Wow, these really exceeded my expectations. I’m usually slow to buy new Apple products because mostly I feel my needs are more than met by the iPhone and MacBook Air I own. But I also find myself frequently fumbling with ugly tangled headphone cables, attaching and detaching (and sometimes losing) the obnoxious “dongle” needed to switch from my iPhone’s lightning jack to my MacBook’s headphone jack, and I find the sound quality on the standard Apple earbuds pretty bad for anything but the most utilitarian listening, e.g. a news podcast or a call to the bank. So I’m pleased to report that my AirPods have already become *incredibly* useful in the first week of use for their ability to connect almost instantly, and with fabulous intuition about when and where to connect, to either my two primary devices, transforming my day’s patchwork of Zoom sessions (I’m a therapist and a yoga teacher), phone calls, audiobooks, podcasts, and music into something much smoother and more flowing.
The features, and their usefulness, were what surprised me. When I bought these I had assumed, wrongly, that they would basically be the same as the standard Apple earbuds, but made wireless. On the contrary, the sound here is massively better, a gigantic leap from one end of the quality spectrum to the other, and the sound can be shaped in several useful ways:
1) Noise-Cancelling Mode, which instantly sucks the background noise out so well for a moment you’ll think you’ve gone deaf
2) Transparency Mode, my favorite, which beautifully mixes the original sound source (music, podcast, etc) with the sound of your own breath and the outside world. The levels are perfectly adjusted to give you an amazingly crisp listening experiencing while remaining aware of your surroundings. It’s ideal. If in a dystopian Total Recall scenario a microchip were implanted in my head to play music, this would represent the best possible audio mix.
3) Normal Mode/“Off”, which gives the unmixed, untreated effect of standard headphones, allowing the normal amount of bleed between the sound in the ears and the slightly muffled sound of the outside world. This is the only mode I have no use for, because the other two are such big improvements to me.
Turning these features on and off, pausing, or switching between music tracks works very well with the old “pinch the stem” technique that most wireless earbuds use. It’s the Morse Code style, squeeze once for this, squeeze twice for that system, and while it occasionally fails to understand what I want to do, it is much more intuitive and accurate than the few other brands I’ve tried. I’d say it following 3/4 of my commands perfectly, which for me is good enough, and again a vast improvement on other wireless earbuds I’ve tried, which usually suffer horribly in this category. I was a bit worried about this feature due to past negative experiences, but there was nothing to fear. Once again, Apple made the best.
My strongest area of constructive critique is the voice quality of a AirPod user as experienced by the listener. The sound is crystal clear, and the volume is well-controlled, but it does sound slightly sterile and thin to my ears. I am a therapist and a yoga teacher and I frequently see clients through Zoom or other streaming video, so I was hopeful that these might also double as a solution for a wireless microphone. But I find the sound of a voice over AirPods in Zoom to be too thin and papery to match the sound of a good or even mid-level wireless mic. They sound best-suited to business purposes to me. Your experience may differ! That said, these are about half the price of an average studio or wireless mic, so this is not a crime, merely a point worth noting for other users.
They are also a bit distracting visually for me, as their shape is a little chunky and protruding from the ears, and their milk-white color really pops against the skin. They are by no means huge or ridiculous, you’ll feel fine wearing them, but they are large enough that I am persistently aware of them when I see someone over video talking to me or giving some kind of instruction. It also throws me off slightly because I associate headphones with someone being unable to hear me, rather than as a way to connect with me. This is another reason that a wireless mic or a proper studio mic still has its place. That said, connecting a wireless or studio mic to literally any Apple device requires a bit of technical knowhow, plus a receiver and a collection of cables and connectors to get it to work, and with AirPods you just take them out of the case and that’s it, and you’re connected!
Great product. These are the droids you’re looking for.
