New Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 5 (2026) — Wireless Earbuds with Removable Batteries

Sennheiser just dropped the MOMENTUM True Wireless 5 earbuds on August 20, marking the first mass-produced TWS earbuds from a major manufacturer with a user-replaceable battery. You can swap out the batteries in both the earbuds and the charging case yourself. A screwdriver is included for disassembly, and the batteries will be sold separately later. This means your Bluetooth headphones’ battery life won’t be limited by the battery’s lifespan anymore. They’re set to launch on September 3 for $299 or €299, depending on your region.

Previously on MyChooz, we reviewed all four previous generations: the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4, True Wireless 3, True Wireless 2, and the original True Wireless. If you’d like to see a review of the new model and a comparison with its predecessors, let us know in the comments.

• See the ranking – Best True Wireless Earbuds

Battery. Let’s start with the replaceable battery. Now, you won’t need to replace the entire earbuds, hunt for a replacement case, or find a specific earbud with a dead battery. Just buy a battery set, unscrew the casing at home, and swap it out. As of now, these are the first TWS earbuds from a major manufacturer with this capability. Fairphone’s Fairbuds offer replaceable batteries and other components, but those earbuds and the brand’s products are niche, mostly sold in Europe.

Keep in mind that Sennheiser isn’t exactly a charity, and a user-replaceable battery isn’t a major selling point for their latest model. That said, starting in 2027, all mobile electronics sold in Europe will be mandated to feature easily replaceable batteries.

We’re already seeing the first full-size headphones with swappable batteries hit the market, like the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 5 Wireless and Marshall Milton ANC. Expect to see more true wireless earbuds with this feature roll out soon. Just remember, this requirement will only apply to models sold within the EU; outside of Europe, there’s no mandate for replaceable batteries.

These new earbuds offer up to 12 hours of playback without noise cancellation, and a total of 40 hours with the charging case. With noise cancellation active, playback time drops to 6 hours. For comparison, the previous generation offered 7.5 hours and 30 hours total, with noise cancellation lasting up to 7 hours. Like the last model, they support wireless charging, and a quick 8-minute charge in the case gives you an hour of listening time.

The current battery life champ on MyChooz remains the CMF buds 2 Plus, with 15 hours in the earbuds and a whopping 62.5 hours total with the charging case.

Sound. Like the previous generation, these use a single 7mm dynamic driver. There aren’t any changes to the core specs. So, if the sound quality has improved, it’s likely due to tuning the balance or the acoustic chamber. The audio codec selection is the same: SBC, AAC, aptX, and aptX Adaptive/Lossless. They also claim support for Dolby Atmos with head-tracking.

• See the ranking – Best Earbuds with aptX Adaptive and Lossless Codec

Noise Cancellation and Calls. The total microphone count remains unchanged at 3 per earbud. However, the new model adds a bone conduction sensor to each earbud. The concept is similar to what we’ve seen in earbuds like the ANKER SoundCore Liberty 5 Pro: microphones capture your voice, and bone conduction sensors pick up vibrations from your skull. The final clarity and isolation of your voice in noisy environments depend on the processing algorithm. Overall, you can expect an improvement in microphone performance, especially when used in loud places.

There’s no specific data on the active noise cancellation performance. The previous generation’s ANC was capable of suppressing light background noise. Sennheiser’s transparency mode is excellent, on par with reference models, so you shouldn’t have any trouble conversing while wearing these.

Connection. This uses Bluetooth 6.0 Class 1. While Class 1 is built for distances up to 100 meters, Sennheiser claims 10 mW of power for these earbuds, compared to the typical 10 meters you get with Class 2 true wireless earbuds.

The company also claims a switchable “resilient mode” for the antenna, which it says helps maintain the signal in crowded airwaves. However, this mode is exclusive to the Snapdragon Sound platform, and it’s still unclear how this enhancement will impact battery life. Other features include support for Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair, plus multipoint connectivity for two devices.

App. The proprietary Sennheiser Smart Control Plus app for iOS and Android lets you customize the earbuds. It’s a well-designed and useful app, featuring an eight-band equalizer, sound personalization options, presets, control customization, and audio codec selection. It’s definitely worth downloading.

Build quality. The earbuds themselves stick to the familiar button-like design, or a stemless approach, much like previous generations. They’ve earned an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance, meaning they can handle limited dust exposure and light water splashes. The charging case, however, offers no such protection. It measures 67.2 × 48.4 × 25 mm. Each earbud weighs in at 7 g, and the total package, including the case, comes in at just under 69 g – there seems to be a typo on the official website regarding the weight.

Price and availability. These earbuds will cost you $299.95 in the US and €299.90 in Europe, and they go on sale September 3. You can already pre-order them directly from the Sennheiser website: Pre-orders are already open on the Sennheiser website. They’re available in five colors: graphite, cream, copper, denim, and lavender.

Impression. There’s a 2.5-year gap between these generations. Looking purely at the specs, the most significant change is the replaceable battery, and that’s largely thanks to European regulations – manufacturers weren’t planning on implementing user-replaceable batteries. You can expect improvements in microphone quality and connection stability, and battery life has also seen an increase. Other aspects are either unchanged or unlikely to see major shifts. Sennheiser seems to be experiencing some production stagnation, squeezing the most out of existing developments. Other major players like Bose, Sony, and Final are doing much the same. It’s clear that established brands are feeling the pressure from Chinese companies, especially when it comes to functionality. Still, Sennheiser manages to maintain a high standard for features. Let us know in the comments what you think of the new product and your overall impression of these earbuds.

Source: official Sennheiser website