Sony WF-1000XM6 Review: Did Sony Finally Beat AirPods Pro?

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Sony is back with the new XM6 earbuds and they're mighty impressive when it comes to noise-cancelling and audio quality. The case and general design is pleasing too, but they are on the expensive side!

The Good

1. Highly premium design
2. Brilliant sound, especially the mid-range
3. Top tier noise-cancelling

The Not So Good

1. Quite expensive
2. Transparency mode is hit or miss

• User Ratings (1 Votes)
  5.5

Need-to-knows

• Mid-ranges dealt with really nicely
• Bass feels tight and not overpowering
• Best noise-cancelling outside of AirPods Pro 3
• Transparency mode is middling

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Good news: if you’re going to buy a pair of active noise-cancelling (ANC) earbuds in 2026, you’re spoilt for choice.

Bad news: that actually makes life pretty tricky. Unless you’re welded into the Apple ecosystem, of course, in which case the AirPods Pro 2 or 3 are the obvious choice. I can’t argue with that, but I can suggest that you spend a few minutes considering one of the alternatives.

Last year, Sony released the long-awaited WH-1000XM6 headphones. This year, it’s the turn of the similarly named earbuds – the WF-1000XM6.

I reviewed the XM5 earbuds in 2023 and very much liked them. Sony has made some key changes and included a bunch of upgrades in the new version, but the big question is: should you make them your ANC earbuds?

Let’s get into it.

At a glance

Category	Specification
Microphones	4 per earbud (8 total)
Driver Size	8.4 mm
Audio Processing	32-bit
Battery Life (Earbuds)	8 hours
Battery Life (Case)	16 hours
Total Battery Life	24 hours
Quick Charge	5 minutes = 1 hour playback
Wireless Charging	Qi supported
Audio Formats / Processing	LDAC, DSEE Extreme, 360 Reality Audio
Pricing	£250 / €300 / $329.99

Specs and pricing

Rather than reeling off the entire spec list like some kind of PDF file echo chamber, I’ll pick out the XM6 specs that interested me the most.

Sony tells us that its latest ANC earbuds offer 25% better noise cancellation than the previous version and better audio quality thanks to a new chip, redesigned drivers (they’re still 8.4mm), and 32-bit signal processing. The Bluetooth connection with your phone is likely to be better, too, thanks to a 1.5 times larger antenna (not that I had any issues with the XM5 in that regard).

As before, the XM6 support 360 Reality Audio, DSEE Extreme upscaling and, of course, LDAC, which is Sony’s in-house hi-res audio codec.

Battery life is rated at 24 hours with the case (the buds will provide 8 hours on their own), and a quick 5-minute charge delivers 1 hour of playback. And, yes, the case is wireless charging-enabled.

Related: AirPods Pro 3 review

Price-wise, you’ll pay £250 in the UK, $329.99 in the US, and €300 in Europe, which makes the XM6 more expensive than the AirPods Pro 3. And that means they need to work hard to earn your purchase.

Design and comfort

Sony has made the XM6 earbuds 11% slimmer than the previous generation. They are, as a result, incredibly comfortable and easy to pop into your ears. I’m speaking for myself here, obviously, and your mileage may vary, but I know that Sony has done a lot of work to ensure as wider-fit as possible for different ear types.

They also use a memory foam-like material for the ear tips. You don’t have to squish them before placing the bud into your ear, but it does mean that the XM6 should conform nicely to your inner ear canal. Certainly, in my testing, they’re one of the most stable earbuds I’ve worn, whether I’m running, lifting weights, head-banging, or lying down.

The XM6 are a decent-looking pair of earbuds, too. They’re stemless, which means they’re very much bean-looking in shape, but they come across as smart, unmistakably Sony, and a cut above the £50 alternatives from Amazon.

The case adds to this. I’m a big fan. And if you know me, you know I’m not easily pleased when it comes to earbud and headphone cases. The XM6 case is slightly larger than the AirPods Pro 3 case, but it’s still small enough to slip into most trouser pockets and disappear, safely, without a trace in bags. Quite why the Sony logo on the earbuds faces the wrong way when they’re placed in the case is anyone’s guess, but I’m not going to mark them down for that.

