Sony WF-1000Xm4 wireless earbuds review: Best noise cancelling

They’re being touted as the best earbuds on the market for good reason but there’s one annoying thing that happens every time you use them.

The WF-1000Xm4 are Sony’s latest truly wireless earbuds. We haven’t seen a pair of these for a couple of years now but Sony has certainly made an impact with their latest release, as they’re being touted as one of the best wireless earbuds on the market.

Design

Originally when I got these I didn’t love the design but I must admit they’re unique and eye-catching and I like that they’re similarly styled to Sony’s WH-1000Xm4 headphones. To me, the shape of the buds is somewhat bulky and I wish they sat more flush in my ear, however, for people with larger ears (when worn) they won’t appear that way.

RELATED: New phone rivals Samsung, Apple

Elly Awesome reviews Sony WF-1000Xm4 wireless earbuds.

There are two additional earbud tips included in the box. I’ve been using the WF-1000Xm4’s with the smallest earbud tips, which make the buds fit quite securely. They’re made out of a foam material that reminds me of earplugs (spongy memory foam-like texture), rather than the common silicone earbud tip.

This seems to give this product a considerable point of difference, aiding in their incredible noise cancellation abilities, comfort and ability to stay in even when subjected to vigorous movement.

RELATED: New phone has one thing missing

The Sony buds come with different earbud tips.

Noise cancellation

Their active noise cancellation (ANC) is so good that as soon as you put them in your ears, even with no music playing, outside sounds simply melt away. Of course, this is variable depending on the sounds and your environment but generally speaking they are incredibly impressive. For example, when you’re near the kitchen with someone frying food in a frying pan, or commuting in noisy traffic, these sounds become incredibly dull or nearly unnoticeable.

Alternatively there’s an ambient sound mode that allows you to hear sounds around you more clearly. This is great if you want to remain alert when walking around busy streets, or if you’re expecting a tap on the shoulder from time to time. In this mode surrounding sounds don’t sound 100 per cent natural, ie. sounds won’t have the exact same clarity they’d have if you didn’t have any earbuds in but the volume feels just right.

Features

The WF-1000Xm4s have great touch controls. Hold your finger down on the centre of both buds to start bluetooth pairing, once connected tap once on the right earbud to play or pause, two taps for the next track, three taps to go to the previous track, a long tap to activate voice assistant. On the left earbud tap once to toggle between activate noise cancellation or ambient sound mode.

RELATED: Crazy selfie feature of $1800 phone

The Sony WF-1000Xm4 wireless earbuds have great touch controls.

You can also do a long tap and hold on the left earbud to turn on quick attention mode which basically turns the buds from noise cancelling to ambient mode while your finger is on the bud. It’s a nice and quick way to hear someone clearly who’s trying to get your attention in a spur of the moment.

It’s also worth noting that you can fully customise these tap gestures in the Sony Headphones Connect App along with access to an equaliser and the ability to toggle on or off additional features such as the speak to chat function. And I can’t forget that these buds have an IPX4 water resistance rating so rain or sweat shouldn’t be a problem.

Sound quality

When it comes to sound quality, look no further as these buds produce rich and punchy bass lines, excellent mid-range sounds and delightful detail all around. Everyone seems to agree that Sony has knocked it out of the park on this one, especially when you have the ability to adjust the sound quality to your liking.

The only disappointment here is that the in-built microphone quality isn’t great. When using these on a call, although the microphone quality compares well enough to most buds on the market, they can make you sound a bit like you’re broadcasting your voice over a tinny old radio. This is still a department where many wireless earbuds are struggling.

Battery Life

The case that the WF-1000Xm4s come in recharges the earbuds and it is slim, lightweight and pocketable, especially compared to the previous version of these buds.

The battery life of the buds can last around eight hours and the case offers another two additional charges, meaning you can get somewhere around 24 hours of playback on these.

You can get around 24 hours of battery life with the earbuds.

Additionally, if you listen with noise cancelling turned off you’re able to get up to 36 hours of playback. Not to mention, a five minute charge gets you 60 minutes of playback. Incredible.

Worth the price?

The biggest cons in my opinion is the average microphone quality and every time you go to use these buds, and put them in your ears, the device audibly tells you the bud’s battery level. This is arguably handy but it also sort of interrupts your flow when using the buds, especially if you chuck them in your ears to answer a phone call because it talks over the person on the call for the first five seconds.

Regardless, they’re an excellent pair of true wireless headphones. The sound is amazing, they’re super customisable, battery life is incredible, and they’re packed with awesome features.

They are incredibly expensive but for $389 if you’re ready to invest in reliable, high quality earbuds with some of the best active noise cancelling available, they’re a great purchase.

Elly Awesome is an Aussie tech and lifestyle vlogger | @ellyawwesome | YouTube