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| Price | From: $249.00 | From: $519.00 | From: $79.99 | From: $139.99 |
| Ratings | (147,262) | (13,324) | (614,480) | (20,949) |
| Fit | Customizable | Customizable | Universal | Universal |
| Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode |
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| Chip | Apple H1 headphone chip | Apple H1 headphone chip (each ear cup) | Apple H1 headphone chip | Apple H1 headphone chip |
| Hey Siri | Always on | Always on | Always on | Always on |
| Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking |
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| Battery life (listening time on one charge) | Up to 4.5 hours of listening time | Up to 20 hours of listening time | Up to 5 hours of listening time | Up to 6 hours of listening time |
| Battery life (listening time with charging case) | More than 24-hours | - | More than 24-hours | Up to 30-hours |
| Bluetooth |
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| LED Charging Light Location | Front of case | - | Top of Case | Front of case |
| Qi Compatible |
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| Adaptive EQ |
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Apple Airpods Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM4
There are a billion reviews for these things so why another one? Well, today I'm hoping to help those trying to decide between these or the Sony WF-1000XM4 in ear noise cancelling buds (see pics). Both are top of the line in terms of noise cancelling.I love love love Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) headphones. My at-home go to cans are the Sony XM4, with a XM3 as backup. I also own and love my Bose QC 35 II. I've lived with ANC cans on my head for the better part of 5 years. While I realize the sound quality for music is often a little compromised, for non-audiophiles it's usually more than good enough IMO.But as awesome as the full sized Sony and Bose cans are, when I leave the home I prefer not to look like someone from the 1980s, so I pop in either my Apple Air Pods Pro or my Sony WF-1000XM4 buds. I need good ANC but also comfortable but SECURE fit, good track controls, portability, and decent battery life.So which is better?COMMONALITIESStuff both the Airpod Pro and Sony have in common:- both have decent ANC- both have a great case which can charge the buds while on the go- both have reasonably good audio quality- both allow for being connected to multiple devices at the same time- both can turn off when taken out of the ears (except Airpod can only do this with iPhone/iPad)- both can start/stop tracks by touch- both cases can do wireless charging- both let you see the battery levels for each bud- both can be set to turn ANC off, and both have "transparency mode" where the mics stop canceling noise and actually amplify your surroundings so you can hear better without having to remove the buds- NEITHER can increase or decrease volume by touching (!) . Airpods require you say the "Hey Siri"-command ("hey Siri, increase volume by 20 percent") , or fiddling with your phone. For the Sony you'll need to go straight to your device, or set your chosen voice assistant to do it for you via the Sony Headphones app (not tested).The Airpods Pro and Sony WF have more in common than not. And the few differences may or may not be big enough for you to write home about. Let's have a look:ANC - Active Noise Cancelling(If you need details exactly how ANC works, please google it as I don't have the space here to explain this.)SONY wins here IMO. Both the Airpods Pro and the XM4 are almost equally good at reducing much of traffic, air conditioner and other steady noises. Sony might be a little bit better, but that's subjective.However, for voices (playground, restaurants, etc), and other non-static noise, the Sony do offer noticeably better noise cancelling in my opinion. It's not a HUGE difference in most situations but I did notice it on occasion and other reviewers seem to agree.COMFORT and FITAirpod Pro wins here (for me). In fact the fit is probably the single biggest fail with the Sony buds. Have a look at my pics and notice how much bigger the Sony buds are. Now remember the whole thing (the big outer part) has to sit between your ears' conch and antihelix, and the actual sound producing part of course goes inside your ear canal. This means the weight of the outer part is dragging on your inner ear quite a bit if not balanced correctly. Since the Sony are so bulky, there's a good chance that parts of it won't ever sit properly in your ears and try to pull out the tips from your ear canal.Critics would say to just "put them in properly" but this is surprisingly hard to do with the XM4 buds.You'll also see comments that the way the Sony buds curve is better for ears. IDK, I'm not feeling it. And I'm pretty sure I don't have freak ears. I've never had problems fitting and balancing any buds like the Sony XM4.The Sony units have a much larger and honestly rather uncomfortably shaped body that houses the ANC chip and microphone.Even when properly placed in the ears, they stick out.Weight distribution always seems off to me. I'm a tall man with average sized ears, and it's a chore to make the Sony buds fit comfortably. Once they're in, they often fall out or FEEL like they're about to fall out. This is because the size and weight of the outer parts of the XM4 buds is rather high, at least compared to the Airpods Pro.Another