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Wireless Earbuds

Apple AirPods Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM3

Apple AirPods Pro

Apple AirPods Pro

163 reviews

View Product Details

Sony WF-1000XM3

Sony WF-1000XM3

220 reviews

View Product Details

Consumer Reports · Best Back-to-School Sales on Laptops, Headphones, and More

#2 most mentioned

Reddit · r/earbuds

RTINGS · The 7 Best Headphones

#11 most mentioned

Reddit · r/earbuds

#61 most mentioned

Reddit · r/headphones

#91 most mentioned brand

Reddit · r/BuyItForLife

Great sound quality with warm, rich sound

Active noise cancellation

Impressive battery life of up to 4.5 hours on a single charge

Easy to use and connect to devices

Lightweight and comfortable fit

Great sound quality

Ergonomic tri-hold structure and grippy rubberized finish for a good seal

Seven pairs of silicone ear sleeves in four sizes and two styles

Supports LDAC

Wireless charging capabilities

Not suitable for everyone due to fit

Issues with connectivity reported by some users

Price may be too high for some budgets

Not waterproofed

Expensive for some people

May not be suitable for running and the gym

Verdict

The Apple AirPods Pro are a great choice for those looking for a truly wireless earbud with active noise cancellation. They offer a warm, rich sound that is suitable for any genre of music and never harsh. The battery life is also impressive, lasting up to 4.5 hours on a single charge. However, some users have reported issues with connectivity and the fit may not be comfortable for everyone.

Verdict

The Sony WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds are a great choice for those looking for a high-quality sound experience. They feature an ergonomic tri-hold structure and grippy rubberized finish that helps achieve and keep a good seal with your ear, increasing base response and providing passive noise blocking even before you turn on the active noise cancellation. Additionally, they come with seven pairs of silicone ear sleeves in four sizes and two styles, allowing users to find the perfect fit for their ears. Furthermore, they support LDAC, have wireless charging capabilities, and offer great battery life. On the downside, they are not waterproofed and may be too expensive for some people.

Reviews by Topic

Our analysis shows how reviewers feel about different topics. Please note these are not full reviews.

Battery Life

I really wanted to love these...

You can still hear some loud noises, but those are muted significantly. As for Transparency mode, it amplifies outside noise so you can be aware of your surroundings while listening to music. This was quite helpful while I was walking on the street and did not want to be completely isolated from the outside world. Overall I'd say these two features are a solid 10/10 Battery life: On paper Airpods pro have less battery life than Airpods 2 (4

4.5 Stars - Great, but not perfect

The right still had 20% - maybe using the touch controls for playback a lot causes quicker battery drain? Along with battery levels, charging from the case also seems on the mark. After the earbuds died, I threw them in the case and left for a quick walk. 20 minutes later, my right earbud went from 20%->100%, and the left from 0%->70%. Excellent imo, this more or less means I can just recharge my earbuds whenever I have a brief conversation with a coworker and never have to worry about the battery dying on me

Sound Quality

My in-store AirPods Pro Max Impressions

>The Apple AirPods Pro have a fairly neutral sound profile, suitable for a variety of audio content. While they struggle a bit more to produce thump and rumble, they lack less bass than the [Apple AirPods 2 Truly Wireless which have an open-back design

Positive

reddit.com/r/apple

youtube

Sony Shot First - Active Noise Canceling WF-1000XM3 Showcase

So at this point I could pretend that I'm like trying them right now, but realistically I already did that. The noise cancellation is surprisingly goo...

Positive

Noise Cancellation

Good pair of bluetooth noise canceling earbuds?

If you’re using them with Apple products, it’s basically a no-brainer buy for the AirPods Pro. The ecosystem integration is absolutely awesome. The noise cancelling is fantastic, and transparency mode is super useful if you need to quickly hear voices or wear them while outside for awareness.

Positive

reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice

So far seems inferior to Amazon Buds 1st gen

I have to re-pair (which is a chore because you have to touch both Sony Buds at the right place for a long time). Several times I've been about ready to give up and run without music, but then I finally get it to work. With my Amazon buds, I never had this problem. (2) Noise Cancellation modes are really confusing: When you tap to change modes, the announcements are "Ambient Sound", "Ambient Sound Control Off", and once in a blue moon, it will announce "Noise Cancelling"

Fit

Good sound, poor fit.

