After a year at home with screaming toddlers and inconsiderate roommates, noise-canceling earbuds are a hot commodity in 2021. And if you could get a single pair for working, exercising, taking Zoom calls, and listening to Taylor Swift’s “Cardigan,” you’d want it, right?
The AirPods Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends) and Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends) have filled this niche pretty nicely for the past year. But the team at Sony—which makes some of our favorite over-ear noise-canceling headphones—has finally updated its two-year-old WF-1000XM3 earbuds to the M4 (“Mark 4”) version.
The new buds are a total redesign of the Mark 3, and they sound better, cancel noise better, and pick up your voice better than the last pair. They’re exceptionally good. I’d say they were the best for everyone if it weren’t for one glaring problem: They’re too big for many ears.
Sony recently updated its design. The new buds come in a compact charging case and are rounded to fit entirely inside your ear, rather than using the “mostly in, but with a bit hanging out” style that it used on the Mark 3 version.
The new model looks sleeker and more like buds from Jabra, Samsung, and others, but it means that all the bells and whistles inside the buds have to fit into your ears too. Sony’s team didn’t have the best shrink ray. These are the biggest in-ear buds I’ve tested in a long time.
They barely fit in my medium-size ears. That said, they didn’t cause as much fatigue as I thought they would. But getting them to properly seal in my ears took longer than with other buds. Fellow product reviewer Adrienne So never could get them to fit well, and neither could my fiancée. I imagine many others will struggle.
They’re also heavy—nearly 2 grams heavier per bud than the AirPods Pro. However, the larger size and weight does mean that they have an AirPods Pro-doubling eight hours of battery life with noise canceling on, and 12 with it off. Qi wireless charging is built into the case, which also quick-charges via USB-C.
If you have medium or large ears, many of my critiques don’t apply. They barely apply to me; I’m routinely able to get a good seal after 30 seconds or so of maneuvering the foam ear tips. That's longer than most competitors, but not annoyingly so. They also come in three sizes, if you’ve got big ears but a different-sized ear canal.