Apple and Sony are fiercely competing for the title as "best ANC earbuds" and so the I tested them both thoroughly in a head to head comparison.
Sony WF-1000XM4 PRICE: https://mikeobrienmedia.com/sony-wf10...
AIRPODS PRO PRICE: https://mikeobrienmedia.com/AirPodsPro2

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ADDITIONAL REVIEW NOTES:
ANC TEST
Airplane test: Sony = 30, AirPods = 27
Female voice test: Sony = 10, AirPods = 16
Wind test: definitely audible with both, but AirPods were marginally better
Air conditioner test: Sony blocked substantially better. Airpods picked up clicking very well
AirPods are more compressed, so it is hard to tell what you are hearing through them
Quiet room test - they are both dead silent. No hissing or white noise

Apple seems to have a better algorithm, but the Sony earbuds are more powerful

TRANSPARENCY
AirPods have a dB limiter - good for concerts?
Sony has some white noise, but I could hear a truck backing up two streets over, so it picks up sounds at natural volumes
Sony sounds slightly like straws in my ears
AirPods sounds like nothing in my ears at all

MIC TEST

SOUND QUALITY
LDAC vs AAC/SBC
Sony earbuds are clean and detailed with properly powerful lows, an excellent in-app EQ. They gently lift the lows and mids and everything up to around 3k or 4k Hz or so. I think this gives them a warmer tone, but I like to EQ them and lift the highs and drop the mids slightly so they never sound dark. The Sony earbuds have a great soundstage and instrument separation.

Airpods have much less boomy and to some extent, a shallower bass, albeit a massive improvement from the old pros. They still manage to reproduce fairly natural sounding music with little distortion, great instrument separation, and beautiful detail. We still have more emphasis on higher frequencies for more perceived clarity, but they are far from an energetic and lively pair of earbuds. For acoustic music, these are nice, and for podcasts they are great, btu the clear winner here are the Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds


DESIGN
Appearance: Vote! I think I like Sony better
Two colors vs one color
Comfort - I prefer the airpods
1000XM4 foam tips broke
Controls (pinch and swipe vs touch)
IPX4 both
Cases: AirPods case is much much smaller
Both have wireless charging
Battery = 6/30 AP Pro, 8/24 hrs with Sony

FEATURES
Sony has speak to chat
Both have 3D sound capabilities
Both take pictures of your ears to customize
Sony has customizable controls
Sony has adaptive sound control
Sony has tap to speak
Airpods have native Siri
Airpods have seamless switching
Neither has true multipoint
AirPods have mono mode
FindMy
Case speaker

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Price: $250 vs $250 (originally $280)
Compatibility: They both work with any BT connections, but there is no AirPods app for Android and no galaxy app for apple



Disclaimer: This video is purely based on my experiences, research, and opinions. You and only you are responsible for your actions. I made this channel to advise viewers and I truly hope to help you all out. I love making these videos and connecting with my viewers!
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