I’ve been testing out Sony’s new XM4 truly wireless earbuds and I’ve gotta admit that
these things have blown me away in a few different areas compared to Apple’s AirPod Pros that
I’ve heard many times.
And once that’s pretty clear to me at this point is that we’re getting really really
close to peak earbuds, or at least what earbuds were always meant to be, and even though the
XM4’s aren’t perfect, and I’ll explain exactly why and how in this review, they’ve
definitely gone a long way.
So before I get into my favorite features about these earbuds and why I actually think
they’re worth the hefty $279 price tag, I want to go back to the roots of these Sony
earbuds, and truly wireless earbuds in general, to show you guys just how far we’ve come
and how we got here.
As we all know, wireless earbuds like this have been the standard for so long already
that many of us, especially the younger generation, have forgotten how they used to be.
Almost a decade ago, every single pair of earbuds were wired, and for many years, the
majority of people would be buying cheap earbuds like the JVC Gumy’s, which were considering
budget at around $7 a pair, or they’d just be using whatever came in the box with their
smartphones, like the newly updated Apple Earpods that came with the iPhone 5.
And then, in 2013, we finally started seeing wireless headphones like the Motorola Buds
which came with a neckband, housing the battery and bluetooth chip, with wires going up to
the earbuds, and then that quickly evolved to wireless earbuds like the Jaybird BlueBuds
X which were much more compact, ditching the bulk headband, but of course, still requiring
the cable connecting both sides because it was the most reliable way to make sure the
audio between both ears played perfectly in sync.
And then, of course, in 2016, Apple revealed the original AirPods with their new W1 chip
that perfectly synced the audio and pushed the entire industry forward with new features
like auto-pause when you take an AirPod out of your ear, and the ability to just use one
earbud at a time while the other one is charging in the case, which was also revolutionary
at the time.
But now shifting over to Sony’s part of the story, the same month that Apple released
their AirPods, Sony launched their MDR-XB50BS wireless earbuds for $80 which still came
with a cable that rested on the back of your neck.
It wasn’t until the following year that Sony came out with their WF-1000X earbuds,
being the very first pair of fully wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation, something
that the AirPods didn’t have at the time, and of course, they came with a pretty massive
charging case.
However, the noise cancellation apparently still sucked, barely making a difference compared
to passive noise isolation.
But a year later, Sony released their best-in-class WF-1000XM3’s, the earbuds that held the
crown for having the best noise cancellation, even better than the AirPods Pro which were
released later that year.
But these new XM3’s definitely weren’t perfect. The charging case was still absolutely
massive compared to the AirPods Pro and it didn’t even support wireless charging.
The buds themselves were quite a bit more bulky and they offered zero sweat or water
resistance compared to iPX4 on the AirPods Pro.
And now, in 2021, we finally have Sony’s brand new XM4’s, and like I said in the
beginning of this video, these earbuds have basically reached their peak by fixing so
many of the previous issues, all in one update, so let’s get right into everything that’s
changed.
First up, the charging case has been totally redesigned, now less than half the size of
the previous one, allowing you to finally be able to fit it into that little mini-pocket
that comes on most pairs of jeans.
And because of the flat bottom, it can now sit upright and finally support wireless charging.
The finish got an update as well, with a new matte texture that’s much more scratch resistant
compared to the XM3’s.
The inside of the case now looks much more clean and modern, no longer featuring blatantly
visible rectangular magnets, with them now tucked underneath the plastic casing. And
I also noticed that the magnets are now more powerful, giving you a satisfying snap when
you place them into the case, as well as keeping them perfectly secure so they won’t fall
out if you drop the case.
As far as the earbuds themselves, they’ve also been completely redesigned with a more
round, bulbous shape, a new matte finish and some new design details that really make them
look and feel more premium than before, and I really like how the new foam eartips perfectly
match the color and texture of the earbuds.
The flashing LED light on the XM3’s is now gone, which I actually prefer because it made
them look a bit cheesy, and I really like how the new XM4’s now sit perfectly within
your outer ear instead of sticking out the like old ones do, and I’m glad they removed
the Sony logo from the face, giving them a more clean look.
