Review / Apple Airpods Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM3 – which are the best wireless earbuds?

From battery life and in-ear comfort to connectivity and all-important sound quality, STYLE puts the top two noise-cancelling wireless earbuds head-to-head: Apple Airpods Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM3
Form and comfort

As far as size is concerned, the Airpods Pro win hands down. At almost half the size of the Sony WF-1000XM3 physically and weighing 5.4 grams, they can lay claim to being the lightest active noise cancelling true wireless earphones in the market. The charging case is a broader but shorter version of the classic Airpods, and fits into pockets just as snugly.
However, I found it very fiddly and often required several attempts before I managed lift them out of their magnetic grooves. The Sony earbuds were slightly better because I didn’t have to deal with the longer stick design.
The much-ridiculed stick design is still there, but it’s a lot shorter than its predecessors’ and less of a beacon for scorn. The flawed design of the classic Airpods that allowed sound to leak, and never fit comfortably into anyone’s ears, has been rectified by the addition of rubber tips that come in three sizes.
One of the most laudable features of this is the plastic cap inside the tips that allow them to snap on firmly with little effort. And Apple has included a sound diagnostics within the music app that will tell you if there is sound leakage so you know you have the right-sized tips. With the smallest tips on, I could barely feel the earbuds and didn’t feel like they were about to drop out as with the old Airpods.
Much as I love-hate the stick, with the Airpods Pro I felt they actually helped balance the fit and felt a bit more secure. To be fair, the Sony WF-1000M3 also fit very snugly and securely but I always had this hidden fear that one would drop out and roll away.
The Airpods Pro are also water and sweat resistant, which the Sony earbuds aren’t.
Winner: Airpods Pro