Products
Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless
Apple AirPods (3rd generation)
Tested using Methodology v1.6
Updated Sep 22, 2025 09:15 PM
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Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Nov 25, 2025 09:01 PM
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TypeIn-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeEarbuds
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureOpen-Back
Bass Amount
Underemphasized (-5 dB)
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Treble Amount
Slightly Underemphasized (-2 dB)
MicYes
Sound Signature
Flat
Our Verdict
Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless
Apple AirPods (3rd generation)
The Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless are better for most purposes than the Apple AirPods (3rd generation). The Sony have a longer continuous battery life, onboard call and music controls, and a great ANC feature. Their default sound profile delivers much more bass, which some may prefer, and it can be customized in the companion app with a graphic EQ and presets, unlike the Apple headphones. On the other hand, some may prefer that the Apple headphones' open design lets you hear your surroundings. They also have features that only work with Apple devices, like an Η1 chip for easy pairing and Spatial Audio, a virtual surround sound feature, which iOS users may appreciate.
Variants
- WF-1000XM4 (Black)
- WF-1000XM4 (Silver)
- AirPods (3rd generation) (Lightning Charging Case - White)
- AirPods (3rd generation) (White)
Check Price
Black
WF-1000XM4
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Amazon.com
Lightning Charging Case - White
AirPods (3rd generation)
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Amazon.com
Silver
WF-1000XM4
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Amazon.com
White
AirPods (3rd generation)
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Main Differences for
Neutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
6.5
Full Comparison
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
1,200 Hz
Bass Amount
Underemphasized (-5 dB)
Bass Amount
0.05 dB
Treble Amount
-5.13 dB
Treble Amount
Slightly Underemphasized (-2 dB)
Sound Signature
Flat
Frequency Response Consistency
9.2
5.8
Consistency L
Consistency R
Std. Deviation
0.16 dB
1.39 dB
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
8.3
6.3
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.12 dB
7.8 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
56.57 Hz
40.02 Hz
Low Bass
-3.97 dB
-10.47 dB
Mid Bass
-1.65 dB
-1.36 dB
High Bass
0.08 dB
-0.53 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.2
9.3
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.43 dB
1.13 dB
Low Mid
0.02 dB
-0.09 dB
Mid-Mid
-2.69 dB
-1.29 dB
High Mid
-3.03 dB
1.06 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
2.9
8.5
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
9.62 dB
2.9 dB
Low Treble
-5.84 dB
-1.79 dB
Mid Treble
-12.42 dB
-2.93 dB
High Treble
-10.23 dB
-9.72 dB
Peaks/Dips
8.3
7.5
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
0.91 dB
1.39 dB
Dips
1.7 dB
2.08 dB
Stereo Mismatch
7.3
Frequency Response Mismatch
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.24
0.40 dB
Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch
0.89
1.23 dB
Weighted Phase Mismatch
0.92
3.2°
Cumulative Spectral Decay
CSD
PRTF
1.1
0.0
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
N/A
Openness
2.2
Acoustic Space Excitation
2.3
Harmonic Distortion
9.3
Harmonics Levels
THD Ratio
WHD @ 94 dB SPL
0.309
0.07%
WHD @ 104 dB SPL
0.133
0.13%
Electrical Aspects
Impedance
Sensitivity @1kHz-1V
N/A
Bluetooth Max SPL
104.5 dB
Virtual Soundstage
4.1
2.9
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
On/Off
No
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
On/Off
Virtual Surround
360 Reality Audio
Spatial Audio
Test Settings
Firmware
1.1.5
6F21.
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Off
Adaptive EQ
ANC
On
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Foam (small)
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Imaging
9.5
Group Delay
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.09
Weighted Phase Mismatch
0.92
3.2°
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.24
0.40 dB
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
0.89
1.23 dB
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.7
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.309
0.07%
WHD @ 100
0.133
0.13%
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
In-ear
Earbuds
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Open-Back
Wireless
Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.0
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.03 lbs
0.02 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs
N/A
Controls
6.3
5.5
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Great
Feedback
Good
Good
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
No
No
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
On/Off
No
Talk-Through
On/Off
No
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Breathability
9.2
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
0.8 °C
Portability
9.4
9.7
Portability Picture
L
1.4" (3.6 cm)
1.2" (3.1 cm)
W
1.1" (2.8 cm)
0.8" (2.1 cm)
H
1.1" (2.7 cm)
0.6" (1.6 cm)
Volume
1.65 in³ (27.00 cm³)
0.62 in³ (10.20 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
7.5
8.5
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
2.6" (6.7 cm)
2.1" (5.4 cm)
W
1.1" (2.9 cm)
1.8" (4.6 cm)
H
1.5" (3.9 cm)
0.8" (2.1 cm)
Volume
4.64 in³ (76.00 cm³)
3.28 in³ (53.80 cm³)
Build Quality
8.0
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.5
6.5
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
7.8
1.7
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
Yes
No
Overall Attenuation
-22.5 dB
-3.75 dB
Isolation Audio
Bass
-13.17 dB
-0.02 dB
Mid
-20.01 dB
-0.95 dB
Treble
-34.86 dB
-11.36 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
1.9
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-3.32 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-3.35 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-3.57 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
ANC Wind Handling
ANC Wind Handling Graph
ANC Wind Noise
N/A
Leakage
8.0
7.0
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
33.67 dB
39.46 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
5.2
6.0
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
201.59 Hz
67.27 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.87 dB
3.25 dB
HFE
1,317.51 Hz
1,659.96 Hz
Weighted THD
6.721
3.887
Gain
13.46 dB
18.34 dB
Noise Handling
6.5
5.5
SpNR
SpNR
25.22 dB
12.16 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
6.5
5.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
6.5
5.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
8.0
7.2
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
10.3 hrs
6.8 hrs
Additional Charges
2.0
5.0
Total Battery Life
30.9 hrs
40.8 hrs
Charge Time
1.3 hrs
0.8 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
Standby mode
Audio While Charging
Yes
Yes
Passive Playback
No
No
Charging Port
USB-C
Lightning
App Support
8.0
5.0
App Picture
App Name
Sony| Headphones Connect
iOS Interface
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
No
macOS
No
Yes
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
No
ANC Control
On/Off
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
Yes
No
Button Mapping
Yes
No
Surround Support
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
0.0
0.0
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
No
No
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
No
No
Length
N/A
N/A
Connector
No Wired Option
No Wired Option
Latency - Analog
N/A
N/A
Latency - USB
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency Connection
No Wired Audio
No Wired Audio
Bluetooth Connection
8.4
7.2
Bluetooth Version
5.2
5.0+H1 chip
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
No
Quick Pair (Android)
Yes
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
Yes
Line Of Sight Range
291.99 ft (89.00 m)
205.05 ft (62.50 m)
Latency - SBC
259 ms
184 ms
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
N/A
Latency - LDAC
258 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
SBC
AAC Support
Yes
Yes
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
No
No
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
No
No
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
No
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
2.2
2.2
Type
Charging Case
Charging Case
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
Yes
Yes
Power Supply
USB-C
Lightning
Check Price
Black
WF-1000XM4
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Lightning Charging Case - White
AirPods (3rd generation)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Silver
WF-1000XM4
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
AirPods (3rd generation)
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
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Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless
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Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless vs Apple AirPods (3rd generation): Main Discussion
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