The sound quality is good, The in ear fit is not good, I tried all 3 sizes of the supplied silicone ear tips and none fit properly. I tried the proper fit app on my iPhone and could not get an "Okay" on the app. I don't feel they fit securely enough, so I will only use them when I am seated. The Air Pods are not comfortable for any lengthy listening session

WF-1000XM4 - Near perfect upgrade for the Mark 3!

They would pair perfectly with my 1 III, which is arriving in a few days. LDAC, form factor, wireless charging..

Positive

reddit.com/r/sony

Bluetooth Connectivity

Should I get the Sony WF-1000XM4?

Particularly if you're going to use it with an Apple device, consider the AirPods Pro. You'll find a bunch of comparisons online like this

Positive

reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice

youtube

SONY WF-1000XM3 Review: 6 months later - worth buying?

Every time I take the headphones out of the case and put them in my ear, I hear a voice confirming that the Bluetooth is connected and how much charge...

Positive

Comfort

Great airpod investment

So I decided to purchase the pros since they won’t slip as easily as the original AirPods (Let me start by saying they came pretty fast, and they were packaged safely!) I’d say this is a great investment, it’s very comfortable and from what I’ve gathered so far on these is you can answer your calls, skip and rewind back with your music as well, it’s very sound proof so if you’re one of those people who do best getting tasks done during work, school, or even at home without noise around you, these are the way to go. I hope this helped someone! :)

I found these buds very easy to pair using the NFC that is located on the charging case and they continue to pair with my phone quickly and often before I'm even finished adjusting the buds in my ears. While comfort can be a very personal thing and varies for everyone, I find these to sit well in my ears for long periods and have a good seal which is extremely important for the noise cancelling to be effective.

Durability

Pi7 great sound everything else meeeh

I’ve used airpods pro for 6 months heavily, i’ve a/b tested noise cancelling on airpod pro with these...These are better beside a busy road or air con unit

Positive

reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice

When it works it's amazing.

The active noise reduction and audio pass-through both work wonderfully considering the size of the earbuds. I can easily forget that I'm wearing them, partly thanks to the memory foam ear tips, but the shape and weight of the buds are still amazing. However, I wish the performance of these earbuds could be more stable/reliable. During walking, connection between either earbud might get disconnected and I would not hear sound from one of them

Warranty

AirPods just died and with Spotify Hifi otw what cans should I invest in?

You should definitely take them to an Apple store, they will probably replace them for free even if they are out of warranty. Last month both of my AirPods Pro (bought on release date, so they were out of warranty) died and had terrible static in both ears. I made an appointment with the Apple store notifying them of the issue, and when I went they ran some tests and just replaced them afterwards at no cost. I’m pretty sure it is a fairly common issue, because they have a dedicated replacement program

Positive

reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice

Sony wfx-1000mx3 usage for workout

Don't use it for a workout, you will damage it, it will violate the warranty and it is not suitable for it. I do agree that the Sony WF-1000XM3 have the best sound quality on wireless earbuds but you definitely want to have something different for workouts. The stock tips are definitely not suitable for it, I had to use Spinfit CP 360 tips for these earbuds to stay in my ear but they were definitely worth the money. People also use foam tips which helps

Neutral

reddit.com/r/sony

Price Point

Apple-level quality at Apple-level price

I’m sorry. I can’t recommend this product. If Sony US team is reading this review and if Sony Japan is designing all the products, please tell the Japan team that you don’t need to make too many half-baked products. You just need to offer 3 tiers of products (aka “good”, “better” and “best”) and focus on making sure they are the best products at their price points

Amazing sound quality, microphones sub-par

PROs: Great price point I love these for listening! The sound quality when paired to my iPhone or Mac is phenomenal! The noise-cancelling helps me focus on the task in front of me with ease. The Sony Headphones app is very useful and makes the headphones very configurable. The plenitude of ear tips makes them very comfortable. They have a small profile

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