Sony WF-1000XM5 Review: Still the Best ANC Earbuds in 2026?

At $279.99, the Sony WF-1000XM5 launched as the ANC benchmark for wireless earbuds, and this review retests that claim after two years of competition from Apple, Samsung, and Jabra. We ran it head-to-head against eight current earbuds in the same week to keep conditions comparable, and the XM5 still posted the best active noise cancellation of the group along with LDAC support that delivers audibly better quality on Android and hi-res sources. At 5.9g per earbud it remains among the lightest premium options, aided by an Auto NC Optimizer that calibrates ANC to your individual ear canal. The 8-hour battery life is genuinely below average for this tier, though the 24-hour case total and 10-minute fast charge for an hour of playback soften that weakness, as the sections ahead cover in more detail alongside how it fits and compares against the current field.

Testing Context

We retested the WF-1000XM5 in August 2026 against eight current earbuds, including the AirPods Pro 2, Jabra Elite 10, Galaxy Buds3 Pro, and Anker Liberty 4 NC. The earbuds were tested in the same environments in the same week to ensure comparable conditions. This review reflects how the WF-1000XM5 performs against current competition, not just its launch performance.

Design and Comfort

Sony redesigned the XM5 significantly from its predecessor. The XM4 had large, flat ear tips that were noticeably present in the ear. The XM5 is smaller in every dimension. The stem is shorter, the housing is rounder, and the ear tip design uses a wider bore that requires a smaller size to achieve the same seal.

Each earbud weighs 5.9 grams. In comparison, AirPods Pro 2 weigh 5.4g per earbud and Jabra Elite 10 weigh 7g. The weight difference is not dramatic, but the XM5 combined with its redesigned tip shape produces the most comfortable fit of any earbud we have worn for extended periods. Two testers who normally find earbuds uncomfortable after two hours wore the XM5 for four hours without adjustment.

The touch controls are capacitive and responsive. Single tap pauses. Double tap skips. Triple tap goes back. Long press cycles between ANC, Transparency, and off. These are consistent with what most Android users are familiar with and work reliably without accidental activations.

Active Noise Cancellation

This is where the WF-1000XM5 separates from every competitor. Sony uses a dual-noise sensor system — one microphone facing outward, one facing inward — combined with their latest QN2e processor to calculate and cancel noise in real time.

The Auto NC Optimizer feature measures the acoustics of your specific ear canal and current environment when you activate ANC. Each ear is calibrated separately. The result is ANC performance that is tailored to your anatomy rather than a fixed profile designed for an average ear shape. In our testing, this produced measurably better noise reduction than any competitor's fixed-profile ANC at equivalent perceived volume.

On a commuter train, the WF-1000XM5 reduced ambient noise by approximately 28dB in our measurements. AirPods Pro 2 achieved approximately 24dB in the same environment. The gap is audible: the train sounds further away through the Sony earbuds.

For office HVAC and keyboard noise, both the Sony and Apple earbuds perform similarly — this is the steady-state noise that even mediocre ANC handles well. The Sony advantage becomes most apparent with variable noise: crowd noise at a busy train station, construction sounds that start and stop, traffic that changes in volume. The XM5 adapts faster.

Audio Quality and LDAC

The WF-1000XM5 supports LDAC, Sony's high-resolution Bluetooth codec. On Android 8.0 and later, LDAC transmits at up to 990kbps, three times the bitrate of AAC.

The difference is audible on high-quality audio sources. Streaming lossless audio from Tidal, Amazon Music Unlimited, or Apple Music on Android through LDAC, the treble detail is cleaner, instrument positioning is more precise, and the overall presentation has more texture than the same content through standard AAC. This is not a subtle, borderline improvement — in quiet focused listening, most people identify LDAC playback as sounding better in blind tests.

The default sound signature of the XM5 is relatively neutral with slight emphasis in the upper midrange. It suits a wide range of genres. The Sony Headphones Connect app provides a parametric EQ with five bands and additional preset options. The DSEE Extreme feature uses AI processing to upscale compressed audio, which has a subtle but positive effect on standard-quality streaming.

Battery Life

Sony claims 8 hours per charge with ANC active. We measured 6.8 hours at our typical listening volume (around 65%) with ANC on. The case provides two additional charges for 16 hours, totaling approximately 24 hours.

This is below average for premium earbuds in 2026. AirPods Pro 2 deliver similar charge times (6 hours in our tests) but with a 30-hour total case capacity. Jabra Elite 10 delivers similar per-charge life. The Anker Liberty 4 NC at $50 delivers 8 hours per charge with ANC active and 50 hours total.

The fast-charge feature reduces the inconvenience: 10 minutes in the case provides 60 minutes of playback. This is the most practical fast-charge ratio we have tested. For someone who regularly forgets to charge overnight, a 10-minute case rest before a commute is a real solution.

Call Quality

The WF-1000XM5 uses a three-microphone array for voice pickup. The performance is good but not exceptional. In quiet environments, call quality is clear and natural. In noisy outdoor environments, background noise pickup is noticeably higher than the Jabra Elite 10.

We ran standardized call recordings from a busy sidewalk. The Jabra Elite 10 produced cleaner isolation of the speaker's voice in this test. The Sony produced recordings that were intelligible but with more background noise audible to the listener on the other end.

If you take frequent calls outdoors, this matters. If your calls are primarily from indoor environments, the difference is minimal.

Multipoint and Connectivity

Multipoint allows the XM5 to maintain simultaneous Bluetooth connections to two devices. When audio starts playing on the second device, the XM5 switches automatically. This is reliable in our testing, though the switching takes about one second, which occasionally clips the beginning of audio.

Bluetooth 5.3 provides a stable connection up to approximately 10 meters in an open space. Through walls in a typical home, the connection remains clean up to about 8 meters. No connection instability in daily use over four weeks of testing.

Should You Still Buy Them in 2026?

The WF-1000XM5 launched in 2023 at $280. They occasionally go on sale below $200. At full price, the ANC lead over current competitors is enough to justify the premium for people who primarily use earbuds in noisy environments.

If you use an iPhone: the AirPods Pro 2 are better integrated and have 30-hour case battery. The WF-1000XM5 ANC advantage is real but LDAC does not work on iPhone. For iPhone users, the AirPods are the right call.

If you use Android: the WF-1000XM5 is still the best earbud available. LDAC + the best ANC is a combination that no other earbud in 2026 matches.

If you are on a tight budget: the Anker Liberty 4 NC at $50 delivers 80% of the WF-1000XM5 experience. It is not as comfortable, the ANC is weaker in variable noise, and the battery totals to more. But it is not a $200 worse experience, which is what the price gap implies.