Sony WF-1000XM4

The Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds are the complete package, offering first-rate sound quality, effective ANC and numerous useful features.

The Sony WF-1000XM4 is the wireless earbuds upgrade we’ve anticipated, with better aesthetics, sound, noise cancellation and battery life.

It feels a little like Sony overheard all the times I recommended the old WF-1000XM3, and took my caveats to heart. 2021’s WF-1000XM4 are smaller, lighter, sound better and last longer, and their ANC gets you so close to what Sony does with its full headphones that the reasons not to buy them are vanishingly small.

By doing pretty much everything really well, the WF-1000XM4 continue Sony’s long and proud tradition of building the best true wireless in-ear headphones you can buy.

These earbuds can’t match all the bells and whistles of Apple’s AirPods Pro, and the lack of multipoint continues to sting. But they’re in a class of their own where it counts most: noise cancellation and sound quality. You’ll be paying quite a premium to get the best of that criteria, but if you’re the sort of person who will appreciate the top-notch performance, the 1000XM4s are a worthwhile investment.

Sony has done it again, with a generational replacement truly worth the upgrade. The WF-1000XM4 true wireless headphones have all the bells and whistles and then some, coupling great sound performance with class-leading active noise-cancelling and a much smaller form factor to before.

Sony's true wireless WF-1000XM4 earphones pair excellent audio performance with class-leading active noise cancellation.

They are not inexpensive, but the amazing audio performance, crystal-clear calling support, useful technologies, very long battery life, and more make the Sony WF-1000XM4 an extremely compelling earbud solution and I highly recommend them.

No earbuds are perfect, of course, and not everybody will love the fit of the Sony WF-1000XM4 buds or be able to afford their high price. But if you're looking for great-sounding earbuds with great noise canceling, solid voice-calling capabilities and good battery life, these buds check all the boxes.

These are almost the complete package, if only the new ear tips offered a better fit. Even the best of the three pairs included in the box never felt truly comfortable. I only found relief when I grabbed the silicone tips from the M3 instead, and most people won’t have access to those. It seems so simple, but if you mess it up, a basic thing like ear tips can nearly ruin otherwise stellar earbuds.

You won’t find many true wireless earbuds that come close to matching the all-round brilliance of the Sony WF-1000XM4.

If you want the best true wireless earphones, the Sony WF-1000XM4 have to be in the discussion amongst the most popular models. It has its foibles, but it's probably the most mature stab at the true wireless design that includes ANC. Still, the price is tough to surmount.