part of this is the size of the ear tips (see below).To get the Sony buds in my ear I have to use both hands: one to tug and pull the ears, the other to wedge and move the buds into place. If I don't get it juuuuuust right, they are prone to fall out. Very annoying.Airpods Pro: one hand, quick move and they're in - and stay in. I have more confidence in that the buds will stay in during movement compared to the Sony XM4. Somehow the weight, size, and ear tips all just work better for me. Your ears may vary.Side note: the part that goes INSIDE your ear canal has a removable and replaceable ear tips. Those tips come in several sizes and most people find one that fits. Somehow none of the 3 that Sony provides really fit me, but the "Large" are the closest ones. Since they're very tight on me, they provide a better passive noise cancelling. But they're quite uncomfortable. The other 2 are just too small for me. They're also sweaty and pick up lint and dust and (icky alert!) ear wax easily. The fit really matters with these buds, especially considering that they have to compensate somewhat for the extra bulk and weight of the overall unit.Soundguys claims the Sony have a better fit but I have to disagree. And I really do love Sony headphones in general.The Airpod Pro on the other hand come with cleaner and better fitting ear tips. They have a neat magnetic thing where you "clip on" the tips. It's a strong connection and yet makes it easier to replace them if you need to. They're also easier to clean (bye ear wax!) Since the buds aren't as bulky or heavy, it feels like the tips stay in the ear canal better. I can use the Medium size tips and they fit perfectly.BATTERY LIFETIE. Assuming you have ANC on all the time, and have the case with you (the case houses a battery which in turn can charge the ear buds batteries), you'll get about the same play time out of either set. Some sites say the Sony get longer playback before needing to be charged, others say the opposite. MY experience is that both have about the same playback time, and both have another 18 or so hours of juice from the case. Again, your use of ANC and other factors change these numbers somewhat.CHARGINGSony wins here because you can charge the case using USB-C cables - much faster than Apple's slower Lightning. In my experience, the case charges up about twice as fast as the Airpods Pro case.I have not tested wireless charging for either.SOFTWAREI've not tested Sony's Headphones app much except I downloaded it on both my iPhone, iPad, and Android phone. It works flawlessly on all devices for me. You can change some parameters but overall it's probably not something you'll need to use a lot. I didn't, hence no further ratingsApple Aiprods Pro work perfectly with iOS devices right out of the box. Pairing is super fast, and all settings can be changed within iOS directly.OTHERI find that both connect to all my devices just fine, Bluetooth connectivity is strong on both, and the distance between ear buds and device is about the same before I get connectivity problems.I do like the seamless switching between iPad, iPhone and Macbook Pro that the Airpods Pro can pull off. It's almost instant and just works - IF you're on iOS or Mac OSThe Sony also work on all devices I tried them on but switching between them is not always as seamless or fast.I HATE that I can't change volume directly on the buds on either of these. Sony has these awful "touch" pads on the side and I find myself constantly tapping and re-tapping to start or stop the audio because I sometimes miss hitting that tiny spot where you're supposed to touch.The Airpods have a dedicated little clicky button that just works more reliably in my experience.You WILL lose one or both of your ear buds at some point. Death, taxes, and losing ear buds. It's a law. And I love how Apple implemented the FIND MY option here. If you lose your Airbuds Pro, simply make them sound an alarm and use the GPS feature on your phone to find them. It works really well.I didn't find a way to do this on the Sony buds.SOUND QUALITYThis one's a bit subjective. I find the Sony to be a tad better, with a little more bass and oomph yet they never sound muddy to me. The difference isn't massive and audiophiles probably have their own overly persnickety opinions about either option.FINAL WORDSThere are several things I either didn't test or don't want to spend time talking about. The apps (equalizer options, voice assistant options, etc) are something you'll need to figure out for yourself if that's important. For me, the default settings are sufficient for both the Sony and the Airpods Pro.The biggest takeaway for me is that the Airpods Pro fit my ears a lot better and feel more "secure" in my ears than the Sony. The Sony have better noise cancelling.You'll find online reviews that claim the opposite, other reviews that agree with my findings. You really need to figure it out yourself.One final suggestion is that if you primarily or solely use Apple devices, your better bet is probably to invest in Airpods Pro - the seamless switching is excellent.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2022
Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2022
For reference I purchased the item 'Wireless Earbuds made in China' E10 $20 after coupon (left, white, smallest case), Air Pods Pro $175 (2nd left, white), Pixel Buds Pro $200 (2nd right, black), Bose SoundSport $109 (right, black, wired). All tested using a Pixel 6 to play the music.
