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What Hi-Fi?
What Hi-Fi?
Technology
Becky Roberts

Sony WH-1000XM5 vs Apple AirPods Max: which noise-cancelling headphones are better?

Sony Apple Bose Sennheiser Sonys
Sony WH-1000XM5 vs Apple AirPods Max.
Sony WH-1000XM5

ANC: Yes
Bluetooth: 5.2, SBC, AAC, LDAC
Battery life: 30 hours
App: Yes
Weight: 250g

The Sony XM5 might look and feel less premium than the AirPods Max, but they offer better battery life and a wonderfully musical sound for a lower asking price. Plus, unlike the AirPods Max, they offer all their features to both iOS and Android users.

For

  • Entertaining and informative sound
  • Strong noise-cancelling
  • Great value

Against

  • Less premium-looking than their XM4 predecessors
  • Don’t fold away completely
  • No spatial audio
Apple AirPods Max

ANC: Yes
Bluetooth: 5.0, AAC, SBC
Battery life: 20 hours
App: Yes
Weight: 385g

The AirPods Max are beautifully crafted, boast spatial audio and sound superior to the Sony XM5, but they are comparatively pricey and fall short in battery life and Bluetooth codec support. Still, they are worth the money for Apple users.

For

  • Equally effective noise-cancelling
  • Superior sound quality
  • Cinematic spatial audio

Against

  • Practically Apple-only
  • Below-average battery life
  • Much pricier than the Sonys
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