Sony earphones are a better (hence more expensive) AirPods alternative
What's the story
Sony has gradually worked its way up to become one of the world's leading audio equipment manufacturers. Its recently launched over-ear WH-1000XM3 noise-canceling headphones are a proof.
But what if you could get that experience on something as portable as Apple AirPods?
Meet WF-1000XM3, Sony's truly wireless earphones that are smaller, lighter, and packed with features that even AirPods don't have.
Here's our roundup.
Design
Sony WF-1000XM3 offer a slick design with comfortable in-ear fit
Like the AirPods, Sony's WF-1000XM3 are true wireless earphones that offer a comfortable in-ear fit, thanks to an ergonomic design and high-friction rubber surface that prevents accidental slip outs.
They feature capacitive touch areas to control music or change noise profile, or to summon Google Assistant.
The earbuds also come with a premium-looking charging case which can be refilled via a compatible Type-C charger.
Highlight
Sony WF-1000XM3 offers high quality noise cancellation
The Sony WF-1000XM3 comes with the much acclaimed in-house QN1e digital noise canceling processor which we have also seen on the WH-1000XM3 headphones.
The built-in microphones catch the ambient sounds around you, that the chipset then cancels out with an inverted sound wave.
The earbuds also pack a DSEE HX chip which upscales compressed digital music files to near High-Resolution Audio.
Battery life
The earbuds offer upto 32 hours of play time
On a full charge, the Sony earbuds offer 6 hours of listening. However, this can be extended to 24 hours, thanks to the extra three charges from the carrying case.
In case you are not using noise canceling, you get 8 hours of play time on a single charge.
Further, with quick charging, a 10-minute charge gives you upto 90 minutes of listening time.
Information
Pricing and availability
The Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds are priced at $230 (approximately Rs. 15,800) and they will go on sale sometime in mid-August. However, details regarding the availability and pricing of the earbuds in India haven't been announced yet.