I received Google Pixel Buds for my birthday this month. I will say they had excellent touch controls, better than Apple's and Google assistant was always on point. I'd imagine best wireless battery life too, marginally better than Apple. Probably the best noise cancelling I've ever had plus transparency mode is nice and easy to switch between. Even better than my, albeit older, Bose Quiet Comfort 25 over the ear wired headphones. Just can't stand how quickly these come out of my ears, the fit is like the tip of an adult thumb to the first knuckle shoved vertically in your ear. Also noted as the best bass. Pixel buds did connect easily to a Pixel 6 phone, a littleore difficult to connect to a laptop but they did.
I bought my wife AirPods Pro for her birthday earlier this year. AirPods are definitely more comfortable than the E10 knock offs, but E10 are close with minimal activity. Airpods aren't perfect, and will still fall out running or jumping for kids... I'd rather drop the E10s for the price. Sound quality is better than Google but not as good as my Bose, not as much bass as the pixel buds but Apple has far superior overall sound quality than the Pixel Buds. The touch controls do work, I do have some issues squeezing the right spot but I'm getting older and have fatter fingers than when I was in my 20s. I found Pixel Buds touch controls to be a little better. My wife uses these with her laptop (windows) at work for meetings more than her phone. They connected easier with her iPhone 13, but I did connect them to a Pixel 6 and her laptop fairly easily. AirPods charging case feels the most durable with a metal hinge, plus wireless charging works good. Noise cancelling is good and it has transparency mode, I think Google may be a tad better.
Bose SoundSport have the BEST fit of any ear buds I've ever worn. So tight, I've actually pulled the cord loose from my phone instead of out of both my ears. Also the most comfortable since it's all a rubberish material touching your ear that sort of forms to your ear. Plus Bose have the best overall sound, but AirPods are very close. I will admit pixel buds have the most bass of any of these 4. Actually these 2015 released ear buds have the weakest bass of any of the 4 being reviewed. These are wired and still expensive, and now hard to find reasonably priced in 2022. I have used them hard and they keep on trucking. I will continue to use them if the battery is dead in my E10s. More and more devices are lacking an auxiliary port to connect to, I currently have an adapter for auxiliary to USB-C to use with a Pixel 6 phone, which also does work on my laptop.
These E10s have better overall sound than Pixel Buds Pro. More bass than my (very old) Bose SoundSport headphones. Smallest charging case for wireless, also cheapest feel and the hinge wouldn't stay open when laid down. Touch controls also suck the most, I did get volume up to work, sometimes volume down. Non existent noise cancelling. Only says noise cancelling in the name on the manual, no where in the manual. Mic must work fine, Google assistant heard me clear. I haven't tested a call. These are the only headphones to come with a charging cord, no brick to plug into the wall, but USB-C to USB. My Pixel 6 charger with the official Google brick did charge this.
