3 reasons to buy the Sony WF-1000XM4 instead of the AirPods Pro 2

[iMore.com]

The AirPods Pro 2 are very good - but the Sony WF-1000XM4 might be even better - long name aside. Full story from the iMore Blog...

 

[Up_And_Away]

According to the article, why the Sonys are better:
1. "they sound a lot more fun". OMG. Sony and AirPods Pro 2, along with Bose QCII, sound excellent for TWEB. But the sound will have individual taste. But more "Fun"? OMG.
2. Aesthetics: "the Sonys look mad" (seriously, that was actually written). You do realize that nobody sees much of the aesthetics of stemless in ear TWEBs unless they see the wearer at a profile, right? But at a profile oh these look "mad!".
3. Price: with a heavy Black Friday discount they are cheaper than the AirPods Pro 2. Ok, this is a tangible reason.

 

[FFR]

Even with all the reasons listed; would still pick up an AirPods Pro 2 over Sony headphones.

Sony cannot compete with apples spatial audio.

 

[imwjl]

The recent years Sony headphone and earbud products have been really good. Mine are aging and one of my kids has the current flagship headphones. He works at BestBuy and did testing of competing products to conclude superior sound and noise cancellation.

That said, Apple products have the edge for spatial audio and hearing aid mode. I realize not everyone values those two as much as I do.

 

[Up_And_Away]

Even with all the reasons listed; would still pick up an AirPods Pro 2 over Sony headphones.

Sony cannot compete with apples spatial audio.

Due respect to the article's writer but the reasons were written were lame. Now even the cost, AirPods Pro 2 (APP2) were just on sale for 200$.
Audio testing is one of my go to tech channels, one's with controlled testing (one site has controlled testing Aidoo examples that allow head to head listening -- needs to be listed to with the TWEBs in your ears). Noting these are different from those channels that are clickbait opinions that ramble on about in ear comfort and music sound "quality". These two categories are so subjective to each individual, it is likely clickbait if they speak more than a few moments.
Spatial is really good on APP2 though it is subjective. To help out the writer, the APP2 advantages that are less/not subjective:
- transparency
- mic pickup. The samples don't lie, phone calls in quiet environments APP2 give a clearer truer representation of the voice. Sony note: Phone calls in a noisy place, Sony may have a slight edge.
- ANC (purely blocking of environmental noise). Again the tests don't lie. APP2 better than Sony (Bose QCII probably are slightly better than APP2 from a pure decibel level of ambient noise heard).
- Size. Again APP2, the case is smaller (pretty much than all TWEBs) and actually has a chance to fit in the 5th/coin pocket of jeans.
- FindMy
- Audible case alerts for low battery and connected to charging.
- MargSafe charging
- Battery - APP2 case gives more hours than Sony.

To give Sony its outright win props:
- Sony just gave multipoint in its latest update. But in an all Apple environment, there is no easier switching between iPhone, iPad, Mac, AppleTV.
- Sony Linkbuds app is superior. IMHO Apple needs to give some more love to the APP app.

 

[Just_Me_D]

Due respect to the article's writer but the reasons were written were lame. Now even the cost, AirPods Pro 2 (APP2) were just on sale for 200$.
Audio testing is one of my go to tech channels, one's with controlled testing (one site has controlled testing Aidoo examples that allow head to head listening -- needs to be listed to with the TWEBs in your ears). Noting these are different from those channels that are clickbait opinions that ramble on about in ear comfort and music sound "quality". These two categories are so subjective to each individual, it is likely clickbait if they speak more than a few moments.
Spatial is really good on APP2 though it is subjective. To help out the writer, the APP2 advantages that are less/not subjective:
- transparency
- mic pickup. The samples don't lie, phone calls in quiet environments APP2 give a clearer truer representation of the voice. Sony note: Phone calls in a noisy place, Sony may have a slight edge.
- ANC (purely blocking of environmental noise). Again the tests don't lie. APP2 better than Sony (Bose QCII probably are slightly better than APP2 from a pure decibel level of ambient noise heard).
- Size. Again APP2, the case is smaller (pretty much than all TWEBs) and actually has a chance to fit in the 5th/coin pocket of jeans.
- FindMy
- Audible case alerts for low battery and connected to charging.
- MargSafe charging
- Battery - APP2 case gives more hours than Sony.

