multiroom groups speakers around a home through the same app. Codec support lists aac, aptx and aptx adaptive, so aptx and aptx-adaptive are on the earbuds, and the battery figure for the range is 30 hours.

What support is offered after purchase?+

Support runs on help centre, phone and chat, giving buyers self-service material plus phone and chat. Email is not one of those routes, so anyone who writes long questions needs a phone call or a chat window instead. Warranty questions, which cover 2 years, go to the same desk.

Are the earbuds water resistant?+

The earbuds carry an IP54 rating, a dust and splash rating that suits commuting and gym sessions. It is a modest figure, so swimming or heavy rain sits outside what the rating covers. For those conditions, the warranty of 2 years is the fallback rather than the rating.

Sources

Compiled from 5 source pages, checked September 30, 2026. We did not open an account.

What changed

  • September 30, 2026: axisScores offer was 9.1, now 9.2
Bowers & Wilkins

Bowers & Wilkins

A single maker for earbuds, speakers, soundbars and hi-fi, with 2 years of warranty on every product.

8.7/10Visit

Your cookie choices

We use necessary cookies to make this site work. With your permission, analytics cookies help us understand usage and marketing cookies support advertising.

You can reject non-essential cookies and still use the site. Change your choices anytime in Cookie settings.

Cookie policy
Cookie settings