However, I did find that this new fit isn’t as comfortable as the old ones because it
can sort of press against your ear, and on top of that, the new foam tips are a little
annoying since you have to squish them each and every time you put them into your ears
and then wait for the foam to expand before removing your finger.
And because of all of that, these Sony’s are nowhere near as comfortable as the AirPods
Pro, especially since they’re heavier and they don’t feature a venting system to relieve
pressure from the inside of your ears like the AirPods Pro have.
So even though these new XM4’s feature an incredible 8 hours of listening time with
ANC enabled compared to 6 hours on the old XM3’s and only 4.5 hours on the AirPods
Pro, you absolutely cannot listen for 8 straight hours because your ears will start hurting
after just a couple.
But thanks to the foam eartips, you get an incredibly good seal which helps the XM4’s
achieve the best noise cancelling that I’ve ever heard on any earbuds, destroying the
AirPods Pro and removing so much noise that I can hear subtle creaks and pops inside of
my own head as I look around, instead of the blaring A/C noise in our office which I can’t
hear at all.
These things are literally rivalling the noise cancellation of the AirPods Max which cancel
almost every bit of noise on an Airplane flight.
They also have an ambient mode for the times when you need to hear something or talk to
someone, which you can enable by tapping the left earbud, or you can use the speak to chat
feature within the Sony headphones app, which automatically switches to ambient mode when
you speak, and it works surprisingly well!
However, the ambient mode isn’t the best since it introduces a bit of extra white noise,
so it’s nowhere near as good as the AirPods Pros transparency mode which basically makes
it seem like you don’t have anything in your ears at all, but the Sony’s definitely
get the job done.
The touch controls work much more reliably than before, and they’re fully customizable
for each ear within the app, which also comes with an equalizer with easy to use controls
for different frequency bands.
And as far as the sound quality, I’m completely blown away, even coming from the AirPods Pro.
The high notes, even in the bright preset which I recommend, are incredibly clean and
not too sharp where they hurt your ears, which is something that I’ve experienced with
the AirPods Pro, which unfortunately don’t support EQ customization.
The mids and vocals on the Sony’s are also just so clear and full, with not even a hint
of distortion anywhere, with very impressive separation of frequencies, allowing you to
hear the subtle notes from various instruments without having it all clash together like
on some other earbuds.
And as far as the bass, it’s really enjoyable, being very deep, punchy and tight, all at
the same time, being kept together nicely even while high notes are simultaneously playing.
I honestly can’t say the same for the AirPods Pro, that do have great bass reproduction,
but lack a bit of that extra bass volume that the Sony’s give you.
I’m just extremely impressed, especially since they’ll last up to 8 hours with noise
cancelling enabled.
So as far as comparing the Sony XM4’s to the AirPods Pro, they outclass them in terms
of the overall sound quality, the noise cancellation, and the battery life, which are three of the
most important features for fully wireless earbuds.
And on top of that, the other less important features now match up much better compared
to the AirPods Pro, like getting a smaller case with wireless charging and finally getting
IPX4 water resistance.
The only downsides include the Sony’s being way less comfortable and not supporting multi-connect
which is a bit weird considering the last main downside which is the higher $279 price
tag compared to $250 for the AirPods Pro, but given the fact that the Pros are on sale
right now for only $190 on Amazon, it does make the choice a bit more difficult, but
I think I’ve figured it out.
If you’re an Android user, seriously just pay the extra cash for the Sony’s because
you won’t be getting anything from the Apple ecosystem with the AirPods Pro, and the Sony’s
also absolutely destroy the competition, including Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro, which I showed
you guys in our recent best buds in 2021 video.
But if you’re an iPhone user, you’ve gotta choose what you’d like more, comfort, price
and convenience with the Apple ecosystem with the AirPods Pro, or better sound quality,
better battery life and the absolute best noise cancellation.
And to be completely honest, after hearing how good these Sony’s are, I would probably
go with these over the AirPods Pro, even though I have an Apple bias, and that says a lot
about the Sony XM4’s.
So hopefully you guys enjoyed this review, and if you did, you’ll find links to both
these Sony’s and the AirPods Pro down in the description below. Definitely click that
circle above to subscribe and check out one of those two videos right over there. Thanks
for watching, and we’ll see you in the next video!