The Sony WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds have some pedigree to live up to. Named – and designed, for that matter – to draw obvious connections with Sony's WH-1000XM3 headphones, the promise is industry-leading active noise cancellation in a Bluetooth earbud, without stinting on musical performance.

Active noise cancellation works exceptionally well; Audio quality is great; EQ adjustment allows for musical tweaking; Battery life is excellent

No waterproofing; Frequent fliers may miss a cable option; No wireless charging; No on-earbud volume controls

Sony's inaugural pair of true wireless earbuds, the WF-1000X, didn't stand out among the competition when they hit the market in 2017. They were plagued by some of the common stumbles of first-generation earbuds with no cable between them - connection dropouts, audio delay when watching video, and...

Noise cancellation in a tiny package; Excellent sound quality; Classy; sleek look; Lengthy battery life for true wireless earbuds

No sweat or water resistance; Can only pair to one device at a time; No wireless charging; Can't control volume from earbuds

I would have had a review of the WF-1000XM3s up sooner, but they arrived while I was traveling. That was a bummer for two reasons. First and most obviously is the fact that I hate being late with a review.

Solid noise-canceling; great sound

Bulky case; slight connectivity glitches

Sony took two years to improve on its first ANC-sporting true wireless earbuds and that time was clearly well spent. Just about everything has been enhanced in this updated generation.

Impressive adaptive noise-cancellation; Superb audio performance; Great battery life; Comfortable fit

No splash- or sweat-resistance; No aptX support

Top notch design, class-leading noise-cancelling and decent battery life make the Sony WF-1000XM3 True Wireless Headphones the earbuds to beat.

Efficient noise-cancellation; Inconspicuous looks; Great fun to listen too

Struggle with in-flight noise; No LDAC support; Not suitable for sports

Despite some small drawbacks, the Sony WF-1000XM3 is among the best true wireless headphones of 2019.

The WF-1000XM3 sound excellent for true-wireless headphones, with a premium look and feel; They have effective active noise cancellation, decent battery life and USB-C charging (with a quick-charge feature); Touch controls

Not sweat-resistant; not a discreet looking as some competing models; call performance could be a little better

The WF-1000XM3 are a groundbreaking pair of fully wireless earbuds.

Awesome sound and call quality; Fantastic battery life; Great noise canceling; Compelling app-based features; Comfortable fit

No water-resistance; No onboard volume controls; A bit bulky

Sony's true wireless WF-1000XM3 earphones deliver excellent noise cancellation and powerful audio performance with the ability to adjust the EQ. The Google Assistant inclusion seems like an afterthought, and not a terribly unique one at that.

Excellent noise cancellation; Strong audio performance, with adjustable EQ

On-ear controls can be a pain to operate; Half-baked Google Assistant implementation

Sony's latest true wireless earbuds are its best so far. The WF-1000XM3 covers all the bases with ambient sound and active noise cancellation, and that's on top of audio profiles and a custom EQ inside its headphones app. For $230, these are one hell of a deal.