To give Sony its outright win props:
- Sony just gave multipoint in its latest update. But in an all Apple environment, there is no easier switching between iPhone, iPad, Mac, AppleTV.
- Sony Linkbuds app is superior. IMHO Apple needs to give some more love to the APP app.

What are TWEBs?

 

[Ledsteplin]

Due respect to the article's writer but the reasons were written were lame. Now even the cost, AirPods Pro 2 (APP2) were just on sale for 200$.
Audio testing is one of my go to tech channels, one's with controlled testing (one site has controlled testing Aidoo examples that allow head to head listening -- needs to be listed to with the TWEBs in your ears). Noting these are different from those channels that are clickbait opinions that ramble on about in ear comfort and music sound "quality". These two categories are so subjective to each individual, it is likely clickbait if they speak more than a few moments.
Spatial is really good on APP2 though it is subjective. To help out the writer, the APP2 advantages that are less/not subjective:
- transparency
- mic pickup. The samples don't lie, phone calls in quiet environments APP2 give a clearer truer representation of the voice. Sony note: Phone calls in a noisy place, Sony may have a slight edge.
- ANC (purely blocking of environmental noise). Again the tests don't lie. APP2 better than Sony (Bose QCII probably are slightly better than APP2 from a pure decibel level of ambient noise heard).
- Size. Again APP2, the case is smaller (pretty much than all TWEBs) and actually has a chance to fit in the 5th/coin pocket of jeans.
- FindMy
- Audible case alerts for low battery and connected to charging.
- MargSafe charging
- Battery - APP2 case gives more hours than Sony.

To give Sony its outright win props:
- Sony just gave multipoint in its latest update. But in an all Apple environment, there is no easier switching between iPhone, iPad, Mac, AppleTV.
- Sony Linkbuds app is superior. IMHO Apple needs to give some more love to the APP app.

Thing is, the vast majority of headphones/buds/pods users care mostly about comfort and great sound. Maybe not for you, but for many users, the Sony are the better choice.

 

[Up_And_Away]

What are TWEBs?

True Wireless Ear Buds. It seems to be no longer in common usage but I think it is the acronym that best describes smart wireless ear buds like AirPods.

 

[Just_Me_D]

True Wireless Ear Buds. It seems to be no longer in common usage but I think it is the acronym that best describes smart wireless ear buds like AirPods.

Oh okay. I appreciate the follow up.

 

[Up_And_Away]

Thing is, the vast majority of headphones/buds/pods users care mostly about comfort and great sound. Maybe not for you, but for many users, the Sony are the better choice.

I don’t disagree a lot of users are looking for comfort and “good” sound. On that last point my experience is users don’t find “great” sound important. TBH they really don’t know what great sound is. As long as it is clear and they can turn it up loud.
Where we disagree is that for “many” users Sony is the better choice. For Android, yes. For iPhone users, no, Sony is not the better choice. That’s quantifiable. Putting sound quality aside (they both have top level sound) and comfort (this is subjective and will differ from user to user), the list I put forth with the Apple eco just isn’t matched by Sony. The same users who want comfort and quality sound also want simplicity, APP2 are the simpler device for iPhone, period. TWEBS are small and by their nature get misplaced. Those same users do want the ability of find their TWEBS. Those users also want MagSafe/magnetic charging, they want audible alerts that battery is low or they are engaged on the charger. Regular users want these regular feature actions.
But the Sonys are a top level TWEB. If they are best for you then that’s the most important item.