Guide: Our list of the best headphones!

Controls come in the form of touch, and they’re… fine. I’ll always take capacitive or genuine buttons over touch-sensitive stuff, but I appreciate there’s less room to play with on stemless earbuds. The touch controls on the XM6 do the job and are only occasionally annoying when readjusting the earbud fit.

Sound quality

The XM6 feature a brand-new QN3e chip, 32-bit processing (the previous generation were 24-bit), and a new cone design, which is supposed to assist with bass and treble response.

Sony also called on the services of top-end audio engineers, including Grammy-winning Michael Romanowski, to tune the XM6 earbud sound. With artist names like Prince, Alicia Keys, and Lady Gaga being thrown around, it’s clear Sony means business.

It’s important to note that there’s also a 10-band EQ available for the XM6 within the Sony Sound Connect app. So, technically, you can get them sounding pretty much however you like.

Straight out of the box, the master tuning Sony has undertaken with those big-name engineers is evident. The bass is nice, tight, and unflabby, and the top-end is crisp without being annoying. There’s plenty of detail, too, and there’s all the width and depth you’d need from a pair of consumer ANC earbuds.

Best open earbuds? Read my Huawei FreeClip 2 review

Where the XM6 shine particularly bright is the mid-range. The more new consumer headphones and earbuds I test, the more I realise that this is clearly a focus for the brands behind them. Typically, the best midrange has always come from expensive headphones and those of the audiophile persuasion. Not any more, it seems; the XM6 are another example of a pair of earbuds which put vocals, guitars and everything else that should be present in a mix, in front of you, without the sound ever getting tiring or boxy.

Then, we have LDAC, which is Sony’s high-res audio codec. Use a device capable of sending that signal to the XM6s, and they open up even more. They’re brighter, wider, more engaging, and just sound even better.

In fact, I’m rapidly reaching the point where I only want to listen to my favourite music via high-res audio codecs – something that has been spurred on by a personal project that involves re-digitising my entire music collection.

(If that resonates with you – I’m in the process of launching a brand-new music community – click here to be among the first to know when it arrives!)

Noise-cancelling and calls

Given that, in my opinion, Sony wears the crown for the best ANC headphones on the market (a crown retained for at least three generations of the XM series), it would be fair to assume that it’s the same story in the earbud realm.

Not quite. You see, the problem with ANC earbuds is the fact that AirPods Pro exist. They are simply the best out there at noise cancelling and transparency, full stop. Apple is entirely justified in making that claim.

However. The XM6 are still very good at cancelling external noise. The level to which you experience it will depend largely on identifying the right-sized ear tips, but once you’ve done that, you’ll have access to nearly the best noise-cancelling on the market. There’s also a bunch of tech built in to help the XM6 buds battle with the elements and the various frequencies you’ll encounter while going about your daily life.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 review

Transparency mode? It’s ok! Nowhere near the absolute ‘levels’, as kids say, of the AirPods Pro transparency mode, but, then, nothing is. With the XM6 filtering in the outside world, you can hear your surroundings and your own voice plenty well enough. They do the job.

And on the subject of voice, you’ll need to watch my WF-1000XM6 review on YouTube to hear a sample of the mic (and a comparison with that of the AirPods Pro 3).

Conclusion

So, has Sony beaten AirPods Pro with the release of the XM6?

No.

The AirPods Pro are still the best ANC earbuds on the planet. But that feels like a lazy and biased conclusion, which completely ignores the fact that Apple’s buds are at their best when paired solely with Apple devices.

The WF-1000XM6 are more than that. They sound slightly better than the AirPods Pro 3, they have most of the same features, and the noise cancelling is still very impressive.

If you’re ensconced in the Apple ecosystem, you’re going to buy the AirPods Pro. Fair enough. But for everyone else, I strongly recommend considering Sony’s latest ANC earbud offering. They do make us wait for these updates, but it was absolutely worth it this time.