Sony WF-1000XM3 wireless noise-canceling earbuds unveiled

The Sony WF-1000XM3 is a more compact version of the WH-1000XM3. The WH-1000XM3 is considered the best noise-canceling headphones to date.

Sony-WF-1000XM3-noise-cancelling-earbuds — Image Credit: Sony

The Sony WF-1000XM3 brings over much of the over-the-ear variant’s prowess but in a more appealing portable form factor.

The WH-1000XM3 noise-canceling was a smashing success of the flagship. Sony is now adding another member to the noise-canceling family with the introduction of the WF-1000XM3 true wireless earbuds.

One of the most profound aspects of the WH-1000XM3 is the noise-canceling capability. It is a big factor in making it one of the best noise-canceling wireless cans available today. Sony is promising the same quality with the new WF-1000XM3 truly wireless in-ears.

A pair of external microphones on each of the buds feed external noise to the dedicated QN1e noise-canceling chip (which is an improved version of the WH-1000XM3’s QN1 chip). The chip automatically figures out background noise and ambiance and blocks them intelligently.

It is the same advanced chip which is responsible for 24-bit digital-to-analog conversion in the WH-1000XM3. Combine this with Sony’s Digital Sound Enhancement Engine HX, and these earbuds deliver sound as rich as its over-the-ear counterpart.

Sony’s Digital Sound Enhancement Engine HX is a feature that upscales audio from a compressed format to revive some lost fidelity.

Sony WF-1000XM3: Connectivity

A common issue with true wireless buds is their affinity towards connectivity issues. The issues are often caused by one of the earbuds which need to pair with the other via Bluetooth.

Apple manages to avoid this with their Air-pods by using a dedicated chip to connect to the device directly. Sony is using a similar strategy with the WF-1000XM3, promising increased stability.

The WF-1000XM3 has a reported battery life of ~6hours. As is the situation with most true wireless earphones which have charging cases, these ones from Sony are no different.

The charging case is capable of recharging the buds thrice for a total of 24hours listening time. A quick charge function provides you with 90 minutes of listening time with just 10 minutes of charging.

Another feature you will notice on the WF-1000XM3 is the Quick Attention mode from the flagship WH-1000XM3. The mode allows you to place a finger on the left earbud’s touch control to momentarily lower the volume. So in return, it lets in ambient sound, as such you will be able to hear what’s happening around you.