AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony XM6 earbuds: Personal audio compared

Sony's latest audio release, the WF-1000XM6, are flagship earbuds with improved active noise cancellation. Here's how Sony's flagship personal audio accessories compare against the AirPods Pro 3.

AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony XM6 earbuds
February saw Sony bring out an update to its upper-tier earbuds. After a three-year wait, the WF-1000XM6 are the electronic company's new best option for in-ear audio.

The WF-1000XM6, not to be confused with the similarly-named WH-1000XM6 headphones, lean on the firm's heritage of audio quality, with improvements to noise cancellation also thrown in for good measure.

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AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony XM6 earbuds: Personal audio compared

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Malcolm Owen

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Fri Feb 27 2026, 08:06 AM EST
9 minute read

AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony XM6 earbuds

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Sony's latest audio release, the WF-1000XM6, are flagship earbuds with improved active noise cancellation. Here's how Sony's flagship personal audio accessories compare against the AirPods Pro 3.

February saw Sony bring out an update to its upper-tier earbuds. After a three-year wait, the WF-1000XM6 are the electronic company's new best option for in-ear audio.

The WF-1000XM6, not to be confused with the similarly-named WH-1000XM6 headphones, lean on the firm's heritage of audio quality, with improvements to noise cancellation also thrown in for good measure.

These are elements that could give consumers a good reason to look at Sony's latest release when trying to decide between them and Apple's AirPods Pro 3.

Here's the tale of the tape.

AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony WF-1000XM6 - Specifications

AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony WF-1000XM6 - Design

The AirPods Pro 3 have the fairly standard Apple earphone design, consisting of a large section that fits inside the folds of the ear and a dangling stalk, used for control. There's a silicone tip that goes into the ear canal, which helps anchor it in place as well as seals the passage for ANC purposes.

Sony's XM6 earbuds opt for a more blob-like design that sits within the ear folds, for the most part. They do extend quite a bit out from the ear, but without any dangling elements.

Sony uses foam tips for its earbuds, though it only includes four sizes versus the five of the foam-infused versions Apple includes. The good news is the foam is able to compress, so the smallest size should still fit and be comfortable for small ears.

[Two small gadget cases, one glossy white and oval, one matte black and rectangular, standing upright side by side on a gray carpet with a soft purple background]

AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony XM6 earbuds: The cases are about the same size, though the Sony one isn't as comfortable to carry

In terms of weight, the Sony's are slightly heavier at 0.22 ounces to 0.20 ounces for the AirPods Pro 3.

One area where the Sonys do well is that they have grilles color-matched to the body, blending them in. Meanwhile Apple's black-on-white alternative stands out a lot more, so they aren't just anonymous white blobs in the ear.

The MagSafe charging case that ships with the AirPods Pro 3 is a rounded white block measuring 2.45 inches wide, 1.86 inches tall, and 0.86 inches deep. At 1.55 ounces, it's not a massive weight in your pocket.

Sony's case design is more angular, with a pill-shaped top and base and a uniform thickness. At 2.56 inches wide and 1.77 inches tall, it's wider but shorter than Apple's version by small amounts. At 1.10 inches thick, it's a bit heftier, as is its weight at 1.65 ounces.

AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony WF-1000XM6 - Control

The AirPods Pro 3 use the same controls as previous models, with the stalks being the main method of interaction.

A combination of presses and holds can be used to control media playback, answer and disconnect calls, and switch between listening modes. A swipe up and down can adjust the volume.

[Close-up of a hand holding a pair of white wireless earbuds with black accents against a soft gray background]

AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony XM6 earbuds: AirPods Pro 3 have touch-sensitive stems

There's also Siri, which you can communicate with by speaking out the trigger command. You can also take advantage of the built-in accelerometer to respond to Siri, with a nod and a shake understood as "yes" or "no" for some queries.

The XM6 earbuds mostly relies on touch controls, using touch sensors instead of buttons. The left earbud chiefly manages managing sound modes and the right dealing with playback. It also has head gesture controls, and you can also talk to Google Gemini.

[Bearded man in a cap adjusting a black wireless earbud in his right ear, wearing a wedding ring, against a softly blurred pink and purple background]

AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony XM6 earbuds: The XM6 are very comfortable to wear and more subtle looking

In both instances, you can tweak the controls in software. While Apple has its settings deeply integrated into iOS and its other operating systems, Sony has to use the Sony Sound Connect app.

AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony WF-1000XM6 - Audio

Apple's AirPods Pro 3 have 10.7mm custom high-excursion drivers providing the sound, along with a custom high dynamic range driver.

By comparison, the XM6 has 8.4mm driver units in each earbud. However, while smaller, Sony does push forward on the audio quality front by promoting its use of mastering engineers to perfect the sound.

For audio processing, Apple uses its own H2 headphone chip, which has appeared previously in quite a few products. Meanwhile Sony uses the HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3e with an improved DAC and amplifier.

[Hand holding a smartphone with a yellow-brown music player screen, displaying song lyrics, playback controls, and volume slider, against a gray textured background.]

AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony XM6 earbuds: The XM6 sound amazing

In terms of what each are capable of, the XM6 has High-Resolution Audio Wireless support via its LDAC system. It also uses Edge-AI DSEE Extreme to "upscale" compressed music files in real time.

The Sony Sound Connect app also provides ways to personalize the audio, including EQ and other settings tweaks.

[Hand holding a smartphone while another hand adjusts an audio equalizer on the screen; a small black Sony earbud case rests on a gray fabric surface in the background]

AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony XM6 earbuds: Sony offers a feature Apple users have been asking for — EQ adjustments

AirPods Pro 3 also has a similar pedigree, with a new multi-port acoustic architecture with more precise airflow control. Adaptive EQ can create a sound signature customized to a user's ear geometry and fit.

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