Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm an AirPods owner, and while I initially preferred the Sony WF 1000X, after spending more time with the product I've changed my thoughts: Audio: This is the biggest win for the Sonys. Once you find a tight seal, its audio is by far the best I've heard in this form factor. The AirPods sound very good too – better than I expected – but not as good as the Sonys with a tight seal. (This has caveats, though: read on.) Winner: Sony Noise cancelling: At first I thought the active noise cancellation in the Sonys was pretty good. But the more I've used them, I now believe there is very minimal ANC to speak of here. The quieting effect seems to come mostly from wearing the ear tips buried far into your ear canals: more isolation (essentially acting as earplugs) than cancellation. Considering how well Sony handled noise cancelling in its MDR-1000X series, I expected more. It's as if the company's marketers tasked the engineers with adding something they can conceivably sell as "noise cancelling," in a market where nobody else has that. Well, there's still basically nobody that has that, because I barely hear any difference when turning NC on and off. The AirPods, though, have no noise cancelling or isolation, and will let in more ambient sound. Winner: Sony Comfort: While the Sonys are pretty comfortable when worn loosely, you lose a lot of audio quality when worn this way. You also get a bare minimum of noise cancellation/isolation unless you bury the foam or silicone tips deep into your ears. I find this to be uncomfortable after just a few minutes. AirPods are very comfortable, hanging loosely in your ears, which feels almost like wearing nothing. Your ears can "breathe," unlike with the Sonys. Winner: AirPods Looks: I prefer Sony's slightly protruding black buds over Apple's attempt to make a bold fashion statement via white plastic straws jutting out of your ears. Apple's advantage here is that the company's iconic status can take something odd-looking like AirPods, and make it look "normal" over time – through sheer cultural influence. Winner: Sony Battery: The AirPods last a little longer per charge, and their battery case holds more charges. But I don't see Sony's total charge time as a problem for many people: It should easily last a full day, as long as you're taking the breaks that your ears need anyway. Winner: AirPods Battery case: Not only does the AirPods' case hold more charges, it's also much smaller than Sony's. The metallic Sony case has a high-quality feel, though, and it still fits easily into my front jeans pocket. Winner: AirPods Controls: The AirPods have a nifty feature that auto-pauses music when you take them out, and auto-resumes when you put them back in. They also have touch controls that you can customize. Sony's have one button on each bud, which gives you a little more control, but a bit less illusion of "magic." Winner: draw Value: At $160, the AirPods are $40 cheaper. The Sony WF 1000X adds extra features, but making you choose between comfort (worn loosely) and high-quality audio and decent NC (crammed far in ears) leads me to give the nod to AirPods. Winner: AirPods