I tried Apple's new AirPods Pro and Sony's popular 'AirPods killer' earbuds, and if you care about sound quality, the winner is clear
The best sound quality: Sony WF-1000XM3.
The AirPods Pro are good, but the Sonys sound richer, have more bass, more clarity, and are more impressive overall.
The best noise-cancelling: Sony WF-1000XM3.
The AirPods Pro have surprisingly good noise-cancelling that should sufficiently hush the world around you. If you should go for the AirPods Pro, you won't be unhappy.
But earbud to earbud, the Sonys do a slightly better job at silencing certain noises. They have an earplug design that helps dull unwanted sound.
The best battery life: Sony WF-1000XM3.
The Sony earbuds have about six hours of battery life with noise-cancelling versus the 4.5 hours on the AirPods Pro (also with noise-cancelling).
The most secure fit: Sony WF-1000XM3.
The AirPods Pro with an in-ear design are the first Apple earphones that actually fit my ear, but the Sony's ear plug design makes for a more secure fit.
The most comfortable fit: Apple AirPods Pro.
They're so light and comfortable you can easily forget they're there.
The best for working out: Apple AirPods Pro.
The AirPods Pro are sweat- and water-resistant, while the Sonys are not, despite their more secure fit. Based on that feature alone, the AirPods Pro are better for working out.
Charging case: Apple AirPods Pro.
The Sony charging case is significantly larger than the AirPods Pro case, and more difficult to slip into your pocket.
The AirPods Pro charging case also supports wireless charging, while the Sony's chunky charging case doesn't.
Ease of use for iPhone users: Apple AirPods Pro.
All the controls and customization features for the AirPods Pro are built into iOS, and they're not available to Android users, as there's no official AirPods Pro app that Android users can download.
The AirPods Pro also have some extra features like "Find AirPods" that let you track a misplaced AirPods. They're compatible with Siri, if you use Apple's smart voice assistant. And AirPods Pro only show their battery life on iOS devices, not on Android devices.
Ease of use for Android users: Tied.
The Sonys have the best overall compatibility with both iOS and Android devices. They work like most Bluetooth earphones, and they also show you the battery life on Android devices. The Sony Headphones app gives you a wide variety of controls and customization for functions on the Sony earbuds on both ecosystems.
With that said, there are some third-party apps that supposedly offer some Apple-like settings for Android devices.
Otherwise, while AirPods pair more seamlessly with iPhones, both pairs can work like regular Bluetooth earphones.
The best design: Up to you.
Unlike other aspects like sound quality and noise-cancelling, design is subjective, and I'm not going to tell you what design you like.
With that said, I can tell you that both earbuds are incredibly small, but the AirPods Pro design is iconic and more noticeable, and the buds' white color theme tells everyone around you that you spent around $250. The Sonys are more subtle.
The best price: Tied.
At MSRP, Apple's AirPods Pro go for $250, but you can find them for less. They're $235 on Amazon at the time of writing, for example.
As for the Sonys, the MSRP is $230, and you don't often see them discounted.
So, one could argue that both earbuds have pretty similar price tags.
The final verdict: Anyone who values sound quality, whether they're on iPhone or Android, should choose the Sonys.
The AirPods Pro definitively give iPhones users a better overall experience. The sound is good enough, the noise cancelling is great, the design is iconic, and the features are plentiful and unique to Apple's ecosystem.
And for fitness people, whether they're on Android or iOS, the best bet are Apple's AirPods Pro. That's because the AirPods Pro are sweat- and water-resistant, while the Sonys aren't.
But iPhone users who want the best sound quality should decidedly opt for the Sony WF-1000XM3 ear buds. The sound quality is that good. The AirPods Pro sound better than regular AirPods, but I enjoyed my music more with the Sonys.
iPhone users who go for the Sonys may miss out on some features like easier pairing, Find AirPods, and other little tidbits that makes the Apple ecosystem great. But at the end of the day, the Sonys are still Bluetooth headphones that connect to iPhones, and they offer significantly better sound quality.
As for Android users looking for an excellent pair of wireless noise-cancelling earbuds, the Sony are in a league of their own. That's partly because there aren't many other wireless noise-cancelling earbuds out there to chose from, but also because the Sonys are so good.
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