Sony’s latest offering into the truly wireless earbuds market is the WF-1000XM3. With the TWS industry brimming with options in every price bracket, Sony has targeted the premium segment with the WF-1000XM3 to take on the likes of Apple, Sennheiser and Jabra. Launched at a price of Rs 19,990, this one is a flagship device by Sony which is bundled with loads of premium features including the noise cancellation feature which uses the QN1e chip and dual noise sensor technology.
Although the Sony WF-1000XM3 was launched globally in 2019, it arrived in India a little later in 2020. The wait seemed longer for Indian users who waited for Sony to come up with its first noise cancelling earbuds as Apple and Sennheiser had already dropped their premium earbuds by then. Although it competes directly with the Apple AirPods Pro and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2, it is way more affordable than the two.
As they say, with great features comes a great price and the Sony WF-1000XM3 is not something that you can call affordable. But compared to its peers, it is priced better. So should you pick this one as your first flagship TWS earbuds or consider other options? We find out in the review.
Sony WF-1000XM3 review: Design and build
When Sony launches a flagship-level device, trust them to come up with everything premium right from the sound quality to the design. The design of the Sony WF-1000XM3 is quite eye-catching, you simply cannot walk by without picking it up and checking it out. And the most endearing element of its design is the copper lid that adds all the glam to the case of Sony WF-1000XM3. Having said that, the size of the charging case is chunkier than the other cases that you would have seen around. It is more on the wider side and hence it may not be easily pocketable for some.
The body of the charging case has a soft matte finish instead of a glossy finish but it can be a fingerprint magnet. So in order to keep the premium-ness intact, try to use it with clean hands. There is a red led indicator on the front of the case that is bright enough to be seen from a distance. It indicates how much charge the case has. On the rear of the case, there is the USB-Type C port.
Now when you take the earbuds out of its shell, you would notice the tri-hold structure that has been designed to fit into the ears perfectly but its bulkiness cannot be ignored. The Sony WF-1000XM3 buds are bigger than most earbuds you would find but extremely lightweight at the same time. Although these buds sat comfortably in my ears for hours without causing any sort of discomfort, the fit was not impressive. I lived with the constant fear of losing one of them when I tilted my head or made too many jaw movements, this probably would persist if you have a small ear canal like me. Sony has provided three foam ear tips and three silicone ear tips inside the box for a more snug fit.
However, the chances of you losing your earbuds in a playground are pretty scarce as the Sony WF-1000XM3 is not the ideal earbuds for workouts and jogging sessions so you are not going to use them for this purpose. This is because the earbuds don’t have any IP certification or sweat or dust resistance, which is rather surprising. Having said that, this can be seamlessly used while travelling, watching movies or for simply listening to music and you even feel flummoxed with its presence for hours straight as it glides in pretty comfortably.
Sony WF-1000XM3 review: Performance and battery
Sony is known for producing some of the best sounding audio devices and the WF-1000XM3 is no different. It pretty much lives up to its name and reputation as far performance is concerned. One of the highlights of the WF-1000XM3 is its top-notch noise-cancelling tech. There are other modes as well including the 360 Reality Audio, the Ambient Sound Mode, Quick attention mode that enhances the overall experience.
Sony has used the Dual Noise Sensor technology that is coupled with the new HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1e to catch and cancel noise respectively. To test the Active noise cancelling feature, I sat in front of a noisy mixture grinder and walked in places where there were too many cars moving around and I was absolutely swayed by its noises cancelling ability. All the background noise had subsided and I could only faintly hear the noise from the surroundings. Considering the active noise cancellation performs effortlessly in the WF-1000XM3, it is advisable to switch the ANC mode off if you are walking on a busy road because the noise cancellation may make you forget you are in the middle of traffic.
Now coming to the sound quality, it is as premium as the device itself. The WF-1000XM3 consists of 6mm drivers inside each earbud that might seem small but have the power of a beast. The sound quality that the drivers produce is crystal clear and extremely balanced. So if you are a fan of balanced sound with special emphasis on the vocals, this is just the right fit for you.
The WF-1000XM3 has the ability to tackle all sorts of music genres being played. I played Imagine Dragons’ Believer and a few songs by Maroon 5 and was impressed with the superlative sound quality and clarity. The bass is punchy with mids, the highs are crisp and lows are equally soothing. Even in slow Bollywood numbers like Bas Ek Pal, Hazard Khwahesin Aisi, WF-1000XM3 performed exceptionally well. The peppy dance numbers like Dil Dhadakne Do didn’t rattle in my ears either, I got a nice party feel simply by sitting at home.
The WF-1000XM3 has a dedicated app that is available on both App Store and Play Store, you can get the app for more a customised listening. Like the earbuds have support for the Digital Sound Enhancement Engine HX that enhances the audio quality. You can turn it on from the app and experience better music. The app also provides an equaliser through which you can increase or decrease the bass levels depending on your taste in music. It is important to note that the WF-1000XM3 is quite bass-heavy just like the other Sony products so you would not have to play around a lot there. There also is an adaptive sound control mode which can be monitored by tapping the sensor provided on the earbuds, it changes the sound mode as per your surroundings.
The WF-1000XM3 has in-ear wearing detection tech which stops the music when you take it out of your ears and automatically resumes playing when you put the earbuds back. The earbuds also feature intuitive touch control settings which can let you control what is being played simply by tapping on the circular space provided at the earbuds. For instance, you can tap on the left earbud to change from Noise Cancelling to Ambient Sound, or double-tap on the right to skip to the next track. Similarly, with a single tap, you can pause or play music. It also has built-in voice assistant support which would let you interact with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri quite seamlessly.
As far as the connectivity is concerned, the WF-1000XM3 paired rather quickly with my iPhone and even reconnected automatically every time I took out the earbuds from the case. So no problem there at all. I also tried making calls through the WF-1000XM3 and was impressed with the call quality as both the caller and the receiver could hear each other pretty clearly.
The company says that the earphones last around 6 hours with the ANC on and around 8 hours without it, having used it for almost two weeks, I can totally certify the claims made by Sony. I only had to charge it twice in two weeks, which in my opinion is fairly good.
Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds: Should you buy it?
Now there can be too many factors that can stop you from buying the Sony WF-1000XM3 but the first and foremost reason is the price. But if money is not a constraint for you, there is nothing that should hold you back from buying it. The Sony WF-1000XM3 has the best in class ANC and superior sound quality that will instantly win over you. It has used some of the latest technology to further enhance the user experience.
Having said that, Sony does have stiff competition in the market with Apple AirPods Pro, Sennheiser Momentum ruling the premium segment but if you want your earbuds to tick most of the boxes, WF-1000XM3 is perfect for you
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