Apple AirPods Max vs. Sony WH-1000xM4: Which One Will Prevail? Apple’s foray into noise-canceling headphones, AirPods Max, put it in direct competition with Sony WH-1000xM4, our favorite headphones overall.
The obvious difference on paper is the price – the WH-1000xM4 listing for $ 349.99 and can often be found for less. the AirPods Max It walked out the door with a staggering $ 549 price tag. We will have to wait for the AirPods Max to be available before we can test whether they are worth it, we can compare the two earbuds based on what we know.
This AirPods Max vs Sony WH-1000xM4 showdown looks at how the two match up on price, design, sound quality, active noise cancellation, and battery life. Do we think the AirPods Max can dethrone the WH-1000xM4 as our pick for best headphones?
AirPods Max vs. Sony WH-1000xM4: price
I think you can guess where this one lands. When Apple announced the $ 549 price for the AirPods Max, there was a gasp on social media. The high cost puts the AirPods Max at a level of gold-eared audiophile headphones, and they’re far more expensive than any earbuds we recommend. Given Apple’s history and already long shipping dates, don’t wait AirPods Deals soon.
Sony’s WH-1000xM4 listing for $ 349.99, on par with another great model, the Bose 700 noise canceling headphones. But you can often find the WH-1000xM4 for sale. At the time of writing, you can get them at Best Buy for $ 278.
That’s almost half the price of the AirPods Max, so Apple’s headphones will have to be groundbreaking to guarantee that difference.
AirPods Max vs. Sony WH-1000xM4: Design
The AirPods Max feature curved rectangular cans that stand out from the crowd. Available in space gray, silver, green, sky blue and pink, you can match your headphones to your personal style. The cans are made of aluminum and have a mesh canopy on the headband.
The WH-1000xM4 is pretty serious in comparison. Available in silver or black, they have a soft rubber finish and a padded headband. Sony headphones are less about style and more about function.
Sony uses touch panels and gestures to allow you to control the WH-1000xM4. For example, tap once to play or pause and swipe up to increase the volume. The AirPods Max don’t have touch controls, but they do feature a digital crown borrowed from the Apple Watch so you can do those things and activate Siri. Meanwhile, the WH-1000xM4 can be configured to work with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.
AirPods Max vs Sony WH-1000xM4: sound quality and active noise cancellation
We love how good the WH-1000xM4 sounds. Sony headphones offer excellent detail and powerful bass, and work well for a variety of musical styles, from hip-hop to jazz.
We haven’t tested Apple AirPods Max, but initial reviews suggest they’ll be a pleasure to hear too. Inside you’ll find 40mm drivers, 9 microphones, and Apple’s H1 chip for computational audio performance. In addition to active noise cancellation, AirPods Max have Adaptive EQ, a transparency mode, and the Spatial Audio feature that is currently in AirPods Pro. Using the built-in gyroscope and accelerometer to measure your ear location, Spatial Audio can create an immersive sound experience.
The WH-1000xM4 also has 40mm drivers, along with two microphones in each ear and proprietary dual noise sensor technology that works with the HD Noise Canceling Processor QN1 chip to analyze and filter ambient sounds. The result is excellent active noise cancellation, on par with Bose.
The only thing that doesn’t drive us crazy about the WH-1000xM4 is the call quality, which is fine at best. Since Apple’s AirPods Pro are known to handle calls well, we expect the AirPods Max to do the same.
AirPods Max vs Sony WH-1000xM4: battery life
The WH-1000xM4 has an excellent battery life of 30 hours with active noise cancellation on and 38 without it, and our tests show those numbers to be accurate. The new AirPods Max is supposed to get 20 hours of playtime on a full charge (it’s the same as the Bose 700). Those extra 10 hours of power for Sony headphones are definitely worth noting.
AirPods Max charges via the Lightning cable, while the WH-1000xM4 uses USB. Apple says you can listen for 1.5 hours on a five minute charge. Sony offers an optional AC adapter that can give you 5 hours of power with just 10 minutes of charging.
AirPods Max vs Sony WH-1000xM4: Outlook
We are excited to see how AirPods Max really performs in the tests. On paper, they’re an interesting choice among active noise-canceling wireless earbuds. But that price!
It will be hard to beat the performance of the Sony WH-1000xM4 for the price you can get it at. Excellent sound quality, noise cancellation, and battery life put the WH-1000xM4 well ahead of the game. Apple has a lot to prove to make the AirPods Max worth it.