A pair of true wireless earbuds — especially premium ones — need to have almost everything going for it to win over price-conscious consumers. Sony with its WF-1000XM3 was a favourite with many tech experts, they were even said to be better than the AirPods Pro — for many the benchmark, at least...

Great battery life, Impressive audio, Eco-friendly packaging

The Sony WF-1000XM4 are very good for commute and travel. These comfortable and lightweight in-ears have an ANC system that does a decent job of reducing the low rumbles of bus or plane engines. Thanks to their small size, you can easily fit them into most pockets or bags without a problem.

ANC has great noise isolation performance., Comfortable, stable, and breathable fit.

Touch controls can be very sensitive.

After 2 years mine simply stopped working, very short life in my opinion for a high end product

Sony has done it again, with a generational replacement truly worth the upgrade. The WF-1000XM4 true wireless headphones have all the bells and whistles and then some, coupling great sound performance with class-leading active noise-cancelling and a much smaller form factor to before.

Great audio performance; Superb adaptive noise-cancelling (ANC) tech; Comfortable for long periods of wear; Hi-Res Audio Wireless and LDAC support; Qi wireless charging on case;

No support for Qualcomm aptX; Still reasonably large in the ear; Battery life in the case is a bit less than some competitors;

With hi-res audio support and handy new features, Sony’s WF-1000XM4 look set to improve on their already excellent predecessors

While one might quibble whether Sony’s new earbuds are the best noise cancelers in the business, they’re either CEO or COO. In other words, they’re large and in charge. They also offer reams of battery life, a comfy fit, a relatively slim design, and some of the best sound in the wireless genre.

Fantastic noise canceling, Superb sound, Next-gen battery life

No viable solution for volume control, Missing some key features

Sony nearly did it again. The company has dominated both over-ear and true wireless product categories for the last few years. It has a knack for creating a compelling combination of sound quality, noise cancelling performance, customization and features.

They might be at the premium end of the wireless earbud market in terms of price but the Sony WF-1000XM4 really do offer the most premium experience with astonishingly good sound and countless features.

Compact and comfortable; Incredible sound; Almost endless smart features;

Expensive;

The Sony WF-1000XM4 are some of the very best sounding, most effective noise-cancelling Bluetooth earbuds money can buy. They still have a terrible name, but are smaller, easier to fit and more comfortable, last longer and are much more pocketable than their best-in-class predecessors.

Pros: Brilliant sound, very effective noise cancelling, good ambient sound modes, long battery life, long-term comfort, solid connectivity, full EQ, Google Assistant, Alexa, pocketable case, cross-platform app support.

Cons: Big for earbuds, expensive, can’t control everything at the same time from the gesture panel, mic can sound muffled in loud places, no extra wings to hold them in for running.

These earbuds offer truly fantastic audio performance that is yet to be bettered by any other true wireless rivals. Noise cancellation is very well executed, and the slimmed down design is both easy to wear and still packs a decent punch of battery life.