Bottom line. I'm returning $200 Pixel Buds Pro for the $20 E10s... And I will settle for my wired Bose if these don't have battery. I couldn't justify buying currently priced $179 AirPods at the time of this review for my Pixel 6. Plus my wife won't let me keep her birthday gift.
Time will tell if the upcoming Pixel watch is a success or a failure. I may be converting to Apple if the watch flops. I can't stand my Fitbit versa 2 compared to any apple watch (series 1 included).
I received Google Pixel Buds for my birthday this month. I will say they had excellent touch controls, better than Apple's and Google assistant was always on point. I'd imagine best wireless battery life too, marginally better than Apple. Probably the best noise cancelling I've ever had plus transparency mode is nice and easy to switch between. Even better than my, albeit older, Bose Quiet Comfort 25 over the ear wired headphones. Just can't stand how quickly these come out of my ears, the fit is like the tip of an adult thumb to the first knuckle shoved vertically in your ear. Also noted as the best bass. Pixel buds did connect easily to a Pixel 6 phone, a littleore difficult to connect to a laptop but they did.
I bought my wife AirPods Pro for her birthday earlier this year. AirPods are definitely more comfortable than the E10 knock offs, but E10 are close with minimal activity. Airpods aren't perfect, and will still fall out running or jumping for kids... I'd rather drop the E10s for the price. Sound quality is better than Google but not as good as my Bose, not as much bass as the pixel buds but Apple has far superior overall sound quality than the Pixel Buds. The touch controls do work, I do have some issues squeezing the right spot but I'm getting older and have fatter fingers than when I was in my 20s. I found Pixel Buds touch controls to be a little better. My wife uses these with her laptop (windows) at work for meetings more than her phone. They connected easier with her iPhone 13, but I did connect them to a Pixel 6 and her laptop fairly easily. AirPods charging case feels the most durable with a metal hinge, plus wireless charging works good. Noise cancelling is good and it has transparency mode, I think Google may be a tad better.
Bose SoundSport have the BEST fit of any ear buds I've ever worn. So tight, I've actually pulled the cord loose from my phone instead of out of both my ears. Also the most comfortable since it's all a rubberish material touching your ear that sort of forms to your ear. Plus Bose have the best overall sound, but AirPods are very close. I will admit pixel buds have the most bass of any of these 4. Actually these 2015 released ear buds have the weakest bass of any of the 4 being reviewed. These are wired and still expensive, and now hard to find reasonably priced in 2022. I have used them hard and they keep on trucking. I will continue to use them if the battery is dead in my E10s. More and more devices are lacking an auxiliary port to connect to, I currently have an adapter for auxiliary to USB-C to use with a Pixel 6 phone, which also does work on my laptop.
These E10s have better overall sound than Pixel Buds Pro. More bass than my (very old) Bose SoundSport headphones. Smallest charging case for wireless, also cheapest feel and the hinge wouldn't stay open when laid down. Touch controls also suck the most, I did get volume up to work, sometimes volume down. Non existent noise cancelling. Only says noise cancelling in the name on the manual, no where in the manual. Mic must work fine, Google assistant heard me clear. I haven't tested a call. These are the only headphones to come with a charging cord, no brick to plug into the wall, but USB-C to USB. My Pixel 6 charger with the official Google brick did charge this.
Bottom line. I'm returning $200 Pixel Buds Pro for the $20 E10s... And I will settle for my wired Bose if these don't have battery. I couldn't justify buying currently priced $179 AirPods at the time of this review for my Pixel 6. Plus my wife won't let me keep her birthday gift.
Time will tell if the upcoming Pixel watch is a success or a failure. I may be converting to Apple if the watch flops. I can't stand my Fitbit versa 2 compared to any apple watch (series 1 included).
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Top reviews from other countries
Eduardo Vazquez
Son los originales y si tienes IPhone son bastante funcionales
Reviewed in Mexico on October 25, 2022Arminder
Amazing ear pods! Apple bringing out amazing products as always
Reviewed in Canada on July 16, 2023
