Sony WH-1000XM6 vs AirPods Max: How do Sony’s latest cans compare to Apple’s premium headphones?

Despite being released a few years ago, the AirPods Max are still some of the best wireless headphones. They’re weighty, made out of stainless steel, and boast excellent sound quality with good support for Apple’s Spatial Audio standard. They’re getting a bit long in the tooth, but they’re a solid pick for anyone in need of new headphones.

Complicating matters, however is Sony’s newly launched pair of ANC flagship headphones — the WH-1000XM6. They’re looking to unseat the WH-1000XM5 as the king of the headphone kingdom with a spate of updates that might well make them the better buy.

But which are the better headphones overall — Apple’s premium cans, or Sony’s new jack-of-all-trades? Let’s find out.

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs AirPods Max: Specs compared

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs AirPods Max: Price and availability

The Sony WH-1000XM6 have risen in price over their predecessor by $50, up to $449. That makes them one of the more expensive pairs of headphones you can buy today, with an increase over even the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, the best noise-canceling headphones.

What makes life trickier for the XM6’s value proposition is that Sony will keep selling the XM5, the older model. Those can be had for less money during deals events, making them a more compelling deal if you’re looking for ways to spend less money.

The XM6 bring enough extra features and upgrades to make them worth the extra, but there’s no denying that they’re now an expensive pair of headphones.

And yet they’re still not as expensive as Apple’s flagship cans: The AirPods Max with USB-C will set you back $549, making them $100 more expensive than Sony’s latest pair of headphones.

They too have received discounts since their release, however. We’ve seen the USB-C variant go down as low as $449, the same price as the Sony headphones. If you’re willing to forgo wired USB-C lossless listening and the most up-to-date charging standard, you could even grab yourself a pair of the AirPods Max with Lightning for often less than $400.

You won’t have problems getting hold of either pair of headphones — both are available from Amazon and other big-box retail stores. As always, wait for deals events like Black Friday or Amazon Prime Day if you want the very best prices.

Given that you’ll usually find all versions of the AirPods Max for more money than the WH-1000XM6, we’re going to give this to the lower-cost Sony cans.

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs AirPods Max: Design

The Sony WH-1000XM6 are a small update over their predecessor. There are a couple of new elements worth noting, though — we’ll start with the new hinged sliders that help the headphones fold into their newly designed carry case.

The hinges mean that the headphones can now become more compact, but our Tom’s Guide’s Managing Editor of TVs and AV Nick Pino had some concerns over the long-term durability of the hinges. They are an extra point of failure, something that already felt slightly weak on the older model.

The case that they fold into is very good, though. It’s sturdy and omits zippers for a magnetic clasp. It’s well-sized and very well made to make sure that you won’t have any concerns about packing them into a particularly full backpack.

The headband foam across the top is nice and thick, and it makes them super comfortable to wear for long periods of time. They’re super light as well, so they don’t get fatiguing for longer listening sessions.

They’re a bit rattly, though — when you shake them, the hinges tend to have more noise and movement to them than you might hope.

They’re not the worst-looking pair of headphones, either, although they are quite plain. Overall, they’re a decent-looking, reasonably well-made pair of folding headphones.

The AirPods Max are a very attractive pair of headphones. From their mesh stretchy mesh headband to the aluminum earcups and stainless steel sliding armature, they ooze premium quality and top notch build.

There are no rattles or creaks when you shake them at all, and the sliding hinges are some of the smoothest you’ll find on just about any pair of headphones. They feel like they’re something that you’ve paid a lot of money for — which is good considering that they cost over $500 for a pair.

Out of the box, they’re very comfortable despite their heavy weight, with well-judged clamping force and good padding. There are some longevity concerns with the headband, though — my original pair of AirPods Max has drooped and sagged to the point it no longer supports them on the top of my head.

There is also a suede-lined elephant in the room — the carrying case that the headphones come with. It’s awful. It only really protects the earcups themselves, and leaves the headband out the elements to make sure that it gets damaged by the contents of your backpack. You’ll want one of the best AirPods Max cases to compensate.

This section is going to be a draw. While the AirPods Max are a nicer pair of headphones in terms of design, there are too many long-term issues that can ruin them in the long run.

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Apple AirPods Max: Controls

Sony has stuck with touch controls for the WH-1000XM6. They remain vastly unchanged from those you’ll find on the XM5, albeit with more accuracy thanks to an updated internal processor.

Swipes and taps control the main functions of the headphones. Swipe up and down to change the volume, left and right to change tracks, and then double tap to play/pause. The most useful control feature is the ability to hold the right earcup to quickly turn off noise cancelation and turn on audio passthrough. It’s perfect when you need to order a sandwich or a bagel and you can’t be bothered to take your headphones off.

The only physical controls on the headphones are the power and ANC buttons — which are now different shapes to make them easier to tell apart. No more accidental power-offs when you’re looking to change the ANC mode and vice versa.

Apple opted for physical controls on the Airpods Max, and they are great. While I’d normally lament the fact that I have to press a button multiple times to change a track, I don’t with the AirPods Max given how easy it is to find the buttons.

I also like how you control the volume on the AirPods Max — just turn the digital crown (a-la Apple Watch) and you’ll hear a gentle click as the volume raises or lowers.

The controls overall feel great, and I never found myself getting annoyed at them throughout my testing. They’re not as flexible as the WH-1000XM6 controls, however, so this section is going to be a tie.

