Apple AirPods Pro 3 vs Sony WH-1000XM6

Apple AirPods Pro 3

Apple

8.8

Excellent

Sony WH-1000XM6

Sony

8.9

Must Buy

What Reviewers Agree On

ANC is dramatically improved — best-in-class for earbuds, rivals some over-ears
Hearing health features are genuinely groundbreaking and FDA-approved
Sound quality improvement is noticeable with richer bass and clearer mids
Transparency mode remains the best in the industry
USB-C case with Find My speaker is a welcome upgrade

Deal Breakers

No lossless Bluetooth audio support (still AAC only)
$249 price is steep vs excellent $150-200 competitors

Detailed Comparison

Noise Cancellation

Apple AirPods Pro 3

The ANC improvement is the headline feature, and it delivers beyond expectations.

The noise cancellation is shockingly good for earbuds — it blocked out airplane cabin noise almost as effectively as my Sony WH-1000XM5 over-ears.
Apple claims 2x better ANC than AirPods Pro 2, and in my testing that's roughly accurate — office chatter and street noise disappear.
The adaptive transparency mode is incredibly natural — it's like not wearing earbuds at all until you want silence.

Sony WH-1000XM6

Industry-leading ANC that edges out Bose and Apple in most tests.

ANC is measurably stronger than XM5 — blocks low-frequency rumble almost completely
New auto-NC optimizer adjusts in real time to environment changes

Sound Quality

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Apple AirPods Pro 3

A genuine step up from AirPods Pro 2, though audiophiles may still prefer dedicated music earbuds.

Bass is noticeably richer and mids have more detail — Apple has finally made earbuds that sound genuinely good, not just convenient.
The lack of lossless codec support remains frustrating — you're not hearing the full potential of Apple Music Lossless through these.

Sony WH-1000XM6

Refined sound signature with more detail and clarity compared to XM5, while retaining excellent bass.

New 30mm drivers deliver more detailed mids and tighter bass than XM5
LDAC and DSEE Ultimate upscaling make streaming audio sound noticeably better
Slightly less bass emphasis than XM5 — more neutral tuning may not suit everyone