Do not buy

The Sony WH-1000XM4 ups the ante in every way to challenge the Bose 700 for the title of best noise-cancelling headphones. Delivering small but significant enhancements in a familiar package, the Sony WH-1000XM4 is a strong contender for the best noise-cancelling headphones you can buy.

Excellent audio quality, Remarkable noise cancellation, Smart controls, Strong battery life, Lots of useful features

Call quality still needs work

Ease of use and sound quality

These are comfortable headphones. This was the first thing I noticed when I put them on. The sound is crisp, although a little bit tinny. This could be something that could be fixed by adjusting the settings in either my phone's audio player (Audiolet) or with the Sony headphone app. Battery life is good, however. BTW I got them in the grey colour which is a cool alternative to everyone else who gets them in black.

There isn’t a lot of new features on the WH-1000XM4, but that’s because it is already very good. For existing WH-1000XM3 owners, there is little reason to upgrade, more so when the design is almost identical, providing little freshness to the new purchase.

One of the best active noise-cancelling implementations on headphones in the market; New feature "Speak-to-Chat" works magically well; Ability to custom EQ and save in the headphones; Excellent smartphone app features

Relatively marginal improvements that might not matter to many; Overall plastic design lacks the premium outlook; No aptX audio codec; although SBC did not fare poorly; Ambient sound not as open sounding

The Sony WH-1000XM4 over-ear headphones combine fantastic sound quality, great battery life, and class-leading active noise cancellation to create one of the best pairs of headphones on the market.

Sony's terrific WH-1000XM4 headphones combine top-notch noise cancellation with audiophile-friendly sound quality.

Excellent audio performance with rich bass and detailed highs; Top-tier noise cancellation with in-app adjustments; Customizable EQ; Simple; responsive on-ear controls; Comfortable fit

Expensive; Cable lacks inline remote

Sony released its superb WH-1000XM3 noise-canceling headphones in 2018, and they still frequently top lists for the best noise-canceling headphones you can buy. But competitors haven’t been sitting idle: Bose’s Noise Canceling Headphones 700 are neck and neck with Sony for noise cancellation and...

Sony’s best noise-canceling capabilities yet; Improved voice quality; Support for two simultaneous Bluetooth connections

USB-C port cannot be used for audio; No significant design changes after two years; Cold-weather improvements are unproven

If you have the money and want a top-tier pair of headphones for modern life, the Sony WH-1000XM4 are the way to go. The combination of high quality Bluetooth codecs, great sound, improved noise cancelling, good battery life, and smart features like autopause and Bluetooth multipoint makes these the...

Great noise cancelling; Great sound quality; Bluetooth multipoint is super convenient; Multiple Bluetooth codecs supported (SBC; AAC; LDAC); Bluetooth 5.0; Battery life is great; Comfortable and has hinges for folding; Auto-pauses when you take them off

Price is still expensive; Double-tap to pause didn't always work; Slightly less comfortable than the WH-1000XM3; Battery life is down from the previous version; Custom button controls either the Assistant OR noise cancelling

But for $349, I want more precision from the touch control panel and it’d be nice to get some additional colors. If you want slightly stronger ANC and a more precise audio experience with a more modern look, you should check out the $339 Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700.

Excellent audio quality; Powerful active noise cancelling; Light; comfortable frame; 30 hours of battery life; Plethora of sound customization options

Finicky touch controls