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Apple AirPods Max: Sound quality

Sony has changed the sound profile of the XM6 and has designed them for greater vocal clarity rather than a wider soundstage or better bass response.

That extra clarity means that the mids are nicer to listen to than before, and they join some top-quality highs for a great audio experience. There had to be a sacrifice, however, and that’s in imaging and soundstage.

They’re a slightly narrower listen than the XM5 that came before them, and it can be slightly harder to place the instruments in your tracks. They’re still a great listen though, with plenty to enjoy in a variety of different genres.

The AirPods Max are the superior-sounding headphones, however, but only by a hair. They still have crystal clear vocals, but it’s the super wide soundstage where they really flourish overall. There’s more space for the music to breathe, allowing for much better imaging as a result.

They’re a more refined experience than the Sony headphones across the frequency range, with more detail up top and better, quicker bass at the bottom. There’s also Apple’s excellent Spatial Audio on board, which both works and sounds much better than Sony’s 360 Audio implementation.

This section goes to the AirPods Max and their better sound.

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Apple AirPods Max: Features

Both the AirPods Max and XM6 have great feature sets, but Sony always manages to pack in more features overall into its headphones. You’ll find them all in the Sony Sound app, which you can download for both Apple devices and Android phones and tablets. This is where you’ll find the dizzying array of noise-canceling modes that change depending on where you are. They’re very useful, and more fully featured than the modes on the AirPods Max.

There’s also EQ adjustment here. You’ll find presets for different genres, but you can also dial in your own thanks to the 10-band EQ settings. This is great for tinkerers, giving ample opportunity to get the sound exactly as you want it.

Bluetooth 5.3 powers the connection to your devices, and offers up loads of different codecs (LDAC, SBC, and more) for your music. Expect Bluetooth LE and Auracast, amongst other 5.3 features as well. Spatial Audio is on board, but it’s not quite there yet. 360 Reality Audio only works with Amazon Music Unlimited for now, and Sony’s own “Spatial Audio Upmix” isn’t yet available for us to try out.

The feature set of the AirPods Max is comprehensive, but not as impressive as the Sony headphones. For one, you won’t get the full experience if you don’t have an iPhone, with the likes of Spatial Audio and other features not working on Android handsets and tablets.

Bluetooth 5.0 makes sure that you won’t want them for Android devices, especially when you consider there’s only support for AAC and SBC codecs. That’s disappointing considering the quality of the audio hardware inside.

Things get better for Apple users. You’ll get excellent-sounding streams from Apple Music, along with the Spatial Audio mixes. Dip into the settings menu of your iPhone to find the ANC settings and other options, like head tracking.

Then there’s the interoperability with the rest of the Apple ecosystem. Connect them to your iPhone, and they’ll immediately also connect with your iPad and Mac — no need to go into settings to change multipoint settings, it just works.

Given the extra features on board the Sony cans and their ability to work with both Android and Apple devices, though, this one is going to the Sony WH-1000XM6.

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Apple AirPods Max: ANC

Sony has packed the WH-1000XM6 with mics this time around, with 12 over the two earcups. That’s led to an increase in call quality, but also improved noise canceling thanks to the extra processing power of their new chip.

The increase, however, is less than we were hoping to see. There’s a definite increase in noise blocking in the high range, making for a more holistic noise blocking experience. We were hoping for more, however — while better, it’s not the big jump from the XM5.

Transparency mode is still very good though, and sounds very natural when you’re trying to talk with someone at the train station or the grocery store.

The AirPods Max ANC is, even five years after their initial release, still very good. It’s not better than the Sony WH-1000XM6 ANC, instead focusing on different sounds.

Keyboards and ANC systems are noticeably quieter with the AirPods Max, where bus noises and engines are blocked better by the Sony headphones. You get the feeling Apple tuned its headphones for inside, while Sony knows its users will be taking their headphones out and about more often than not.

This round is going to be a tie — both block out loads of noise, focusing on different parts of the frequency range for different ANC results. It’ll depend what you want. Wearing them while walking around the city? Choose the Sony option. Want to silence ambient office noise? Get the AirPods Max.

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Apple AirPods Max: Battery life

The battery life of the Sony WH-1000XM6 is about what you’d expect from a pair of headphones at this price point: 30 hours of ANC with every full charge.

Turn the ANC off and they rise to 40 hours. Need extra juice quickly? Plug them in for 3 minutes for 3 hours of battery life in a pinch.

The AirPods Max battery life is… bad. 20 hours of staying power just isn’t enough, and the 5-minute quick charge for 1.5 hours of use isn’t as good as the Sony headphones.

The Sony headphones take this round, and, as a result, win the face-off overall.

Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Apple AirPods Max: Verdict

So we finish the face-off with more ties than you might expect, but with the new XM6 as the overall winner. For less money than the AirPods Max, the XM6 offer more features, similar ANC, and more battery life. Sony’s latest cans look like a good contender for the best headphones as a result.

That’s not to say there are no reasons to pick up the Apple cans — they’re a stunningly built pair of headphones that sound really good, and have great features for Apple users. The battery life and Android feature compatibility drag them down, however, and the price rubs salt into the wound.

If the XM6 are still too pricey, consider the Sony WH-1000XM5. They’re cheaper than both and offer performance that’s similar to the XM6. If you’re looking to save some money, you might want to look there instead.

Ratings score card

More from Tom’s Guide